Oops that was actually three years now. I lost a year literally.

Awesome pics love the EM room at night!

What a great time. It FLEW by. I cant believe its already over. I had a lot of fun running the facebook and Instagram account, a lot of people had fun with it and it was a great time. The Instagram account especially has a lot of great photos by myself and by others and is totally worth a look https://www.instagram.com/official_pinagogo/

What makes this show my favorite and in my opinion the best? The people. The friends. The fact that we had the biggest turnout ever at Sparkys BBQ and yet we still had enough food and fun for all. Seeing old friends and new friends, I hesitate to list them all in the fear am will start to forget some of them but I am going to try anyway. Mr. Gone and Hawkmoon bringing that amazing show spirit. Good good friends like PinWillie, PismoArcade, JVSpin and MOF, some of my first friends and dearest friends in the Hobby. The awesome dudes like PinHolder, Cheddar, IamNan, Alwaysrocking77, that were far too busy getting it done to have fun, all of the people that volunteer and run the show, its a ton of work but its worth it, you guys bring it every year. Bicyclenut, Ericpinballfan, Pinheadpierre, Spybyron, Norcalrealtor, GeneX so many other good friends and dudes I am sure I am forgetting. MrArt2u thank you for helping me get the sound running on Steve's Spirit and so good seeing you and Amanda. Monterey flipper crew you and SFpinball killed it on instagram.

Steve Charland, you were missed but you were there. Amber and myself gave Spirit the best spitshine we could and I put some new rubbers on it. Art helped fix the sound and damned if the thing wasn't running and playing perfect the whole show. Probably because you were there in Spirit, fixing it afterhours long after the games had been shut off. You will be missed.

I wouldn't still be in the hobby if it weren't for amazing people like these. I of course talked about pinball and life more than I actually played it, no surprise there, and it never bothered me.

How do all your photos look clearer and cleaner than real life.
Are you unable to take a crap photo.
Half of everything thing i take always look like i have St.Vitus dance.

Still think the Golden State Pinball Festival name needs to be changed,
It has no personality or pizazz to it,
sounds like someone from Lodi's park and recreation dept or a non-pinball committee came up with it.
MrArt2u's suggestion of Pin-A-Lo-Di is better than GSPF.

I do think the move to Lodi will ultimately be a good decision
easier commute from both nor & so Cal.

How about the Golden State Pinball Festival
presents PinAGoGo or Pinathon or Pin-A-Lo-Di?

So glad I took today off. Time to unload and return the trailer.

The best part was of course the people and there are of course too many to list everyone and we mostly focued on names not handles. It was great meeting a couple local guys: Miguel351 and bicyclenut are both awesome and we really enjoyed meeting both of you. We have to get a league going around here (once we all recover).

One really neat thing that happened was while sitting in the shade Saturday cooling down with several folks, we met this really neat gal who was there with her boyfriend (never got a chance to meet him unfortunately). They both really enjoy playing pinball and it was their first time coming to PAGG. In addition to talking to all of us at the table about life in general, she was telling us how much fun they were having there and how much they were also enjoying the people in addition to the pinball. Anyway, they were kind of dreaming about having a pinball machine of their own but weren't really sure yet.

Fast forward to sunday morning and we run into her again. Same big smile but she's practically jumping up and down and you can tell she can barely contain herself. He won! He won! She exclaimed. Her boyfriend was the one who won the raffle for Diner!

I suspect they are now pinheads for life.

Anyway sorry for the long story, I just thought it was really neat that the Diner went to them, although I'm a little jellous we didn't win.

I want to thank you to all who work hard on this show, All who brought games, and all who came to the show. I was so glad to be part of it again this year! I had a great time hosting the Meet and Greet, Lanyards and the Keg. I got to meet A bunch of you guys and it was a real blast! I got home last night and took a 6 hour nap! =)

JJ

WOW. And the academy award for the 2017 "best actor in a pinball promo" goes to...

mrgone

Nice, Spencer! Thanks again for everything you do.

