I had forgotten how much of an asshole he is. I get that I'm not exactly Pacak's favourite person but dude, act like a professional with your vendors.

If people are curious as to why the banquet is on Saturday night and the vendor hall is closed for it, it used to be that most of the money they make is from selling banquet tickets and I can't imagine that has changed much. So, that's why the banquet is when in it is and why the vendor hall is closed - so during "prime time", people have nothing else to do and are essentially forced into the banquet, or they need to find something else to do during that time.

I don't have an issue with them trying to make money - it would be nice if every show could be profitable. I just don't want to be yelled at after I've paid up for a vendor booth. I'd prefer to be treated like an adult.

People have been bitching about Mike for as long as Expo has been happening and it's been over three decades now. Expo isn't going anywhere, but it's also not changing until the organizers change, and that's not happening anytime soon either.

Best plan is to just vote with your wallet, which seem to be the trend given the increase in attendance elsewhere while Expo drops off from its peak.

You mean those rules I had no idea existed? There was no "Vendor Package" when I got there, so I went by the posted schedule which didn't list *any* vendor activity on Sunday. This was my first show as a vendor, so I had no idea how any of it worked. I just followed how it's worked for me at other shows.

I live a 10-hour drive away and I have a baby who goes to sleep early, there's no way I'm coming back at 11pm or sticking around until 4pm on Sunday - I have a full time job I need to get back to. I was manning my booth by myself all weekend - no helpers. That's called real life.

If Mike had a problem with what I was doing, he should have dealt with it like an adult and a professional and had a normal conversation with me, and perhaps had some understanding on *why* I was packing up - not rolled up and started yelling at me like I'm a child. That's not how you deal with problems as an adult.

It's not my responsibility to to understand the stress he's under and "give him a pass" for acting like an ass. I'm a PAID VENDOR at a SHOW and I expect a level of professionalism that comes with that.

In contrast, I was at the Cleveland Pinball Show as a vendor and they treated me amazingly - after seeing my display they gave me a free booth upgrade, they came by to ask how I was doing, offered to announce my products on the PA, and helped me load and unload! I didn't expect that but I sure appreciated it. They were calm, professional and very understanding of the restrictions I was working on. I would be a vendor at that show again in a heartbeat.

That's how Mike should act - like a professional. He doesn't need to do anything but treat people with some respect.

Also I retract what I said about the banquet, I was wrong and I shouldn't have said anything if I wasn't sure about it.

Like I've said previously, my issues were with how I was treated and not the show, which I think still offers a lot and is still considered the premiere pinball show in the US.

When I came over to introduce myself to Zitt and compliment him on his game, he looked at me with a sneer, barked an insincere "thanks" and walked away. Not one of my more pleasant Expo experiences.

So that's another data point. He's not *wrong* but perhaps his own attitude is colouring his perceptions.

It'll never die out completely. It will follow the same path as all obsolete tech - it'll become a niche hobby for the idle rich, like horseback riding. In fact it's basically there now. And there will always be small boutique operations to pump out one or two titles.

Remember, people are still driving Model Ts as a hobby.

I saw one a month ago. The point is, although the days of seeing them on every street corner are long gone, there's still people interested in them, maintaining and driving them. There will always be a die hard core of collectors, so I wouldn't worry about 'the future of pinball'.

It's about as popular now as it'll ever get. I say just enjoy it while it lasts, then enjoy the cheap prices after the hipsters move on.

I didn't get into pinball until I was in my 20's. The hipsters flooding into the hobby now didn't get into it until their 20's either. I kind of agree with Clay on this one.

I don't think that anyone needs to do anything, it's humming along the best it's ever been since the 90s and expecting it to get better is missing that fact. Better to encourage young people with disposable income who might buy a game NOW rather than buy one 20 years from now.