I posted idea in the other threads. Please read them there. Summary:

Vendor hours need to be changed. Locking down the vendor hall during prime time is probably the reason that that stuff got stolen. There was more valuable stuff there besides a translite and lamp shade, so probably just a normal person pissed they couldn't get in after paying.

Promotion is obviously bad and not capitalizing on the popularity of barcades.

Incentives for people to bring more games.

-c

Maybe don't give out wrist bands for games. Give out 1 day vouchers. Each day the games need to be registered and cards collected once the game leaves? The bad side of this is that it's another reason for people to not bring games.

All games are really for sale for the right price posted or not.

There's a number where you would sell it. It may not be a reasonable number, I've turned down some crazy cash for restored games, but there's always a magic number where I would have said yes.

Does the free play room need to be open all night? Maybe I'm old but after 2am I'm done.

I'm not opposed to combining the free play and vendor spaces like other shows but shutting down halls based on when those vendors and game bringers want to run to.

-c

Have a courier make a few parts runs during the event or the show? Maybe just bring one of every part on a board and say, I can bring x amount of these over on the next run.

From expos past one of the issues was that Terry was cheaper than all other vendors which caused some grumbling. There weren't that many vendors there selling new parts besides the guy who usually vends with Mayfair. Of course buying new parts is not as cool as kicking around odd junk which every show needs more of. Nothing beats the Ramada show where Kirk weaver had rows and rows of projects and junk to sift through.

Maybe someone would bring more games if they wouldn't be on for over 48 hours straight? Newer games it's not that much of an issue, but older games with flakey glasses... Again, not stopping me as I brought all I could logistically bring without renting a truck and I didn't bring games that were that rare.

I believe that Mike has tried this with the hotel and they didn't want any part of the outside flea market.

i agree with this. I also am fine with games where the owners know where a game might have an issue and need to be worked on being placed in that room. If i didn't get more burn in time with Meteor at Terry's party to know my repairs (and Korn's testing of the Driver) was solid then that would have been a good place for it.

-c

This helps encourage more games as well as gets that money in the hands of vendors. The only loser here is MikeP who would have to cough up money to make this happen. This would have to be offset by other incentives to get more people in the door to make up for this short fall, or a rise in costs somewhere else.

I think advertisements at local barcades (posters, beer coasters etc) will help bring more people in the door and people at expo would be able to buy these items if the art is done well enough. look at the art for PATZ by sexy elephant or whatever that guy's name is....awesome stuff. shirts sold out, posters sold out, someone i know bought the art at auction....twice. MGC also has the swag going on, shirts, pins, posters, all done well and there for you to buy with cool hip relevant art. I know expo had hoodies for sale for 35 bucks but IMHO 10 buck Tshirts that cost 5 bucks to make will double your money faster.

-c

It would be cool for all of us to team up too on ideas. i.e. can we bring every classic stern game? every sega? every GTB system 1? and line them all up end to end in cronological order? set things up in more of a museum fashion where it would be a sight to behold.

-c

It would be cool to have every steve ritchie game or lawlor, or steve kirk. For designs that didn't make it into production perhaps we could have a framed picture of the whitewood or cad drawing.

We should also promote whomever is getting into the pinball hall of fame. We should have done this this year with every game Lyman was credited on. I'm sure it would have been a great photo op for him to take a picture in front of.

This is all just stupid shit that pulls shows together, helps us all team up on dumb projects and work towards accomplishing silly goals. I'm in

It takes communication. and we're historically shitty at that.

-c

I'm kinda eh on the band thing. i feel that volume is hard to control and you want to be able to talk smack with whomever you're playing against . The one year at the ramada, or was it the radison? they had a band and everyone scattered. this was tried later at a following show with a DJ with the same results.

-c

I think if there was a room with all 60s, 70s or 80s pins and have the music from that era played it would be pretty cool if at a reasonable volume. I went to Emporium saturday and instantly felt too old, didn't play one game and just spent 30 minutes trying to hear what the people i was with were saying.

Oh yah and the DJ couldn't beat match for shit and did weird things like go from NIN to Toto. terrible. cut A-Ha 'take on me' off at the best part (before the dude gets out of the comic).