Now go start that 2018 Golden State pinball thread.

I have WAY too many people to thank and WAY too much info to share about another great show. I will try to keep this as short as possible.

First of all, thanks to the organizers: I've attended this show 15 times since 1998, and what these guys have done for the show is amazing! Imagine this show without a tournament, without a food vendor, without a swap meet, without a second building of games, with the majority of games coming in on Friday night and Saturday morning, games leaving by noon on Sunday, and no pin-techs. We have the current organizers to thank for fixing all of the above!

Thanks to everyone who helps with the BBQ! Bryce and Steve T. for running the amazing Tiki Bar in the sun! JJ for bringing and working the keg tirelessly! The amazing cake Susi makes every year! We couldn't relax without all the EZ Up shades everyone brings, as well as tables and chairs. Of course, the side dishes and other soft drinks and water! Thanks to Jersey Jack for helping with the hot dogs on the grill! Roland for bringing a second grill, music, the cornhole and beer pong games! Thanks to Keith for signing me up for the tournament and getting me lunch while I was boiling brats on Friday. Thanks to Chris S. for helping me break down on Sunday! Thanks to Spencer for his endless enthusiasm and promotion of the hobby!

I have so much more to say, but that's all for now

Since Spencer hasn't linked it yet
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-official-2018-golden-state-pinball-festival-thread#post-3780870

I would like to offer a review of 2017 Pin-A-Go-Go coming from the perspective of an outsider from Illinois. And sorry for the length, this write-up is actually short for me.

First let me acknowledge all the support I received Eric Neff, Steve Frisvold, and Steve Faith. They are the ones I bothered the most before coming to the show in regards to the posters, prints, and anything else I might bring to see about helping to raise some money. We met Chris Bannister shortly after arriving and he immediately worked to help us as well.

PAGG was exceptionally well-run and that includes the general process of how things were done and organization. I am not one that has been ‘behind the scenes’ when it comes to pinball shows, so I can’t speak to others, but between their earbud walkie talkie communication, numbered game/key system (for tech access), and overall “clean” setup it was impressive. You can tell that those who volunteer and work at the show take a lot of pride in what they do, that was apparent from when we first got there to put out what we had brought. Jim Thornton had a laugh as when he arrived he expected to level Houdini but it had already been done!

A number of tears shed over the weekend for Steve’s passing, but there were even more smiles and laughter with those sharing his memories. He was the epitome of what is great about the hobby, bringing people together, creating memories, and enjoying the wonders of pinball. His presence was felt through his friends and family, whether inside the buildings, in the swap meet, or a random area of the parking lot.

And to that, I will say that after nearly 20 years of friendship with Cliffy Rinear and Rob Bell, I was so glad to finally meet both of them in person. It is hard to relate the experience to others, maybe catching up with a good friend who moved to a far away state that you happen to bump into 1000 miles away from where you both grew up in a store 15 years later. It was absolutely fantastic to talk with both, share stories, and simply spend time with them. I really can’t put the experience into words, so I won’t try.

Then there is Steve Tsubota, a man with exceptional camera skills and a heart of gold. Or Chris Thompson (The Black Knight), my wife Sandy and I went with him and his girlfriend Karla to dinner on Friday night. His knowledge is immense and his willingness to discuss it might even be larger! Opinionated and bald, he is The Black Knight!

Like others, I can't remember the names of people I met as there were simply too many. But off the top of my head there was Spencer, Dottie, JJ, Sparky, Kerry, Dan, Greg, Bill, Randy, Amber, Cathy, and so many more.

It was all about the experience for me, being able to hug old friends and meet new ones, listening to stories and sharing mine. Enjoying the community somewhere that I had never gone before and was happy to be. And the while the time went fast, it was a weekend that will not be soon forgotten. I’d like to thank everyone for their hospitality, it made our visit a special one. And my wife Sandy and I had a chance to catch-up with family (who live in Lodi) as well! Thank you all!

