Yeah, I miss the Olymia days too sometimes. Bummer it closed.

Oh man...the Olympia was awesome. Lots of great memories from my first couple MGCs. Bummer.

Anyone with a large box truck with some space coming up from the Chicago area? Might have something to beg you for...

Ha. Me too my first years going we’re the last two at Olympia. Went solo at first and meet a lot of people. I remember the MGC site used to have past years pictures. I realized I wore the same shirt Saturday both years. A yellow ghost in the shell shirt. I’ll dig it up for this year.

Just a quick update, I've been slow to report our vip count, but... Well, here's the latest from Facebook...

Gary Stern of Stern Pinball will be at the Midwest Gaming Classic, and so will more than 30 people from the company that help design and create the amazing pinball machines that we love like Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, Aerosmith, ACDC, Batman '66 and Metallica... and we'll have those games on hand too!

We're excited to have so many influential designers from Stern Pinball coming to our show, and are excited to play and share what they created!

I am pretty sure that puts us around 50 pinball designers at the moment, and I don't yet have the counts from JJP or American, both of whom have told me they expect to send a contingent up.

Oh yeah, and I have a list of probably 10-15 more that aren't associated with those companies top!

Why wont Jersey Jack ever come to MGC?

Jack has been to the show in the past. I have sat in his seminar.

He has been there multiple times. Pretty sure he said he was coming this year when i saw him this weekend???

As far as I know, he may be. He's been to the show multiple times in the past, and has sponsored halls. Last year, while he couldn't make it, they sent multiple people including Pat Lawlor.

Quick update, thanks to the guys from Pinball Mayhem for being the first new sponsor for the Midwest Gaming Classic this year! Fun Youtube channel (I've had it on in the background while I've been working on the site) and I really appreciate the help in spreading the word about the show!

Thanks Dan! Happy to help, excited to check out the new venue, looking forward to filming content.

Jeremy & the Pinball Mayhem team.

P.S. here's the slightly extended version of the video that's running on the MGC FB page. Plus I tossed in some outtakes

Got my room booked at the Doubletree.
MGC rates weren't available, but the hotels.com rates were cheaper anyway.

Getting ready for MGC.

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Worked out the same kind of deal ColorDMD makes for Texas attendees for MGC -- I'll be the point of contact for getting the displays at the show:

ColorDMD Pinball Displays is making a special offer for #MGC2018 game bringers: $50 off and free delivery on a new ColorDMD display picked up at the show and exhibited in your game OR $50 toward a new display purchase for any game you bring to the show that already has a ColorDMD in it! Email INFO at COLORDMD.COM before April 5 to enroll your game and order a discounted display!

Thanks for putting this together E. I just need to decide if I want to put one in FG.

Can anyone confirm/deny that the Clock Chaos / Pingolf / Main Tourney for this year's MGC will not be for IFPA points due to the new fees?

No biggie either way. Had just forgotten all about it and am curious.

I'm pretty sure that is the case as there are no MGC tournaments on the IFPA calendar for WI.

https://www.ifpapinball.com/nacs/standings.php?l=WI#uptour

I think the tournaments will still be fun and maybe a little less serious.

Yeah - I'm completely fine without the IFPA points. Doing well and qualifying for the second day of the tournament and staying up all night at the afterparty don't go hand in hand too well.

The above about IFPA points is correct. The positive is that we are running the tournaments in their "classic" styles which the IFPA rules made us switch in the past to make them worth anything. This means...

Clock Chaos will revert back to it's qualifying, play one final game format.

PinGolf will have a new format that allows you to pick the games you're going to play, which would be disallowed under IFPA rules.

The MPC will go back to the super popular ladder format we did two years ago, which was exciting and loved by everyone participating, but would have halved the points last year.

While I appreciate the IFPA, the combo of Wisconsin law and having a more relaxed time means I'm really looking forward to these this year!

I just spent several hours at the Wisconsin Center this weekend for my daughter's volleyball tournament, and I must say, I'm pretty psyched about the upcoming MGC. The place is HUGE.
Now, I don't know if we'll have the whole thing, or if they'll use some of those temporary walls, or something, but like I said, it's HUGE. There were probably something like 50 volleyball courts set up for play. That's enough room for a LOT of gaming.

Just wanted to mention it, because it's getting pretty close, and I'm pretty excited.

Jeff

Anyone have any interest in a Aerosmith premium with a Stern topper? Has had a Cliffy shooter lane protector before a game was ever played on it. I just bought it new and it has 117 plays. I could bring to MGC. Honestly, just trying to finance an Alice Cooper. Priced at $6300.

