I met with Doug from The Game Room Guys and was told that they would bring some games as a vendor. I don't know which Stern games they are bringing yet but will announce as soon as I hear.

Gary from Abel Electronics will also be there with The Hobbit.

VFW Showcase would like to thank Gary and Doug for their support and participation.

Scott

Well, whoops.

Still awesome. Itll let me see how the sounds are supposed to be on it and see how mine is messed up.

Headed to the show Saturday and am super stoked for the new Zac's this year. If anyone coming has a Flash Gordon for sale or trade I'm looking for one, possibly vector but really hoping to hunt down a Flash Gordon

Nik, theres one at,a bar by my house that i believe is from dr scotts pinball and probably for sale. Played good, but i dont know a price. Probably high since its retail. If youre interested i can check it out for you

Are there Any tickets left for any of the days that are still for Sale ? ? I can't imagine there are many if any left...

Thanks

Friday and Sunday are still available. See the link.

http://vfwpinball.com/?page_id=179

Picked up some tickets for Friday. Can't wait to play all the Zac's.

Both Friday and Sunday are very very close to sold out and most likely will be by show day. Saturday sold out weeks ago.

Buy your tickets now before you get shut out.

There will be no ticket sales at the door.

Doug D.
(VFW Member)

Please print and save your paypal receipt!
Though not absolutely necessary, it helps the check in process at the door.
It is ideal to show your receipt at the door in order to get a wristband for the show. Have photo ID with you too (this prevents the same receipt being re-used by multiple people.) If you are buying a ticket for someone else, please indicate their name in the Paypal in the “Add special instructions” section of the Paypal order.

So excited to see this place and meet some of you crazy Michigan pinheads. I'll be up there all day Sunday. I saw "cooking hotdogs in the canteen" mentioned somewhere. What is the food (and beer) situation for the show? Anything available to purchase? What are the beer rules for the property?

Minimal food options available. If like last year then I suggest packing a lunch to have more options. If you like the food at the little shack then it is good for 1 meal, but likely best to have something else for the second meal of the day. Gotta keep your energy up for pinballin

Thanks. I'll bring some food, then. What's the skinny on the beverages/rules?

pretty sure you are fine to tailgate in the parking area so long as you are respectful. Clay or one of the guys can chime in.

Seemed pretty relaxed vibe in the parking lot last year for those that were responsible and smart about their partying.

Sounds reasonable. I've occasionally been known to be responsible and smart about my partying (when Gryszzz isn't around me).

definitely no food or drink (of any variety) in the buildings where the machines are. I'll let one of the seasoned members chime in for the other rules

Yeah, kinda like the rules in a museum, huh?
I would hope nobody would want to bring food or drink around a collection like that.

I think you will find the food options have improved.

As far as beer goes, there will be no beer for sale.

The first year of the show there was a nice restaurant and bar really close that even had a pinball in the bar. They were even going to send some girls down to promote the place, but as luck would have it, it burned to the ground the day before the show.

We opened up the outlanes on the Strikes and Spares by the way!

Them Canadian guys are always tailgating just fine.

lol, dont worry I will never play a game in that zen of a way ever again

"trufflepiggy" is correct.

I believe that between the “VFW Snack Shack” and nearby restaurants there are plenty of food options. "Football style" tailgating is perfectly acceptable. There is no beer or alcohol sales at the VFW.

For more "upscale dining" options:

5 miles north (8 minutes away) at Lee road:
Buffalo Wild Wings
Olive Garden
TGI Fridays
Johnny Carino’s Italian Grill
Jameson Irish Grill
Kerby Koney Island
Panera Bread
McDonald’s
Wendy's
Subway

2 miles South at M-36:
McDonald’s
Arby’s
Burger King

Doug D.
VFW

Trust me that you WONT want to leave to waste time getting food! Come prepared and spend as much time at the show as possible!

It only happens a few times a year and it really is a treat. Time playing pinball is better spent than traveling to eat

That's the plan. I'm not driving 7 hours round trip for a 6 hour show to go looking around town for something to eat. Hell, I may not even stop playing pinball to eat at all and just have breakfast on the way in the morning and dinner on the way home in the evening.

Did not see that plot-twist coming...

Oh well, we can always hope PattyJ makes an appearance!

Probably the best food nearby is at Weber's Inn.

Actual food fit for humans, and it's only 31 minutes away in a city called Ann Arbor.

Webers-4_(resized).jpg

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Webers_Inn_Hotel_Ann_Arbor-Ann_Arbor-Michigan-b28667c3f93049fe81bb4dc15ec74e3b_(resized).jpg

My brother (who lives local to VFW) took me to this place last time I was there, very close, pretty good, relaxed, and reasonably priced.
+/- 3 miles from VFW

http://www.captainjoesgrill.com/

Yes, I've been there. It's normally about 3 miles (4 minutes) away. However some smuck truck driver knocked down the 8 Mile Road bridge over US-23, so now it's a 15 minute drive around Whitmore Lake.

