CrazyLevi - Stern/Tilt sponsored and provided the games, Trent also specifically said he couldn't know if he was getting pros or premiums until he picked them up.

BKSOR was set up difficult, and had the shortest queues the entire event, besides Munsters. In all fairness, nobody blew it up until Alek did later in the bracket, and it was only him and Escher doing it. If you watch the stream, Jared and Colin struggled, as did every other person besides Alek, Escher, and KME

I very much agree with your sentiment, in this instance, it seems a little harsh of criticism. People whine and complain about long queues, removing the two BKSORs would have slowed down the whole event, nor did it seem like an issue until the few games on the stream. That said, perhaps they could have removed it before finals, especially with the stuck ball issues. Though maybe a tough call, that would have been unfair to Alek (though did Escher win on BKSOR in finals?)

Also, I personally found watching those matches pretty awesome... Alek particularly was next level, it was amazing. How he kept getting balls up top with an ever weakening right flipper... it was masterful!

It's mine, found it as a $725 beater missing a lot of everything. there is a back story here, but with a lot of time and effort and a hell of a lot of help from my friends we got it together in time for Expo

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Absolutely stunning!

Yes it was!

Hey there fellow Grover, I agree that room was very neat. He really created some awesome little machines and demos of the various pinball parts. I really liked the games he created too. That’s awesome that your little one was so interested in that. She may become an engineer in the future.

The work put in is amazing! I know some would criticize that it’s not original - but this is better than the original in my opinion!

@spinout : meet @markg

Expo was good this year, but the excitement was not as high as last year to me. With not a lot of “New” in the NIB catagory, with minor reveals by CGC, JJP, and Stern, there just didnt seem to be as much anticipation or FOMO anxiety as there was last year. I had a blast flipping the machines I had not yet flipped, seeing machines I have never seen before, and playing the ones that were working. I stepped up to the Scared Stiff they had sitting with the other two Elvira machines next to her signing booth and proceeded to rip it up and took it all the way to Scared Stiff and Monster Multiball. That felt phucking fantastic... put up a high score. I have to say, whoever owned that SS, it was spot on working all the way...

The new BKSoR with topper is just a wonderful sight to watch... and play. I played that machine too in the Marco room, put up the GC late Friday afternoon. My brother and I agree, we both like the topper, the game, and we now are scheming to get one without the wives finding out...

Finally flipped a Wonka... fun flipper, but not an immersive Willy movie experience. Feels like playing an adult redemption game in a way, or maybe it plays more like a slot machine...

There were a lot of vendors, but there were obvious missing ones too. A lot less tempted my wallet this year as compared to last year.

I went to TPF last spring and comparing the two, the concensus between the wife and I is this show was good, but it could have been better, and TPF seemed like a better experience this year than Expo, but this was our first year at TPF and our umpteenth Expo, so our experience is somewhat limited to campare the two.

Brought home a video TV mod for my Family Guy, but not much else. Saw some things that would have been great, but sadly when you fly to Chicago, bringing back a set of Bar stools is out of the question.

Lots of good fun was had by all...

As far as any real complaints, or contrasts, I will say this-

The people running TPF seem more keen on the fact that a lot of us pinheads are really fat bastards, and so their offerings for T-shirts and hoodies and wearable merch included sizes appropriate for us said fat bastards.

I was able to get both a T-shirt and a zip up hoodie from TPF in a 5xl mens size. They had every size up to 6xl in most styles, even after the first day of the show.

Expo had the max size of 3xl, but they sold out of the 3xl hoodies before they even opened the registration desk to sell them, they only had 2xl hoodies left when they opened. After watching the show all weekend and by simple observation, I saw the bulk of those 3xl hoodies went to staff and the inner circle, because not too many oversized regular folk were wearing them, but boy the oversized staff sure seem well outfitted... but this is moot since a 3xl would look like a extra small on me. The people doing the shirt and hoodie merch for Expo ought to ask TPF for some pointers, like preordering your shirts and hoodies in the right size when we preregister for a start.

Ok, that was my big gripe... everything else was pretty dope.

I was not at Expo but that TFTC looks amazing! Have any detailed pictures?

This was my first expo and I had an amazing time. So cool to meet everyone and play some unique pins. I met so many great people at the special when lit booth, thanks for stopping by to say hi

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Very cool.
I can’t believe seven years after finishing it that it made its way to a show let alone won anything.
Really incredible that you were willing to put it out there. I wish more people did that.
If you send me that plaque I will brand it with the HEP Logo and send it back to you.

You should have seen Expo a few years ago...it was really on life support. This year was the best (less reveals) that I've seen for some 7+ years.

Wishful thinking but did they mention if Bluetooth or WiFi would work on previous jjp games .

