You got to meet Sam Harvey in Pomona CA, as he has a vast collection, of not only pinball machines filling his house but also flyers/brochures and other pinball related paperwork (i.e. schematics and manuals) and binders and binders full of other stuff. He is a pinball encyclopedia.

He is old school, so you can only reach him by phone or post mail,
he does not have internet access.

You need to come to pinball expo in Chicago in october Thats where pinball all started . its the biggest and most complete pinball show on earth .Has the most to do..SAM harvey as well will be there Not sure about going to see SAM as you really cant see much ..Most of his machines are somewhere else He is very interesting and you could interview him at expo

donovan stepp operates a route in the denver area, and is one of the most well known tournament players. super chill dude, who was already in the doc special when lit. definately the guy to talk to if youre in that area. i think his handle on here is DNO but could be mistaken.

tim arnold who owns and maintains the pinball hall of fame.

bowen kerins, lyman sheats, rick stetta, all world class players who would probably love to talk.

and of course the sharpe family: zach and josh and roger. perhaps the three most important people to the world of modern pinball for a list of reasons so long i dont even know where to begin.

Once again most all of these people will be at PINBALL EXPO as well as many many other pinball industry people AND tour of new Stern plant AND many many uniqiue machines Make your reservations now..

Visit Gerry S. in Austin, Texas.
Creating a whole new pin gaming platform & his boards are used in tons of new pins & pin mods.

http://www.multimorphic.com/

then, you can come check out my home arcade

I would go to Pintastic New England which is New England first Pinball convention I think: http://www.pintasticnewengland.com/ While you are there I would certainly go to Pelham, NH (about 1-1.5 hour drive) which has over 100 Pinball machines: http://www.pinballwizardarcade.com/ If you really have time you could always go further south to New York City. Not only is it NYC but they have quite a few arcades/famous people there like Steve Epstein: http://www.modernpinballnyc.com/ They got the Silverball Museum across a bridge in New Jersey as well: http://silverballmuseum.com/

I would certainly go for the east coast of the USA though as it's cheaper, better for you mentally/physically, and you have more time to enjoy stuff rather than flying or driving. The Pinball Hall of Fame will probably be mentioned here but it's on the west coast in Vegas. It's a great place but it's also very hot in July. Also Jersey Jack Pinball is located in New Jersey.

Several of the museums are great BUT you will never beat the expierence at PINBALL EXPO in Chicago

If you go to Denver, 7 hours south you can come to the MEZELmod shop in Albquerque. We have 11 machines and have a first hand look at our manufacturing facility.

PHOF in Vegas would be a good stop.

Do a segment on Neil Nicastro and how he hated the Pinball division so much at Williams, that not only did he close it down, but he refused to sell it to any other company.

It was important to him that it was dead.

True most of Sam's games are in storage and at the PPS pinball ranch in Hollister,
but his house is still stuffed to the gills with pinball and other stuff.
He may only have about 10 pins set up to play, but has about 50 other cabinets and heads and parts
stacked to the ceiling in 3 other rooms.
Expo is a great show, but it is in October and not July like the OP stated as the likely visit to USA time.

CA Extreme in San Jose Ca is on July18&19th I think.

USA Pinburgh
July 30th - August 2nd 2015
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15222, USA.
Now part of the ReplayFX show featuring over $100,000 in total prizes and more than 700 pinball and arcade machines.
WPPR points available
PAPA Circuit event

USA Pintastic New England
July 10th & 11th 2015
Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center, 366 Main Street, Sturbridge, MA 01566, USA.
Open Friday noon-9pm, Saturday 9am-8pm.
WPPR points available

USA Southern-Fried Gameroom Expo
June 19th - 21st 2015
Atlanta Marriott Century Center, 2000 Century Blvd NE, Atlanta, GA 30345, USA. More than 200 arcade, pinball & console games. Open Fri: 4pm-12am, Sat: 10am-12am, Sun 10am-4pm.
WPPR points available
PAPA Circuit event
Top

USA Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown
June 12th - 14th 2015
Denver Marriott South at Park Meadows, 10345 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124, USA.
WPPR points available

