For y'all saying the games need to be there an on longer, easier said than done.

The MGC is shorter, and we still have a bunch of trouble keeping games there the whole time... but I get it. We make incentives for the longer you keep your games there, but we also don't overly penalize people for removing the games earlier. This year, I was able to make it to Expo on Wednesday only. Made an offer for a machine. If I got it, I would have had to go home with it, taking it off the floor and away from play. Which would have sucked for those who were there, but if it was the only chance the seller had to sell the machine, wouldn't it have sucked more if they were told they couldn't sell it to me because I couldn't take it home?

Why would I as a buyer want to go to Expo until Sunday otherwise? If that's all that I'm going for, it's a disincentive if I can't take the game with me.

Don't get me wrong - I want machines to stay at shows as long as possible, but it really isn't just looking at it from the standpoint of wanting there to be more there. You have to look at it from all sides, and in that case... it's a tough nut to crack, and one that we *always* look at with the MGC. Having a four day show makes it even harder to keep them all there all the time.

I love Expo. I get why it is when it is, although that makes it really hard for me. If I had one wish, it would just be to change the dates so I could better attend, but realistically that's a bad option. Beyond that, I get why the hall closes Saturday night for the banquet. If you keep the free play area open, there really will probably be a considerable number of people that don't leave it otherwise, and the way the balance works out that is really important to consider.

Any show is tough to run. I can honestly say that I've greatly enjoyed *every* Expo I've been to, and that it *always* has some nifty things to offer attendees that other shows don't. While I understand the frustration that people have with some parts, I think at the end of the day it's been working for nearly 30 years now, which proves that the show has been doing something great for a long, long time.

Re: Banquet...

Here's the thing... I've never been to the banquet. When I first started going to Expo, I didn't even know it was there. I was completely new to the hobby and just happy as hell the show existed. When I finally understood, I was either working at a theme park and required to work that weekend, or holding the Haunted House that I still run to this day - and what always makes me not be at Expo more than a night lately.

BUT, Expo is different then every other show. Expo is *the* industry show. Yeah, that might have had a better ring when there was 4 different companies duking it out back in the day all there with complex booths, but it still is an important to me at least about setting Expo apart. The banquet is a big part of that. I can't tell you how many goofy-butt awards dinners and things I got to sit through in the theme park industry.

The fact the public is invited to it is really cool. I would love to attend. I know many people that have, and they say the same thing - it's unique.

You really can't move the banquet. Move it to Friday, and you run the risk of killing business on Thursday. Breakfast ain't enough money, and it isn't the usual time for an industry event to happen. I never went to a 'theme park award brunch'. Move it earlier or later (Thursday or Sunday), and you run the risk of not enough people being in town to make it a success.

I think that the banquet is a hugely important part of Expo, and honestly - an important part of the industry. I get why people don't like it... but that is why Expo is four FULL days long - because there is SO much else to do. It isn't a general public show and it never has been. It's THE industry show. And because of that, it operates differently.

As I've said before, the thing with Expo that makes it tough is that if they eliminate the industry things that have been there forever, it will alienate a large portion of the audience, and who knows if there will be enough made up by the 'general public' to cover for it. For my part, I obviously like having 'general public' centric shows too, as I run one, but there are things that Expo does and can be that I could never do with our show unless we change our focus completely... and quite frankly, Expo already has a monopoly on doing that right.

Again, I wasn't there much at all this year, but I love Expo *because* it lets me sneak a peek into the 'behind the scenes' of the industry. I LOVE walking around the show and running into industry vets I know from the MGC - it's usually Roger Sharpe and me actually getting time to catch up, this year it was me and John Popadiuk having a short conversation. I love (and missed this year) always seeing Steve Kordek walking around as happy as could be for at least 10 years, and only regret never talking to him myself. I have played more ultra rare games at Expo thanks to my going - Kingpin, Pinball Circus, Jolly Park, Nemo or whatever it is, a whole bunch of unreleased protos, etc - that NEVER go to other shows. Usually, I play about 10 minutes of pinball and spend 6 hours talking to friends. It's awesome.

It's different. I love it.

On this topic, I was there on Wednesday night. I got a name badge from Expo this year for hosting the MGC. Awesome! I figured that it was all I needed to go around the halls - Only free play was open...

I got stopped and asked where my wrist band was, and had to go back and get one. Mike comped me (thanks again Mike!) , which is what I thought the name badge was but I got found without one on very shortly after going in there. I would imagine the same thing would happen to you if you tried entering without a wristband some other day...

No rain. Just freaking snow. Sometimes.