-c

Maybe we need a check box to click that we acknowledge that the VFW hall is the best show for games before anyone can submit a post? /s.

-c

so if i get injured at the best pinball show in the US i can new get the best medical care on the planet and then recover with the best most diverse restraunt food? whoa doggie!

-c

So we're calling being senselessly bludgeoned plugging now?

I'm still waiting for the Dominos world pinball EM championship.

-c

Dude, you brought it up again . Now you have to sacrifice children to the vfw Boag volcano.

-c

We have a black squirrel in our area (only one I won't shoot). None of the other squirrels want anything to do with him .

FYI I don't shoot children even though they aren't the future of pinball and like to chimp flip.

-c

There's a reason we aren't in the "other" league

The pinball Olympics stuff is no joke. There's no way the hotel would take out a set of doors and take that stuff through on a fork lift.

The vortex 1.0 was a champ. You did that in what, 2 weeks? Insane.

The Pinball Olympics is amazing. You think shopping a game is hard? Jay welds superstructures together that spin, turn and dangle on top of having a great collection. I don't want it to get deservedly hyped and crowded though, so maybe your hand will hurt too bad from all of the high fives. or perhaps you may have a seisure or something.

-c

anyone have a link to the Doug/Jay treadmill chalenge?

-c

Does that make sense without moving the banquet? Seems you would be hurting both to satisfy a complaint.

After Pat's "Pinball is dead and you're all going to die" speech and Boag (famed expired Kordek Flexi-snack consumer) no longer going to expo the banquet could no longer be that awesome ever again. It should have ended there with that as the curtain call.

All of the events of the banquet make sense and could be fun in a less formal, more A.D.D. supporting format. The current format takes forever, takes itself too seriously and really is not all that fun. The idea of the banquet is a good one, it just needs more of a reason to go.

-c

what about swapping the 2 rooms and put all parts vendors in the small room that may have stuff that could get stolen as it's easier to lock down. The larger room would contain all games for sale, free play, velvet roped, etc. The only thing that sucks is that the Larger room would be farther from the loading dock catacombs. The other downside is that some game retailers have parts for sale that would need to get packed up at night.

-c

Yes don't watch it, i am a terrible actor /facepalm. I think it's in the BBB TGOM episode.

That banquet was magical for us but everyone else thought we were hooligans that should probably be thrown out.

Forksucker to the rescue! <shines cake shaped bat signal into the sky>. Seriously if i could groundhog day that expo i would, it was just awesome all around.

-c

Johnny Cage style?

It was pretty funny listening to that speech and realising that he wasn't talking to me in any way.

LION..el Richie! Should sing us a song about how awesome our friendship is.

-c

Wasn't the hall open all night Friday? you could have stayed up all night .

I'm the old guy saying that i would be fine if they shut the whole thing down at 2am, i know there is demand for all night play but by that point i can't put 2 shots together to save my life and i start losing Washingtons at an alarming rate. well until VEGAS! .

-c

I think Andrew is handling the suggestions and pitching then to Mike. This might be the best for it to come from one person instead of reading through all these pages.

Maybe permanently ban everyone who did not have fun? Take a snapshot and tape it to the wall.

To move that amount of fun to Expo would be silly.

-c

I had no problems working on my games but this year we had everything spaced out a little more. I'm not sure the solution to fixing games in a crowded game hall is to put games on a penguin cart and roll them around. Games are going to croak for various reasons and there is no avoiding this, that dead game can be a table for a while.

Having a penguin cart available would be very useful. If i can get my game out of the row safely when it is quiet and have time to repair it properly that would be good. Having repair cards for games would be helpful saying what is wrong and why a game is off would be cool. I had to run back to my house for a GTB EOS and a coil and i could have written it on the game. Maybe someone would see what an issue is, see the write up, and remember what vendor had XYZ part and save the game owner the trip.

I might be able to bring parts from home if i see what is needed on a game.

-c

Security is already kinda whatever, now we need folks to super check everyone to make sure everyone is in the right place and has the right credentials to get in whatever room? eek.

The banquet auction goes to make-a-wish.

I would want my money going to a charity that doesn't spend 90% of it in "overhead". If i know this is a case and whatever i do will be wisely used, then i have no problem donating whatever incentive i get for bringing multiple games to this.

-c