Indianapolis, IN
Now THAT is how you throw a party !!!
THANK YOU Terry, Margaret, and all of you who helped.
Already counting the days till the next one.
(Topic ID: 139248)
Quoted from beatmaster:here's my picture, is that centerflank in the lower right side?
man what a blast it was!pinball_life_2015.jpg
Yes, Centerflank kept the free beer flowing, and that was NOT an easy job!
Thanks Terry, Margaret & the PBL staff for the Open House.
Food was great.
I didn't stay real long but was nice to pickup my preorder stuff all nicely packed up and head out. Wish I could of stayed longer.
Beauharnois
Quoted from Aurich:Hard to make out with the way the photo is blown out, but it looks like it.
aurich saw you talking with the colour dmd guys at expo, i was playing GOT, then turned around and couldn't find you. i wish i could have said hello.
Quoted from beatmaster:aurich saw you talking with the colour dmd guys at expo, i was playing GOT, then turned around and couldn't find you. i wish i could have said hello.
I'm a ninja like that! 
Sorry I missed you man, always happy to meet people at Expo.
Here are my couple of pictures, all blown out in red because we had the "sexy lighting" going in the VIP lounge.
I had a great time. The place is packed every year because it's a great party. It's great to meet up with everyone and Terry and Margaret really go above and beyond with this open house.
As for playing machines, I always see an event like this like a book signing or sport autograph event. There are 1,000 people there waiting to meet [Insert Celebrity]. You're going wait an hour or two to get maybe 30 seconds to say hello, get your book signed, maybe sneek in a selfie, and then move along. You're at a big party, you get to play a few machines, maybe see a game you've never seen before, and then move along. You've got to enjoy the big picture, the event, not just a single aspect of it.
Also, while it definitely sucked that a dozen sheets of playfield glass were broken, the sound of 40 sheets of tempered glass crashing to the ground is an essential ingredient for a great party. I helped clean it up if only because I felt guilty for thinking it was kind of awesome when I heard the giant crash. WHAT..THE...HELL...WAS...THAT!?!!
I was so busy and having fun I went light on pics, have to be better next year, luckily there were plenty of Apron of Destiny pics taken. 
Quoted from dkpinball:Also, while it definitely sucked that a dozen sheets of playfield glass were broken, the sound of 40 sheets of tempered glass crashing to the ground is an essential ingredient for a great party. I helped clean it up if only because I felt guilty for thinking it was kind of awesome when I heard the giant crash. WHAT..THE...HELL...WAS...THAT!?!!
IMG_4050.jpg IMG_4053.jpg
I was with Terry at the exact moment the unmistakable crashing sound took place. We were both like: "Holy Shit". At first, I thought maybe it was part of the attraction,,,,
Quoted from Dewey68:Whomever brought the Pinbot, just wanted to say that it looked awesome. I'm not big on LED's and mods, but that blue "neon" strip along the ramp was sharp as hell!
I thought the same thing. here's a blurry photo of it
pinbot_blue.jpg
Quoted from centerflank:luckily there were plenty of Apron of Destiny pics taken.
Oooooh yeah, I rubbed my balls on that, so it's probably worthless now. 
rd
Quoted from rotordave:Oooooh yeah, I rubbed my balls on that, so it's probably worthless now.
rd
Who didn't rub their balls on it?
Quoted from MrBally:I was with Terry at the exact moment the unmistakable crashing sound took place. We were both like: "Holy Shit". At first, I thought maybe it was part of the attraction,,,,
I was waiting for them to finish loading the glass on the dolly so I could throw a trash bag out and then the Glasstastrophy happened, it was so dark there and I was 5 feet away and it landed on He-mans sons leg, I thought it was styrofoam at first but then came the loud shatter. oops......gotta pull those sheets out slow as they kinda stick together..... 
Quoted from Aurich:Who didn't rub their balls on it?
I didn't not rub my balls on it.
Thanks to all who came out to our Explosion party this year.
Yes, it was packed. I'm kind of surprised anyone would expect it to be different. Free admission, free pinball, free carny rides, free Svengoolie, free food, and free beer. Yep, that's a party people just might show up for!
A staff of 23 people worked hard before, during, and after the party to make this event fun and unique. My sincere thanks goes out to each of them for a job very well done.
Charlie, Kayte, and the whole Spooky gang were great and we had a lot of fun having them involved this year. The auction was amazing and it raised an unbelievable amount of money for their charity. I believe it was worth turning the games off for 15 minutes.
From reading all the posts I see a few attendees did not feel it was worth the trip. I am sorry to hear that. My warehouse is only so big, and buying a bigger one to use for just 6 hours a year doesn't seem like a good business decision. I suppose I could start charging an admission fee, but then I would be the a-hole who USED to throw a free party, but then began to charge. I could also make it an invite only party, but then I would be the a-hole USED to invite everyone, but then made it exclusive.
This leaves me only 2 options; stop having the party or keep having the party and develop a thick skin about any criticism. I choose the latter.
See (most) of you next year!
Terry.