Thanks.

Brian

I will also post an ad in classifieds on Pinside, so if this sells here I can make my contribution to Pinside for the sale.

Brian

Wow.

That's all I can say at the moment, just... Wow.

News to come.

Hope its free after party passes for the vendors.

Amen to that!

Multiple other after parties to attend this year if you are not a game bringer. Dan has been clear that the after partyfor those that bring games will remain as the after party for those that actually bring games.

#1 way to hurt the show would be to remove that incentive for bringing games.

Oh the antici...

Okay, well, rumor has it that Bangerjay bobble heads "may" be for available sale at the show. AND, you might get Jay to personally autograph it.

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No wait, that's probably not it.

nope, that is definitely it!

No s**t...

VIG was in large part started because the vendors asked to have time to be able to see the rest of the show. I don't know if you're participating in that, but it's an option. Beyond that, no, the after party rules aren't suddenly changing to more than double the amount of people allowed in for it, sorry. I get that disappoints some people, but the cost and logistics behind it are already extremely difficult, and more than doubling that is problematic to say the least.

Technically, VIG is about equally as limited as Saturday night, for anyone wondering. Last year, VIG was lower. This year, VIG will probably be about 50-100 more people, but it's worth pointing out that VIG has considerable other content open too downstairs.

It's confirmed now too. I don't know exactly what we're going to say, or if we're just going to leave it mostly as a surprise until people show up for VIG...

I understand, just like poking the after party bear. Someday the video game fad will die down a bit and the vendors will decrease. I.hope at some point everyone realizes how many people vendors help attract to the show.

maybe they should offer vendors some sort of after party ticket to the vendor only area?

That would be the equivalent, wouldn't it?

Lets be fair, you guys take the band that all the vendors hate and we'll relinquish any rights to the after party.

sorry, sounds like we get stuck with multiple air hockey tables this year. Would happily take a band over that crap

I am curious how the bands will work this year in the new space???

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - if you really don't like it, don't vend. Gary and I would have no issues with that.

The fact is the vendors for years all begged to have us do something more in the hall to get people to return and stay in it multiple times. The bands were the solution, which contrary to your statements, many vendors have stated they really like. Some have expressed reservations about it...

So we created a tiered system to the vendor area where the vendors in the back closet to the bands pay significantly less for their space than the vendors up front.

With the exception of about three vendors a year, we've heard no other complaints about it. Either the other vendors have opted not to vend with us, which is fine, or they have moved to a different spot.

We sold almost exactly twice the vendor space that we did last year this year, so it doesn't seem we've shed a ton of vendors. There are lots of great shows though, and we have always said if we get it wrong, then we have to figure out what to do with the space. If, for instance, we had half our space still open and were told it was because of the band situation, we'd rethink it.

Not angry about it, but yearly you make it into something that no one else does because we've given everyone options, so I feel like it's worth explaining the options.

As for the after party, Gary and I were talking about this a while ago and I still remember what he said about it - the benefit of being a vendor is that you get paid by a ton of people at the show for things you took to the show. The game bringers don't.

That's really what it comes down to. There is nothing stopping a vendor from also bringing a game and going to the after party. There is nothing stopping a vendor from going to VIG (which, almost none do, even though we were told everyone wanted that).

We don't disagree that the vendor area brings in a ton of people. We do think there are built in benefits to it already. If you don't, again, no one is forcing you to vend. Enough people think what you do, and we don't have a vendor hall, and then we'll change something I'm sure, but most people seem to understand it, and it's never been a major issue.

amen!

So is the VIG surprise IMDN? I know it is.

That should sell any remaining VIG tickets.

Multiple vendors who want to do both have chosen this. It's not as easy to do, and I get that, but it's also actually easier to bring a bunch of GOAT Store than it is to bring a machine.

I will likely have 4-5 games there so a vendor unwilling to bring a game is not going to get much sympathy from me. The show is business for them and I help bring in potential customers by bringing games to the show that bring in people

WAT? Who is your source?

Also: hot damn if true!

Gotta bring my vendors, not everyone can buy a hitch, rent a trailer, drive 350 miles, have nowhere to park the trailer, and supply enough games to be worthwhile.

And not everybody can go to the VIG party, deal with it.

My point is

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sounds like they have created the option to buy a space in the love it area?

Dan’s Silence tells me I’m right.