Expo was a good time- thank you to Rob and Co., and everyone else that was involved from the volunteers for setup, vendors, and those that brought games. Met a lot of pinsiders, played a lot of pinball, purchased a lot of parts, picked up a game. The Marco/Stern room was great. I really liked all of the Spanish games that were there. The troubling part of this Expo- Rob B brought what 50-55 games? That represented a large percentage in the free play halls. If he hadn't brought that many, the show would have really been thin on games. Will he be able to do that again- I hope so or the show is gonna need help.

Yes, they did, and yes, both will.

That's for sure. I went to most Expo's between 2004-2013 but stopped going because it had gotten so bad. I think in 2013 there were more broken games than working games in the free play room and the selection of games was poor besides Phoebe's games which are always great. It wasn't worth the 2.5 hour drive to go and play an hour or two of pinball.

I decided to give Expo another shot this year and glad I did! It's a complete 180 now. Awesome selection of rare games and the game quality is way up from where it was. The new Stern/Marco room is awesome and the vibe just seems better overall. Glad to have two great semi local shows (MGC and Expo) again!

A few years ago there were only a handful of games in the vendor hall, now there have to be 40-50 that can be played (outside of GAPs), and the Stern room had another 30? A few years ago, yes that would have caused a very low amount available, but even if Berk didn't bring as many, there still would be plenty.

Excellent , thanks Ted .

I'm pretty sure I heard that Rob B brought two semi-trucks full of games and the number was over 100. That's one of the big reason's that the show is improved. Since he is the show organizer I'd have to imagine he'll continue to support the show with this games in the future.

My first expo was 2016 and the vendor area was pretty weak. I was finally able to make it back to expo this year and was quite impressed with the turnaround.

Thank you to all involved for turning this show around!

Expo was an outstanding show. This year was the second year for me, and while last year was great this year was even better. My only comment would be, that many of the vendors I talked to were frustrated. Last year the hours of the vendor hall were minimal, that was corrected for this year and was much better. However while the Marco/Stern room was awesome, many of the vendors felt like it pulled a lot of energy out of their space and foot traffic was low comparatively. For some of these small companies making the trip is expensive, if they aren’t able to sell product they likely won’t return. I definitely don’t want to see that happen because it’s great to talk with them in person and get hands on their products.

For sure there were more in the vendor hall, but it didn't have the same hours as the freeplay areas.

I could certainly see how this is a correct assessment.

Reality is, not everyone will be happy. There is always some give and take. I was happy to see expanded vendor hall hours, not only good for the vendors, but those buying parts and supplies.

In my eyes, the Marco/Stern room should have been next to the vendor hall, so that all of the free play games would have been next to the overflow room on the other side.

Thank you again for the show and look forward to attending next year.

I hear 140+ Berk games? Granted many of those were the non-working games.

Hopefully he can get a team to get many of those fixed up before next year. That was pretty much the only blemish I even saw this year. Lots of cool games and glad he brought them, but about 40% of his games were either not working at all or not really worth playing.

If more of us brought games, Berk wouldn’t feel the need to fill the room with “place holders”. I realize lots of attendees are from far away and can’t bring a game. And some are physically unable to move their games anymore. But a lot are close enough to do so and haven’t. Asking one guy to bring over 100 games, is a lot to ask of anybody is all I’m saying.

This was my 8th straight year. The 30th anniversary felt like it may have turned things around, but it turned out to be more of an anomaly, and the show continued to trend downward quickly after that. So much so, that I considered discontinuing our group tradition and seeking out a different show, or just giving up on a fall trip altogether.

Last year I attended Expo tentatively. I wasn't sure what the fallout of the rift was going to be. It turned out better than expected. The show immediately had a more organized and professional feel. This year it surpassed my expectations again, and for the first time in a long time I feel comfortable saying Expo is trending up.

The Stern room was long overdue. Why, as the biggest pinball company in the industry, would you not have all of your currently available machines represented to pretty much the only people on the planet willing to pay for them? The room itself was setup well, and Friday had a good DJ. Saturday I was kicked out because I didn't have the right wristband. I could stay in the room if I wanted to pony up an extra $40. That was a minor annoyance, since I don't recall that being very well communicated. Some people were pretty upset about it, but I didn't expect that the room would stay open past the vendor hall anyway. I was pretty burnt out by that point, and was ready to hang out in the room to wind down.

I think the lack of announcements kept a bit of the buzz down this year, but it was a very high quality show with plenty to do. I've blocked off my calendar for next year.

We had a TAF in our booth, donated by Rob, that I had modded. It was flawless throughout the show and never got beat on (we made sure of that). I took down the GC on it, two tours of the mansion in that game. Wish I hadn't of sold mine.

Fun show overall.

