OMG, Lou malnattis. So good. I haven't had that in more than 10 years. True story, I once scheduled an overnight layover in Chicago on purpose on a CA->FL flight just to eat this pizza. Yes, it's sad, but the pizza is that good.

Hardtop booth.

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So he's still the highest score. He said he would sell it for $3k obo. It has to be removed from hotel by 4pm Sunday. Breaks down into 4 pieces and is 13' long.

Let Me know.

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Vibe is good this year. Without Pacak's flintstones and hercules pins in the hall, and the same 20 unsold translites on the wall as you walk in the vendor room it felt fresh (and Rob Berk bringing in games from his collection helped). Beyond the freeplay room (yes there were a few games down), there was an overflow of pins in the arcade room (and not just homebrew), including a gorgeous skateball. I'd like to thank galloping ghost for bringing some odd titles like crazy climber 2, and Mikie (I remember playing this game at my 7-11 as a teen).

Archer did play differently than iron maiden, the shooter lane seemed to run right into the small flipper (I think the game was out of level to the left). Definitely needed some polish.

Oktoberfest playfed phenomonal
Mafia played decent, good sound. Going to be a hard sell at $7500 in this market
Monster Bash (even the CE version) looked and played great

I'd like to thank whoever made it possible to play these games for the first time:
Kingpin (Circus maximus)
Spinal Tap (retheme of flash gordon)
Gottlieb Spirit (berk?)
Williams Defender Pinball
Rat Race

Opening the vendor hall at Noon or so on Friday might bring in more folks that are within a couple hour driving distance... I would have probably came down Friday for the afternoon if the vendor hall was open in the afternoon.

Well, got my pic with Todd Tuckey and bought a pin. Now in the spooky seminar.

Bobby Orr Power Play by Bally

Anyone in/helping run the Classics tournament, could you tell me how Argosy is setup?

As in number of balls, drop targets difficulty, etc.

Just like the idea of putting mine at home to the same settings.

Bobby Orr Power Play by Bally
Ah, that was it. Thanks. It was a great machine, someone did a killer job on it.

Big Thanks to GEX for organizing the meet and greet at Twin Peaks. Although, I think they need to change the name of that place to “Muffin Tops”.

here's my take on Expo...

Security. i much prefer the "pacak security" to the rent-a-cop people there this year. They were unknowing, and frankly, weird. Having people with guns and tasers at the doors was just strange, if not un-nerving. I miss richard and the guy that manned the free-play room. That situation with the groupon guy would have never happened with the old crew (that had been doing this for 20 years.)

Games. The free play room really wasn't any different this year. About the same amount of crap/broken games (25% i would say). Some people really make an effort, some clearly don't. A lot of the junk/broken games were Berk's. He did have some nice games (that row with Spirit), but they were not in the free play area (in the vendor room.) We counted 170 pinballs in both free-play rooms. If you take out the 60 that berk brought, the numbers were about the same as in prior years. Not having Pacak there really didn't seem to effect the free-play area numbers. I guess it made Berk step up, but i'm not entirely sure that really helped. Making Butterfly Girl move her games FOUR TIMES probably didn't help things either.

Vendor hall. A LOT of really nice games there. American Pinball should be thanked, did they have like 20 of their games in there?? (Oktoberfest was pretty damn cool too.) You couldn't play all the vendor games, but the presence was really nice. As for vendors i didn't really see a big change there. Maybe a little. The ball bowler guys was a nice touch. (I do think that was Berk's game for the ball bowler contest, and St.Louis ball bowler did bring the other 2 games... just a hunch.) Mayfair came because the timing worked out with York show and he got to stay with Chance in Detroit and then drive to Chicago. Good to see him, it's been a long time since he was at this show. All the custom home-brew guys were moved out of the vender hall and into the video game hall. which brings up...

Video games. I'm sorry, i don't get this. It's a pinball show, not a video game show. Admittedly, i'm not a video guy. But if you removed all the video games and moved the home brew guys back into the vendor hall, that room would have been totally un-necessary. I tried to play a few video games, but they just piss me off.

Home Brews. Pretty cool stuff. Hot Rods and Nightmare and Archer were my favs. Archer went down though, and didn't seem to come back up for a long time. The Nightmare game was well done, as was Hot Rods

Seminars. I usually go to these, but not this year. I tried to view a few, and was just bored to tears. I think with the audio downloads the seminars have become a lot less important. So that was probably not a big deal to miss. I will check Pinball News and download. I bet they are better when i'm driving in the car opposed to sitting in the room.

Tournament. I helped a bit with this. I like that ipad tourney system. People seemed to like the game selection. A lot of smiles there. Trent seems to do a nice job with that.

