Actually free play room was only 114 pinball machines as of midnight. Of those, 24 were turned off and not functional (many of those were off from 6pm when the doors opened).

Last year i think there were 145 games on thursday at midnight.

Vendor hall was about 60% capacity of last year.

Disappointing but also expected.

I am looking forward to PBLife party

Looks like Jack saved Expo this year.

Maybe rename to Jackspo

Jjp had the kind of drop mic presentation they should of had last year. With no reveal and a ton of issues they are really on their heels.

TBL is the greatest missed opportunity I can remember... its almost tragic to see the game and the manufacturing situation lingering on. Honestly who is going to buy one now? I love the movies so much which makes it hurt even more.

The vendor hall was at 95% capacity yesterday. For the love of baby Jesus Whysnow, if your going to continually bash expo at least stop making shit up!

Went last night and stayed for about four hours. Free play room had a lot of new titles (Apollo 13, Twister, Special Force, Monday Night Football to name a few). Yes, a bunch of them were turned off, but I plan on going back with my son on Saturday so I'm hoping the issues will be resolved and we can dive in. And Big House is for sale now! Might have to start negotiating with my wife on that one...

JJP's reveal was amazing. Was never a fan of the PotC movies and I'm really over Johnny Depp now that he has decided to throw his hat into the political ring. Having said that, the game looks amazing. Only played one ball on it as the overwhelming stench of B.O. was just too much for me to take. Seriously guys, deodorant. Look into it. Anyway, my ball lasted a whopping 15 seconds before draining, and what do you know? NO BALL SAVE! Ugh. Hopefully I'll get another crack at it on Saturday.

Spoke to Mike for a minute or so. Seems like an okay dude. Didn't have any issues with him.

Vendor hall was solid. Lots of pretty games to play including Houdini. The inverted flipper mode really messed with me (hold flippers and they go down, let go of the button and they flip!). Spoke to Paul at Circus Maximus about Pinball Circus. He says if there is demand they will make it. I asked him for his definition of "demand" and he said if they get requests to make 100 of them, they will do it! Shoot, I bet there are 100 guys on this site alone who would buy that game! Said they should have the second whitewood done by Allentown. Very cool guy and was really passionate about the project. Also said they are looking in to remaking Kingpin!

Had a really great time last night just by myself. Obviously things will be different with my son attached to my hip, but I'm glad I get to finally take him to his first Expo. He's only five but has been playing since he was just over two years old.

Hope everyone else had as much fun as I did. I think Expo gets a bad rap around here due to a few unfortunate episodes. Maybe take a deep breath and I don't know, get over it?

Not sure where the 60% number came from. The room is packed with games. Lots of variety and lots to play.

Shout out to whoever brought those minty Safecracker and Monster Bash machines. Takes a strong pair to leave those beauties unattended like that!

good lord. must have been something.

It was my fault. As soon as Eric opened it up for the games to be played, I was one of the first to make it up to a machine. The first four of us decided to start a four player game. I was player #3, and it was elbow to elbow crowded. Played my ball, and got the hell out of there. I'll try again when I'm not so crammed!

Really? I kind of agree with Hilton on this one, the vendor hall had less vendors that were more spread out to make it look more full than it really is.

Honestly, $30/day for Expo is kind of a ripoff now.

I was there last night and the vendors room was not 95% filled. There was some open spots and it was a lot more spread out. All the vendors do not show up on Thursday night. Tonight will be really crowded. Same with the free play room should be filled up tonight.
The Free Play gets so crowded on Friday and Saturday nights it's like trying to play pinball in a subway car during rush hour. Expo needs a larger facility. Nobody enjoys a over crowded game room. I doubt Mike will fix this. This why some shows keep getting bigger and this one keeps getting smaller.

I see SKitB is giving away key fobs at Expo

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I was surprised that someone brought in a BM66 SE and has it for sale in the free play room (make offer is posted). CRAZY! Surprised that there was no Metallica pins.

TA was fun to play at Pinball Life, Houdini was fun, JJP POTC was fantastic to play. Already spent too much on pinball stuff in the vendor area, but gonna buy a few more things. There are some "deals" with some vendors if you ask. Tell them what you are interested in and if there are multiple things you want, they "might" cut you a deal.

Pinball Life today for the party, then back to expo.

I have some of these left for $30 (no booth), if anyone wants one. Listed in the Expo classifieds on the site. PM me if you want one.

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PM sent!

Love the high score rule

What is the point of having games turned off and not playable at a pinball show? Nothing like paying 30 bucks to get in to the show only to find out there are games on the floor that are turned off. Kinda makes it hard to decide on wheather or not to go when I see posts like this this below...

"""""Went last night and stayed for about four hours. Free play room had a lot of new titles (Apollo 13, Twister, Special Force, Monday Night Football to name a few). Yes, a bunch of them were turned off,"""""

Congrats on the Stargazer! If you do not mind sharing, what did the Stargazer cost?

Marcus

I've had to turn off my games at MGC in the past. Things break down, I try fix them ASAP but it is also hard to make repairs during show hours.

No Marco in the vendor hall this year

I'm looking at the vendor area and alot of the space looks like pins rather than vendor merchandise. The booths are definitely more spaced out. Listen, there are less vendors. It is what it is.

Is there an overflow room for free play? There was a few years ago. I haven't seen the need in the last two years. Outside of the JJP reveal, it doesn't appear that I missed enough to warrant the cost to attend. I hope Friday and Saturday is better for all who attend.