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Thanks to you and to everyone else who stopped by with nice things to say. This was the first time I've taken the Fun With Pinball exhibit to Expo and wasn't sure what to expect. The response though was pretty enthusiastic including this nugget:
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I didn't take any pictures during Expo though so if you took a compelling photo you'd be willing to share please let me know offline.

/Mark

Agree. Not sure how Rob can plan for announcements or lack of them, but his team (and family who ran the tickets) were very friendly and helpful. I know there is always communication that happens below the water line that we don't see, but from an attendee's POV, the show has rebounded well.

The one complaint I have is that the ExpoBrawl is no longer running. That was nice for those not playing the main tournament.

Yes with proper dongles
Ooops already answered Thanks Ted

very true but this is a for profit show and the incentive needs to line up with the effort for others to bring a game.
I would have liked to share a game but my schedule made it tough. I also did not plan on attending more than 1 day this year, but may do so next year now that i see the rebound is in full effect.

Agreed! This was sorely missed and would also be a big add for next year. Honestly has always been my favorite thing about expo.

Please keep doing so, so many kids (and grownups) were amazed at the behind the scenes look. Those wide eyed kids will be tomorrow’s pinball engineers, they are the next generation of pinheads. We need to keep the hobby alive!

Absolutely x 1000.

I’m not privy to the p&l for expo so I have no idea what they can do, But there needs to be more to get the quality games in. Just spit ballin here but what if in addition to the current incentives, they provided a catered lunch each day. Prob only cost $7-8 per owner per day, but stuff like that might tip the scales for some. There aren’t THAT many owners bringing their games. More, higher quality games, will only bring in more people. Would seem like a win-win. Also, what was the cost to ship his games in? Would it have been better and easier for him to increase the rewards for game bringers? Again, would seem like a path of lesser resistance.

I dont know what the answer is, but I do know the private MGC party has always been a big enough incentive for me to bring multiple games (al be it, slightly less incentive when I see non-game bringers in the party)

The opportunity to hang out with just those that bring games, drink a beer, and play into the wee hours in 'our' very own private arcade of mass proportions is super fun!

This was my 10th Expo and IMO it was the best so far... that being said, I have a couple suggestions to tweak future shows.

1. At the main hall junction, consider creating a TALL sign post with labeled arrows in all directions. I think it would tie the show together.
2. A PA announcement every hour or so mentioning the different show room locations.
3. Move the Vendor Room Entrance back to the side hallway for better traffic flow to Rob, FreePlay Rooms & haunted booth.

Missed this- sorry.

Here is an interview for anyone interested:

https://anchor.fm/pinballnerds/episodes/Episode-285--ChrisThePintern-Chats-With-Damian-from-Haggis-Pinball-About-CELTS-e7uq1e

If there is interest, I’ll stream gameplay in Texas.

Glad to see/hear people are enjoying the thirty seminar recordings.

The only reason there's no subscription/contribution button is because I don't want any money.

I've attended Expo since 90, and this was my 6th year bringing games. I should have started bringing machines years ago as it t is a blast.

Ha! I tried very hard to give you some during the great job you were doing with recording the seminars. You definitely earned it! Much appreciated.

Was this thing ever turned on? I walked by it a lot and never saw it on. Looked like lots of fun.

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I never saw it on. Did look interesting tho...
That brand of compressor likes to blow breakers, wonder if that was the problem. I have one, and it’ll pop a 20a breaker by itself if it’s cold out.

Agree in theory, but I've yet to hear a PA in any hotel or convention center that is understandable. Even when it's audible, words get lost in the echo & din of a show.

Love your idea for the tall signpost, though. I bet at least half the attendees this year didn't know the Spanish/auction/overflow room existed.

Didn't play it this year, but it's been appearing sporadically at Expo since at least 2001. More neat/cool than fun.

Expo was incredible this year. It was great getting to meet some of you and talking pinball. Looking forward to the next one... and Texas... and MGC and any other I can talk my wife into letting me attend.

Nashville then Pincinnati. Start kissing ass!!

It was really loud and the hotel didn’t like the compressor in the hall or by the door. With a quieter compressor it would have been a fun experience.

Yeah, but when Todd came over the PA on Saturday his golden voice was like sipping Hot Buttered Rum on a brisk Autumn evening at Sunset.

Damn, I just might do that right now!

We all had a great time! Got to see all kinds of people near and afar. Stayed at hawthorn down the street and I think we’ll do that again. Saved a ton of money, money that was spent in the vendor hall wanted to buy some chrome candy shooter rods, but they weren’t there. But I did bid on and win 3 in the auction for less than two would’ve cost so I’m quite happy. Some really cool stuff in that auction, a t2 translite that hung in Williams office for instance. Played a lot of pinball, ate at superdawg, met Elvira, talked to Todd, overall a great trip.

Thank you to game bringers, and staff for putting up with us. Everyone was real nice.....