Pinball Life friday. Very nice as always. I like the ticket format done this year and last. Otherwise it's way over crowded. A very nice event. Just wish it was closer to the show.

Summary. Overall i didn't see any big changes to the show this year. It's Pinball Expo, it's a nice show, as always. Little things different, but pretty much the same expo. The lack of Pacak made it feel different. Not better or worse, just different. Some people had problems with him. Personally i never did. So others may have a different opinion of that situation. I missed the guy. The show was more boring without him. And i miss Richard and that old guy that did the free play room.

My wife and I had Groupons and had no problems at all. We arrived just before 6 PM, registered, got wristbands and enjoyed the games and vendors. A highlight for me was the vendor selling lite up, side back box art and inside cabinet art. Monster Bash remake is great.

Just got home. We can argue about games, procedures, and venue ad nauseum. But bottom line is EVERY pinsider I met was friendly, gracious, and a pleasure to be with. So for pinside and it’s pinsiders. I mean it. You guys make the hobby.

I thought the video game room was a nice add-on. For the reason that it brings more families. Maybe dad loves pins but the kids like retro arcades. This way the whole family attends and that’s a win in my book. Maybe those kids look over and see a pin in there and give it a try and get hooked. And that’s how we continue as a hobby. There were some real dandies in there though, turkey shoot by Williams for example.

The vendor room I thought was great! Lots of pins, lots of parts, lots of mods. I hope the vendors made some money and had fun.

The free play room...ya there were some off machines, some less than in perfect function, but I really want to thank those who took the time, effort, and money to bring great machines. Thank you! It’s your machines we will remember, not the dark ones.

All in all we’re very happy to have been there. See you all at mgc!

The arcade room also pulls people from the other areas and keeps them less crowded (same way MGC does). I think it worked out really well.

In the bottle.... where it belongs

I went Thursday and had a really good time. I have been going to expo since 2009. Not as long as some but almost 10 years.
I thought this years expo was good. I thought the vendor hall was great. Vendor hall definitely had more to offer than years past. Stern, JJP, American Pinball were well represented. Loved getting a chance to play KingPin, Mafia & Octoberfest. Lot of distributors had games. Many companies had great booths. Got to play Alice Cooper at Rob Anthony’s room.
I was happy with the FreePlay areas. Thought the selection was good. Yes there were vids but there were 2 rooms not just one room like in past years. Thank you to everyone who took the effort to bring games.
Looking forward to next year.

Your groupon says it expires October 19th, wouldn't that have been at midnight? 3:30am would October 20th. I made that mistake with a plane ticket once, flying out at 12:05am from Vegas, I showed up a day late! I apologized for 5 minutes and still got on the flight without having to pay because there was space though.

Did he win it and did he sell it?

No because I bought a daily ticket for Friday which includes access to the 24 game hall until the next morning, there was no stipulation that wristbands needed to be obtained during specific hours, or that any other process was necessary. You could buy a ticket for eac of the three days, so even if I had possessed a ticket for each of the tree days I would have been screwed without a wristband.

Show was kick ass.
I don't care who you are but if you show up anywhere and I mean anywhere at 3:30am and expect to get into an expo, a bar, a hotel or whatever....something is usually not going to go as you planned. Simple as that. Shit happens. Drink a brew.

6th Pinball Expo attended. You could tell there is a different captain at the helm. Everyone (vendors and volunteers) seemed a bit happier. Vendor hall was really improved. More games and different vendors. Plus the flow of the hall was much better.

The games brought by Berk were (mostly) in great condition, especially the Catacomb. Thanks to everyone else who brought them.

Just need to bring Pinbraw back and the show will go on. Will return next year.

Just got back. I loved the video game room. Kudos to Galloping Ghost for bringing a ton of rare games. Such a diverse and unique lined up - I had the opportunity to play some amazing games!

But you didn't arrive Friday, Friday ended at midnight, you arrived on Saturday. Your groupon was expired.

But, yeah, I get what you are saying, even if you had a non-expired Groupon the guard wouldn't have let you in, their website info doesn't reflect the reality at the event. It seems like they have two choices for next year, have registration staff 24 hours a day or update their info online to say you must pick up a wristband before the registration desk closes.

At our show, security guards work for the venue, not the show, they only check wristbands, and similarly wouldn't let you in with a printout of a ticket purchase. I'm guessing it was a similar situation, I wouldn't blame the guard or the police, they were doing their job. I have to think when you were showing up at 3:30am with an expired Groupon, the idea had to cross your mind that maybe there would be no one to let you in.

I couldn’t agree with this more.

Yes.

