Not for me. Been buying, selling, collecting, trading, fixing since 1982. I’m entering retirement. I still have 8 machines (52 at my height). Through all of my years there have been a few bitchy constants:

Prices keep going up
Flippers are ruining the hobby
Operators don’t care
Location games suck

I have learned that throughout my life that 90% of the people could care less about objectives, flipper strength, or if key features of a game work. They put their coin in and flip.

We are the weird and we are willing to pay. In my mind, it’s a great thing that each year there are more and more of us weird people. Prices go up, but so is supply. If demand continues to increase, more manufacturers will emerge - give it time. It’s a great time for pinball. Just ask those of us that were part of the video and them late ‘90’s downturn. We talked about how close we were to pinball’s death. That’s no longer the case.

Long live pinball and all of the players, operators, arcade owners, collectors, flippers, and price speculators. The hobby we love has been dealt the death blow several times, but here we are. We are larger and stronger than ever - and growing.

Jimmy Buffett mic drop! You couldn’t have used a more appropriate picture. Make the pin, I’ll be first in line. I missed the MGC for the first time since the Nicolet High school days this fall because I attended the Parrothead convention in Key West instead. To quote Buffett - “We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us About.”