Terry the only thing that sucked about your party is you were so busy I didn't feel like I should interrupt you to get a chance to meet you.
Everyone I talked to had an absolute blast, it was full of super cool people. Scott had the best job, manning the smoke remote.
Huge, huge thanks to everyone who worked hard to make it happen. Absolute highlight of Expo, don't let anyone tell you different, you and your whole team rock.
Quoted from Aurich:Huge thanks to everyone who helped jump our car afterwards, ton of super friendly pinheads down to just help out.
At the end we had a Tundra with a Street Fighter II in the back roll up over a curb to get the cables to the battery.
Ha! I had no idea you were part of that crew.....i was part of the Tundra crew. Our pleasure to help, We leave no pinhead stranded.
Quoted from foureyedcharlie:Ha! I had no idea you were part of that crew.....i was part of the Tundra crew. Our pleasure to help, We leave no pinhead stranded.
Yup! Wasn't my vehicle but I was the designated driver. You guys saved us waiting an hour for a tow truck. 
Quoted from Aurich:Terry the only thing that sucked about your party is you were so busy I didn't feel like I should interrupt you to get a chance to meet you.
Should have taken a number.
Quoted from epthegeek:Should have taken a number.
I succumbed to Trophy's heavy hand on the gin instead!
Quoted from Aurich:I succumbed to Trophy's heavy hand on the gin instead!
That's how we mix in Wisconsin, lightweight!
Quoted from centerflank:That's how we mix in Wisconsin, lightweight!
Actually the only tragedy was I said I'd drive back, so I had to cut myself off.
I'm amazed that Terry and the gang not only throw an awesome free party, but somehow manage to improve it every year. No idea what they'll dream up for next year, but I'm sure it'll be cool. I only managed to take one photo, Charlie & Svengoolie mid-auction with bonus Ryan Claytor sexy stair pose:
We had a super fantastic time at your Explosion Party Terry! Your team was awesome. Everything appeared to run butter-smooth and well orchestrated. ...other that that humongous crash. When it happened, it got real quiet for a second and most everybody around the IM pin had that "WTF?" look on their faces.
You are such a super gracious host and we really look forward to partying at PBL again!
Best
Pinball
Party.
Thank You,
Steveo & Connie
Terry, Margaret, and the Pinball staff, thank you sooooo much for a great party. The food, beer, games, and pinhead guests were super. I enjoyed it very much. Don't let sour folks criticism get to you. I 'd like to see if any of the critics would even think of venturing to host such a magnificent event.
Again thanks for all you do for our pinball community.
Quoted from epthegeek:I was the guy manning the LIONMAN for the party and telling you to move back or you'd hang head down. Happy to help Terry throw that party in any way I can.
My daughter was one who probably played Lionman about 20 times. It got to the point we just told her to go do whatever knowing that's where she'd be.
Quoted from FawzmaGames:My daughter was one who probably played Lionman about 20 times. It got to the point we just told her to go do whatever knowing that's where she'd be.
There is no Lionman. There is only Lionman.
I have one complaint actually... After all the free beer and food I could possibly handle, I finally got my first game of GoT in. I had been waiting all day for this moment but by this point my skills had severely diminished. That's when I foolishly took on a mid game bet and lost a dollar to,whom I shortly discovered, was Mr. Ben Heck. Formal complaint filed " too much awesomeness."
Quoted from simplykind:I have one complaint actually... After all the free beer and food I could possibly handle, I finally got my first game of GoT in. I had been waiting all day for this moment but by this point my skills had severely diminished. That's when I foolishly took on a mid game bet and lost a dollar to,whom I shortly discovered, was Mr. Ben Heck. Formal complaint filed " too much awesomeness."
He made a run for Tums and a cat yoga calendar so Im thinking he might have had a little "skill diminishing" aspect going on as well!
The only bad point of the day is when my new, temporary crown cracked/shattered when eating a chip (not PBLs fault)...my dentist was out of town for the weekend and I had to deal with a stub of a tooth with a very sensitive nerve exposed until Sunday when she returned. That being said, I was having too good of a time to leave and nurse my wound, so I stuck it out, ate food on the left side of my mouth and sipped 'beverages' VERY carefully to try and numb the pain.
Quoted from centerflank:That's how we mix in Wisconsin, lightweight!
'Round these parts that's still just about halfway to a regular "O-Din" though... 
Quoted from yancy:Charlie & Svengoolie mid-auction with bonus Ryan Claytor sexy stair pose
I was doing my best to woo Zitt. Unfortunately, he only had eyes for Svengoolie. 
Damn! That was a sexy pose, too!
If someone didn't have a good time there. they're crazy. what a blast. Terry was so busy the only way I talked to him was buying parts.
Quoted from centerflank:So Terry, seems like you are always adding on to the building to make the event bigger/better.....what do you think about adding one of these for next year?
84dc29ab.jpg
I have his sweet photo of you arm wresting Nimblepin, it looks like Nimbles eyes are about to pop from his face Total Recall style.
Out of kindness to NP I won't post it. lol! I'll show you it tomorrow nimble, you'll crack up.
rd
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