Considering that over the previous 7 years that I can count there was always someone from the Expo watching the 24 hour games hall, not a rent-a-cop, there was never an issue was access at any time from when it opened Thursday to the close Sunday.

Thx!

This was my sixth year and by far best Expo yet

I wanted to thank the Expo staff for going out of their way to support the Custom and Homebrew community by giving us such a large booth and the full VIP treatment all weekend. It was nice to see so many custom games in one place and to introduce so many people to that side of the hobby.

Sorry to anyone who could only come on Saturday and missed out on Hot Rod - I had to be back in Toronto by Sunday so I had to bug out by 3pm on Saturday. But it was awesome talking to everyone and I thoroughly enjoyed the delight and surprise when people discovered "that random Gottlieb" was actually a fully-modern custom game!

The Line up

Poor Hot Rod, no one realizes you are custom

On the topic of Expo itself, I thought the overall vibe was better and more positive. The show itself was not substantially different in terms of content or setup than previous shows, other than the new video component (which I liked). Not having that black cloud rolling around on a scooter, plus the upbeat show staff and well-oiled machinery made for a great experience.

I'll agree with Clay about the seminars, though, but I think the internet has ruined those in general. Also no major announcements other than Oktoberfest this year but that's not the show's fault.

Departing pic of the north parking and load in-out area. 835am.

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Anyone want to split a ride back to O'Hare around 10-11?

Didn't make it down to Expo this time.

But appreciated seeing all the nice parking lot photos posted.

Thanks

Another Expo in the books - friends, fun, food... what I am missing? That's right, I think pinball machines although they receive the least of my attention. I would like to thank everyone who took the time and effort to grab a Team G/JDRF Superdawg flyer before heading over there. All-weekend it was great to hear people talk, post pictures, and see them being used. I hope everyone enjoyed their food and will post the amount once I have it. Thanks again, once again showing that this 'hobby' is a large family, sometimes dysfunctional, but always willing to step to the plate to help.

Brad

My review:

Staff was awesome. Load in game crew was helpful and appreciative.
Registration was easy and friendly.

The room guards were generally fine. One OCD guy totally flipped his mellon because I had all three wristbands on (just kept putting the new one on, never taking the old one off). He demanded I take the old ones off before I could walk into the room. No problem. I took them off and three them away, but his modus operandi was somewhat control-freaky.

The show hours were weird. Not having the vendor room open until 6 on Friday seemed odd.
I knew that I wouldn't be able to check on the game I brought after the secondary vendor room opened (I had other plans and wouldn't be around), so I saw the room opened and decided to go in to make sure it was in working order for the night. I was told I couldnt walk in, because I wasn't a vendor. Mrs Moore explained that I wanted to check on the game I brought to make sure it was working. Still told no. So I left and didn't come back that night. When I checked on it in the next morning, it was indeed not working, and I don't know how long it was out. This is a situation that should be fixed, imo.

The game room....there were about 20 games in the 24 hour room that never worked, or were never on. I'm probably being conservative saying 20. I didn't mind the video games. It was cool to see so many legendary games, even if I didn't play them...

vendor room was really nice (best I've seen at a pinball show), but opened just too late on Friday.

I was worried that I'd have an issue trying to get my game out early in the morning, but I met Mrs. Berk who was up early, got the room unlocked for me, arranged a silly for me, and made the experience quite enjoyable.

Nice reboot. I'll be back.

yeah wtf is up with that, feels like security is a avid pinsider!

This was my very first expo, so I’ll give my rundown and a noob. I purchased a groupon for Saturday and had no issues validating it and getting my wristband. First stop was the main vendors hall and thought it was done very nicely. Was neat seeing the new Octoberfest pinball and getting a chance to play it. Same with the Monster Bash.

Second stop was the autograph area and a quick pic from that creep Todd Tuckey. Wish he had more books, but they had sold out. The main game hall had some fun machines I hadn’t played in a long time. Made me realize how much I love Whitewater. As has been reported, there were quite a few machines down or turned off. The arcade area was similar with machines turned off or non working.

I was unimpressed with Steve Richies seminar as I would have preferred him talk about pinball history or something more related than his comedy show. George Gomez’s seminar was pretty interesting.

Overall it was a cool experience. Ended up buying a pinball machine and had a good time. Will definitely go again next year.

Then I am not the only one who saw the same thing. This was my only issue with Expo this year. Otherwise, it was a really good time.

I thought the vendor hall was much better than the last 4 years for sure and it was a huge improvement, The homebrew room with the arcades was a great room. The 24 hour pin room was one of two problems for me. Lots of duds / never on games.. next year Ill bring an old garbage picked non working EM and park it there for 3 free days of wristbands.