Yeah last few shows I went to Marco's presence was pretty reduced. At one they literally had a laptop to order stuff, a banner, and a couple pins.

My quick synopsis of my 6 hrs there last night: once again, these are MY personal opinions, so don't get all bent out of shape if you don't agree.
Plenty of games available to play, and it seems like more "A" list games like Monster Bash(Pretty sure there were 2 there), Safecracker, Creature, and so on, available to play.
Houdini was a ton of fun to play, and I'm considering making the plunge. Well put together, and a ton of shots to make on it.
Star Wars, although it's my dream theme, is a pass because I'm not sure Stern could make a less interesting game if they tried. Completely disappointing. You can trumpet the "the game doesn't have to have a bunch of stuff on the playfield to be fun" call all you want, but at some point you have to take a step back and realize that there's no way Houdini/POTC2 and Star Wars should be anywhere near the same price.
I was surprised at how much fun Batman 66 was. Might be interested if they ever decide to update the code.
Pirates JJP looks fantastic, but when I watched the gameplay, I unfortunately felt like it'll feel like the Hobbit, which is also a beautiful looking machine, but plays too slow for my taste. That being said, the line was too long to play, so I might feel different when I get a chance to play it.

And lastly, a quick shout out for everyone who brings games to the Expo!!

My 2 cents...

We're you driving to Expo this morning!?

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Has anyone played Dead Man's Hand yet? Feedback?

No Great American Pinball this year, thankfully.

Sorry I do mine lol.....but it's my grail....and the stitches where I had my kidney removed for it will be a nice reminder.

Hey if you love a game it's well worth whatever you paid and whoever you had to do to get it!

Is that true on all TBL or just this one? I hear people complaining about the code not being finished. Wondering what exactly needs finishing. This the reason I'm flying out to Expo tonight. Haven't been able to put my hands on this game yet and need to justify 14 grand.

^ big mistake. the one in coiintakers booth was unplayable. kept breaking. lol was standing in line

My bowling alley works fine, I don’t know why they would bring that tired prototype to a show

Went for about 4 hours last night. I agree with the assessment of the vendor hall, spread out, filled, but filled with machines from JJP and Stern(not a bad thing), but vendors selling project machines, parts, and lots of the other good stuff, GONE. One aisle was basically tables put together to take orders for JJP games. So yeah, while it looks full, it's deceiving.

I thought the FREE PLAY room was decent. Been there years with a lot less, been there years with a whole lot more. Very disappointed with the amount of turned off machines or barely playable junk that was in there. If you are going to bring an EM for the free play room, I would at least appreciate if the flippers were strong enough for a ball to actually hit a target? Some of this shit is brought to get 5 days worth of a wrist band, who cares if it works.

Next year I think we need to start a soap & deodorant booth, because there are a few that were just ripe. There are showers in the rooms and your homes. Use soap as directed!

And lastly to the jerkos playing 4 player games by themselves and swapping between WOZ & Dialed In while my wife and I were patiently waiting for nexts, fuck you.

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They stand like a couple of twat waffles, too.

My theory is that a-holes act the way they do because no one has called them out on it. Or they just may be ignorant to how things work. Sometimes I get angry enough to feel obliged to bring them to their senses. In this case we read about it and see their picture. Should have spoken up if it bothered you that much.

They need to be called out on that shit..

What's wrong with overpriced crap?

Legitimate question because I don't get to many shows and haven't been to expo in a LONG time but aren't the days of those kinds of vendors being at shows basically gone from all shows now? I think the internet has basically made it to the point that it's probably a lot easier and cheaper for Pinball Life, Marco, Titan, Comet, etc. to stay home and fill orders rather than truck or ship a bunch of product to a show and man a booth selling to the attendees. ColorDMD is a good example, he only brings pre-ordered product with him because it's too costly and inconvenient to haul and store a bunch of expensive (and fragile) kits and then dealing with hauling back whatever he can't sell there.

Maybe I'm getting my terms confused but isn't that called 'docking'. Could be wrong but seems to fit.

I was with my wife and I am not subtle about shit like this. If I was there alone, or with buddies, I 100% would have had some common courtesy comments for them both. Being with my wife, I wasn't going to cause a conflict on the floor. I love the fact that my wife wants to participate in my pinball follies, and I don't want to spoil that.

Besides, where else are you going to enjoy homemade hillbilly backwoods Kentucky moonshine apple pie shots with Kitsch!

Live from expo at 2:22 Friday. Fwiw.

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nobody seems to be talking about Pinball News' awesome coverage of thursday's buffet! here you go.. though i may have mixed up the caption with it's proper picture.

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Was that you in the Madison Pinball sweatshirt, shitfaced, walking around with a can of beer in your hand last night?

could be mistaken but I don't think he drinks beer

Don't you just hate it when those pesky adult responsibilities get in the way of your pinballing?

You know, like work?

Is it Saturday Yet? Will be down at 8:00AM, and looking forward to a great day of pinball!

Could be one of his cronies? Who wants to admit to it?

I'll have some extra Pinball Juicy Hop Pale Ale with me at Expo tonight (most of this is going to the Stern O Rama tonight at 830pm). If you introduce yourself to me (I'll be wearing a gray Adidas hoody with a small Two Brothers Pinball Pale Ale pin) Ill be happy to share a beer with you (provided you are of age). Looking forward to Expo tonight.

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Only one I've ever seen or played so I have no idea, but it was a prototype so I would expect a few glitches compared to a production model.

200 people were at the PBL party.

All crowded together like a herd of cows I bet.