Will there be any online indication of the waitlist getting deleted at 1 PM to make sure it is OK to sign up?

"*All waitlist signups that occur prior to February 22nd at 1PM EST will be deleted from the system.*"

That just sounds wacky that I could accidentally sign up at 12:59:59 and then get clipped from it. Yet if I sign up at 1:00:02 three seconds later there could be hundreds of people already on it.

Unhelpful. Oh, Levi? Oh, yeah, thanks man. I'll get right on that as soon as I get the timeserver they sync to.

It isn't that I'm expecting a change in the system. This is the third year in a row that the system is totally different, and I'm just trying to figure out the best way to maximize my chances of getting a ticket with the newest way of doing things. Put simply, I plan my main vacation of the year around Pinburgh, because it is the best pinball event out there. Better than any show, better than any other tournament. I'm a crap player who will be thrilled to compete in C this year. But this trip is always a blast. From talking to other players the first morning at breakfast, to the meatballs, to the burgers down the road, followed by competing the last day against players right at my skill level when it is all about being able to hold it together and put good games on the table. If that ends up being me on the waitlist standing at the desk at 9 AM on the first day, that is what I'll do. If I can increase my chances of getting in by 1%, I'll do it, and knowing how to leverage the rules... hey, I'm a Patriots fan.

They are not doing them this year. The VIP section went away for expanding the Intergalactic Tournament.

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I'll remember this. If I don't get a ticket next year I just need to show up with 80 thousand dollars worth of games

Personally I love watching them. I love watching the A division finals on Saturday. Those 5 guys are there at the end of tournaments because they are the best players. Every one of them earns their spot in each tournament by playing better than all other players.

I always wonder if the players even hear us cheer or groan from the audience. Just that second of delay as we see what is happening in front of them.

And this is not a critique... I'd love to see a second camera rig running during the finals. When they are down to two groups, I'd like to be able to see both groups playing. But I know that might cause a bit of confusion.

Sorry to hear it.

It might be a chain, and yes, Pittsburgh has a ton of good food... but you can't really call it a waste of time there, because it's a damn good taco. And a good taco... well, it's a good taco.
So TACOS FOR EVERYBODY!So TACOS FOR EVERYBODY STAYING IN MY HOTEL ROOM!

I like their freaking tacos. I will have tacos there at least once or twice during Pinburgh, and I will enjoy them. I'll also have a burger at August Henry's. And even worse, meatballs! Nothing is "fetishized" about the tacos, I just like to eat them. I mean it's not like I'm going to Ten Penny for a burger (yuck).

Replay/FX and Pinburgh are all about playing. Pintastic and Pinfest are great at what they do, but they are very different from this show. I love Pintastic and Pinfest, but I have to admit that the games can be marginal. Not Gabe’s fantastic games, but a lot of different people bring games for free play in hopes of selling them. And both of those shows have vendors for parts and stuff.

Replay and Pinburgh put on a show where you play amazing games, and they have an amazing group of techs that keep them that way. They put in crazy hours and work so we can play these games. If you’re not playing in Pinburgh, you still get to play most of the Pinburgh machines when they open up the majority of them Friday night. There, you will play lots of machines you’ve never played. Each Pinburgh bank of 4 is made up of 4 different era games, so you get modern, classic, em, all kinds of games. There is no question it’s worth going to. I’ve been the last two years, and if I hadn’t got a ticket this year, I still would have gone for the games alone. If you like pins, this is the place to be.

And yeah, the techs make the show. Everyone involved puts in a huge amount of work, but it’s the boots on the ground that keeps these games playing so well.

No. The Replay tickets don't sell out. I usually buy those a couple weeks before it happens, just in case my plans have to change between now and then. You can even buy them right at the show by waiting in line there.

The Pinburgh tickets (the tournament, not the show) are just a different animal. There are only_ 1000 of them, and they disappear within seconds.

I had figured that any decisions on Pinburgh were a couple months away. For the show itself, and for me to see if I felt comfortable going there with the crowds all touching the same flipper buttons as me.

Currently I’m an odd combination of hopeful and pessimistic.

Agreed! I was lucky enough to get one this year, and if it doesn't happen, I hope it just carries over for when it does happen.

I'm in that odd state where I'm worried equally about it being cancelled and it NOT being cancelled. But I realize it is way too early to make that decision on it. Things are still changing too rapidly to really know. It's even too early to go through the hassle of trying to just postpone for a couple months.

Yes there are, and I will be one of them. I'm going to let people that feel immortal go out and test the world for me first.

If it’s canceled there will be 1000 people that want to move the tickets to next year, and another 1000 that didn’t get tickets who want the F5 refresh lottery to happen again. There’s just no good answer. I’m getting to the point that if they do have it this year, I’m not sure I’ll even go. This is the one vacation I look forward to all year, but it’s starting to feel like it would be too risky to go this year.

That’s an interesting take on it. Kind of a creative idea where everybody that got a ticket this year can decide what they want to do. It is a bit of an expensive reservation fee, but Replay wins. I wonder if there are any legal issues with it, but if you want your money back, you get your money back. Interesting.

I do not envy them. I just don't see how they could keep everyone happy. But don't worry, I'm not going to give them any crap if I'm in the group that is unhappy. Unfortunately this is the Kobayashi Maru, and half of us are stuck on there, while the other half has to decide to enter the neutral zone or not. And I don't think anyone is coming to reprogram the simulation.

I’ve learned something today.

https://www.anthrocon.org/

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I came for the pinball... but I stayed for the furries.

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It's the right thing to do.

I just cancelled my hotel reservation. This is your reminder to cancel yours.

Mine was at the Drury. There wasn’t a block there this year, but I stayed there the last two years, and I really liked it. Staying in the hotel block would be cheaper, but when I find something I really like, I tend to go there again.

Of course this means I won’t even be taking a vacation this year. That’s kind of a bummer.

Ouch, I didn't even realize tomorrow was the day. I have put it so far out of my mind since it was postponed. That would have put me in NYC last night for a great dinner and some walking around to see the freaks. I'd currently be all checked in at the Drury and I probably would have just finished dinner. I'd be pretending I was going to get a good nights sleep before the tournament started, and I would have my game plan all drawn up (Step 1: Win every match. Step 2: Regret the loss, but win the next one.). Sigh.

Fond memories of last year.

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It is way too early to know anything about the middle of 2021. Either way, I think the team running Pinburgh will make the right decision when it is time, just like 2020.

The whole thing was a no win situation. No matter what decision the crew came to, someone was going to be upset. Personally I would have hated to be in their shoes. But if I was, I think I would have decided exactly what they did. It sucks that they were put in that position, but that is the world we are in right now.

This is just horrible news.