And to agree with several other posters.. this is a "trade show".. Ive been to many trade shows and once the have opening night (Thursday for example for this expo), then the next day is a full day... Friday should have been open all day, especially since Sunday was axed ( which was a good idea).

Fix the 24 hour game room duds and open up Friday at a reasonable time and it would have been amazing.

It would be perfect. However, I would believe the 6pm Friday opening has to do with the Party at Pinball Life. Lot's of these vendors want to be able to head over there.

Quick comments only attended Thursday. Vibe at Expo was positive like others have stated. Parking lot pics are cool but need to take those in the evening, where parking was hard to find. Vendors to be thanked for bringing some really nice examples of games set to freeplay for all to enjoy. Sincerely hope they made good money. Cointaker and Marco may have chosen wrong year to skip.

Really nice to see American Pinball bring so many games to support the event. Makes sense, right? Hometown manufacturer supporting the local show. Which leads me to Stern. Some side discussions on wtf? Why doesn't Stern bring their factory arcade to the Expo for people to sample their great product and then post a list of distributors from which to buy from? Great that Stern was well represented in seminars, etc. but disappointing not to see greater presence with their games. I'd love to see an all Stern lineup of greats for people to sample. Maybe next year. Galloping Ghost hats off for bringing games.

All in all nice show. In the end, a show is only as good as the people. Pinheads rock.

Loading out, great show! I thought my Honda Fit was cool then parked next to this guy taking it to level 100.

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Expo was great. This year was huge for expo.
There were so many great games this year and the vendor hall was packed this year.

Will be asking Santa for a bubble hockey for Christmas as my son and I played an easy 10 games on it. It was awesome. I told everyone to give it a try. Awesome game.

My only complaint was the St. Louis Ball Bowler company wouldn't let my son play the ball bowler. If the high score is 255 for your tournament which is about 10 strikes, the $10 entry fee seems a bit much to pay for a casual play. My son asked the vendor to try the ball bowler which he never saw before that day. A nice guy would offer my kid a single throw to make a kid happy. Instead my son was turned away and left pouting because there was a "tournament" (even though I only saw the vendors playing it all night).

To those who complain about the free play room I will comment from a person's perspective who actually brought games. I was there before the show setting up and after the show tearing down. We had several machines in free play.

We constantly monitored the area and immediately fixed anything that broke. I witnessed others do the same throughout the duration. There were only 3 games I can think of that were off for the entire show. One of them I watched the guy work on at least an hour trying to get it running. Obviously he didn't use it as a means to cheat the system.

In years past people would bring broken crap and not even set it up. This show was definitely not that. Stuff broke. People tried. Some didn't make it unscathed but it wasn't for lack of effort.

There were several games turned on that wouldn't start a game too. I appreciate the people who work hard keeping their games running. I noticed!

That's interesting. I guess one's experience depended on who happened to be watching the door. I went to go check on my game, and the person initially stopped me. I told them I wanted to make sure my game was still operational, and they happily let me in.

This is my first year going to the entire show and bringing a game. I can’t speak much for other years where I was only there for a few hours.
I had a great time. A special thanks to Rob, Rob, Dave for giving us home brew guys the VIP treatment. The move to the additional hall was a good move. We got plenty of foot traffic and it was quieter. The game could be heard and we had no problem with conversations. A lot of people talked to us about our games. Was a pretty steady stream of people. The need for he move was my fault. The decision to have two games was made about four weeks ago. We lobbied others and was given the pleasure of a couple more joining us. By the time we arrived we had plans for 6 games and poster and jwilson demonstration. David was quick to give us as much space as we needed.
The only things I would like to see fixed was the security staff didn’t realize the vender hall also had games that needed repair. We need to get in and boot them fix and also stay after. The second day the staff was much more friendly as they saw us on our games. Just an education point for next year. And I was dissapointed berserk didn’t work. Insane boards on top and wires disconnected inside. There should be a power on rule before rewards are given.
I had a great time. Was awesome to see the reaction to ghost in the shell and greyhounds along with the other games. I have a lot more friends and aquantaces.

I couldn’t even get a pictures without a conversation going on. Ha.

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how was overall attendance compared to last year?

You do that for one kid, you do it for all of them. Pay the $10 or don't. Not everything has to be free play.

Attendance way down I'd say. Parking lot never full until 6pm and after. Took no pics due to darkness. Plenty of room to wonder around in Freeplay rooms and Vendor hall. Seminar room was never fully seated. Tourney area never hard to walk through.

I'd venture a guess most people didn't even know about the second freeplay area with the videogames in it. Rooms by me on the 11th floor were never occupied. Very easy to get in an elevator to yourself.