D'OH!

Haha I knew you'd love that place...such the old peoples hang out

if people are looking for Cow to eat, Knights Steakhouse is the place to go.
http://www.knightsrestaurants.com/

Heavy poors and the best beef in town. There are plenty of places to buy steaks at 2 to 3x thee price, but of course they buy all their beef from Knights. The Jackson location is more towny, and the downtown is newer and hipper. And next to Takashi Yagihashi's Slurping Turtle.

Oh is that what happened?

I've been to the Ann Arbor Knights, it's good.

I like good food, service and atmosphere.

If I wanted to eat with a bunch of clowns, I could go to Outback.

Well, technically MDOT knocked down the bridge. The truck driver just F***ed-up the steel underneath.

semi-truck-crash-closes-bridge-us-23-70b393a677ee0daa_(resized).jpg

Oh don't worry, we actually just got a Texas Roadhouse here recently. Boy I used to think Outback was full of clowns too...jesus this place is a saddle riding nightmare.

Ahhh thanks. One day it was just gone and I didn't know if it was the usual construction shananigins.

Oh geez. Saw that one popping up around here about a decade ago. It's a house, by the road, in Texas... Texas Roadhouse! BRILLIANT IDEA SAMMY! CALL THE NEON SCULPTOR!

Never eaten there before, but I strive mightily to avoid these types of cheeky chain dining establishments. Could it be worse than those Harley-Davidson theme restaurants? What do they serve there? Tanned leather steaks? Quaker State oil milkshakes?

"Lifestyle marketing" (i.e. ego pandering) has grown to insane levels in this country. Ferrari alone derives 35% of their annual profits from licensing t-shirts and tchotchkes with their logo... amazing, no? Perhaps we'll soon see a riding Harley-Davidson lawn mower w/massive chrome exhaust pipes: BRUHPPPP-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM... cut grass like a real man! Cut the living s**t out of it!

OK, joke time aside, I will be at the Ann Arbor shindig a few days early. Planning to see Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum... and... uh... hmmmm. Not really into the touristy stuff. Anything fun going on up there midweek?

Well the best part of Texas Roadass is they've invented a really awesome one of a kind app, the "Cactus Blossom." What they do, is cut an onion so it spreads out and then they deep fry the WHOLE THING...OMG it was amazing and so original.
But anyway the ONLY good thing is free peanuts in shells there and you can throw the shells on the ground like a slob...and that's the "only good thing." If it's your birthday, they bring a frikkin saddle out and you have to get on it while everyone yells or spits on you or something...garenteed to have 9th birthdays a day in that place....but I shit I don't have you tell you your from Texas!

I don't know what there could be to do around here that a big city wouldn't have...Other than like sports and junk...Tigers game. Or head into Detroit and eat some coneys.

Hahahahaaa people still sell those things? Chili's once sold a version called the Awesome Blossom before removing it from the menu "due to health reasons". Wikipedia says it contained 2,710 calories (of which 1,827 was fat), 194 grams of carbohydrates, and 6,360 milligrams of sodium. The equivalent of eating 67 strips of bacon.

*barrrrrrpppppp* keels over

They probably have to keep a stock of body bags in the back for all the kids who have nut allergies these days.

Yes, Outback right next door with their "Bloomin' Onion."

Huh...yeah I didn't even think of that...NO WONDER THAT MEAT WAS SO CHEAP!

We packed Subway and enjoyed discreet adult begs on the tailgate. They did have a simple menu at the "shack". Grabbed supper on the way home. Regretting not going this year......

...OOPS

GREAT news!!!

Save room for the Coconut Snowball desert. Trust me on this one.

For me, time permitting, I try to stop for food at Zingermans Deli in the Kerrytown area on the north side of downtown Ann Arbor. It would be amazing if they had a food truck they could park at the VFW for the weekend.

I do Knights more than Webers Inn as the price is right. Weer's is more for birthdays & anniversaries. Only thing I don't like about Knights is that they don't serve their hot roast beef during the evening. Only for lunch.

Looks like the show is sold out for two of the three days. There's always 2017....

My buddy Matt lives in the Livonia area and owns/runs Matt & Mo's food truck. They serve awesome authentic Chicago style food. Look 'em up, they're pretty good. I could contact him and see if he can make a stop, if it would be OK with the powers that be.

Yikes, we're just over a week away from my favorite weekend of the year. Even though I'm only about an hour away, I'm planning to stay down for the whole weekend. Thanks Marriott rewards!

As for things to do around the VFW museum, the annual Motor City Comic Con is going down the same weekend. Very much worth a visit if you're a nerd. Huge expo with dozens of vendors and tons of B, C, and D-list entertainers. www.motorcitycomiccon.com

We're getting close enough to start getting ballpark weather forecasts! Unfortunately, it's not looking too good at the moment. (I'll be camping!)

Here's the weather.com forecast as of 5/5:

weather_(resized).png

It's Michigan, the weather changes by the hr.

They are lucky to predict later today's weather let alone next week.