USA NW Pinball & Arcade Show
June 5th - 7th 2015
Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402, USA

sorry I missed the july thing Yes replay fx will be great as well as ASbury park museum which is close to He could always come to my house rob berks house and Ricahard Lawhurst house between us like over 200 machines set up AND i have over 15,000 sq feet of pinball parts flyers schematics and manuals MORE paper than anyone on earth BUT yes SAMMY does have alot I also have thousands of translites and hundred or more back glasses

Austin, Tx. - largest pinball arcade in Texas, tons of collectors, original pinball games being built,...
Houston, Tx. - awesome pinball & arcade event, arcades & tons of collectors
Dallas, Tx - larget pinball event in USA & tons of collectors

"tons" of collectors, custom games being built, new pinball platforms being built & giant pin events
(even bigger than chicago events),
(texas sized).

here's a real pinball map of the USA. hope it helps

map-of-Texas-in-USA-2.jpg

2nd this!

Did you make it to the The Pittsburgh Open 6 this past weekend? I just got back to NYC a few hours ago and it was an incredible weekend. An astoundingly awesome bunch of people there who ran it for PAPA. Anyway, if you are coming to NY there is a Tue-Thurs league at http://www.modernpinballnyc.com/league/ in midtown Manhattan that I do and you just missed the end of this bar league that I also take part in. http://www.pinballnyc.com/

In this new day and age, unfortunately, being a vagabond, is frowned upon.
Not impossible, but you are likely to get hassled a bit more, if you do not have
a proper place to sleep or park.

image-11.jpg

This might be kind of a hokey suggestion but nearly every WalMart in the US allows free RV/van camping overnight. I have spent a lot of time vanning, and it's true that in many areas it is hard to find a legal or safe spot for whatever reason. They don't advertise it but WalMart has a nationwide ruling about it...it is always well lit and free and a safe oasis. Obviously not a beautiful camping setup lol but it costs ya zero and the cops leave you alone. Just kind of a fun tip from one vanner pinhead to another It has helped me a time or two and very few people know about this rule in my experience.

PS I despise WalMart for anything abd everything else but that's another story

Be careful who you park next to.

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/crime/2015/04/24/police-activity-closes-turner-rd-near-cascade-gateway-park/26309743/

While a lot of America is "packin";
it is still relatively safe here,
but just keep your eyes open and be aware.
If you smile, most people will smile back.
If you make it to the NorthWest (Oregon) drop me a line.
cheers tom

If he'll participate, I think bangerjay should be part of this
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-olympic-stadium

If you go to Chicago, you should also go see the Pinball Ninja at the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum. It's about a 4-5 hour drive from Chicago.
http://vfwpinball.com/

Chicago is pretty close to Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota. We have a strong pinball community here with many places to play. I have been in the hobby for 2 years and have 16 games down my basement and it's set up like a black light arcade from old. So if you make it this far west I could show you my place. Here's a few of pictures. I've added much since these pictures were taken, it's never really finished.

GR 4 (2).JPG

GR 13.JPG

GR 11.JPG

GR12.JPG

If you drive through Toledo,feel free to stop by and play a few games and maybe fire a few rounds. Don't have a huge collection, but I have fun, and I can shoot in my cousins back yard a mile from my house!

I am about 1-1/2 hours from Pintastic,you would be welcome if you would like to stop in. If you are going from NY to the show i would be on your way.

Non-residents do it all the time in southern California. To save, do what 18% of US citizens do: buy insurance for a week (Detroit area has shops set up offering "3-Day policies") Register the vehicle then drive with no insurance. Just drive carefully, be aware of where you park and in the event it gets damaged or stolen, walk away from it. Thus, buy a cheap older vehicle. Listed in sales ads and sites as "budget wheels"

Her's one that advertises at 3 AM around here. www.thegeneral.com

Most of the "3 day policy" places are store fronts in seedy areas that don't do internet. You give them some cash, they give you a valid proof of insurance form allowing you to register and license plate your vehicle.

Safe travels back home. Thanks for stopping by Columbus. It was great meeting you.