Brad Czernik
CARGPB #22

I played that AMH as much as I could on Saturday. So maybe 20 of the game audits are me
I really enjoyed the shots. The 3 bank wasn't lowering (as I'm sure you know), but didn't affect the fun factor.
Thanks for the opportunity to play it.

I knew I was going to forget new amazing friends I made when I posted earlier, I was more than happy to help and it was really great meeting you, Cant wait to hang up my poster for Steve.

First off I want to thank all of the behind the scenes folks who put so much into this show. This was my 1st pagg, and it didn't disappoint.

I started collecting again in good fortune in dec of 2016. Since then I have shared my enthusiasm with just about anyone who will listen. Most of them look at me like I'm from mars. But not the good folks at the bbq! Some of you might remember me as the wasted delta bravo who lost his cell phone. Black steel pulse shirt...

Names and handles I am bad with, here goes nothin..

Special thanks to JJ for the keg and my lanyard. Not 1 or 3 x's..... 2...

Extra extra special thanks to the brotha with the truck parked across from the bbq. You saved the day 3 times if my Swiss cheese memory recalls. If you had not grabbed me, and sat me down behind the tiki bar, I never would have found the Lost phone.

Bought some cool schematics from Steve, looking forward to framing them up. Thanks for trying to hook me up with hawkmoon. you even went so far as to show me a photo.

Met a guy named monkey in the front of the show who hooked up the 10th letter no questions asked. A hero

The great folks with the tiki bar/ xylophone set up. A joy to talk too

And all the great folks at the BBQ who I just shot the sht with for a few hours. It's nice to be in your element.

I met a bunch of napa and fulsom league members... all cool

Glad I took Monday off. My cat and I salute you pinheads!!

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Thank you for everything and trust me, I hesitated mentioning any names as there were just so many people I met...

No worries, I wish I would have realized who you were as well, so the feeling is mutual!

Brad

Never stop Spencer! It was great seeing you and all the other amazing pinheads this weekend! Hopefully we'll make it up for a league night before too long!

Game stats:
Wizard of Oz:
- 558 games played
- 1:54 average game time

Twilight Zone:
- 615 games played
- 2:04 average game time

RFM: unknown as it was sold but probably similar as walking by I never saw any of them without at least one player

TZ had a couple flipper issues. Haven't had it long so this show did exactly what I wanted which was to shake out any remaining problems. Looks like only thing to fix is right sling switch on TZ, should be simple. WOZ was flawless through the show as far as I know.

It is illegal to shoot silly string at parade participants in Lodi. I'm not sure I can hang there.

http://www.dumblaws.com/law/210

Wanted to thank all my old friends and my new friends for the show! Too many to list here, but I really enjoyed myself!

My submission here are the pictures of Amber's score on her Dad's Spirit. Her last game on the machine. (Thanks Steve for getting it up and going. )

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AMAZING SHOW! BEST EVER! There, I am done shouting.

It was awesome to meet new friends. Reno was represented with people who live just a few miles from me who I only saw on Pinside and now got to meet in person. So many awesome people from all over the country. What an incredible family reunion we had.

It was great to have so many games available to play including plenty of new releases. Houdini will be a fun game once they get the kinks worked out. Aerosmith I kept coming back to. AFMr played like the original, just wish strobe multi ball had more strobe effect from the LEDs. Games were working all 3 days. Thanks to all the pin medics constantly fixing the machines. The System 80 section was an awesome tribute to Steve Charland. He will greatly be missed, but his SPIRIT will live on.

Highlight of the show was playing Future Spa under the stars. Thanks Michael for providing after hours entertainment! You guys are the best friends! Pinheads rule!

Dialed In went beyond my expectations. That game is destined to be a classic Lawlor game. The game is so polished, the shots are fun, and the replay value is endless! Can't wait to play it again whoever has it in their collection. Doubt it will be on route in Reno.

Sparky, thank you again for providing the brats and hot dogs at the barbecue as well as everybody who contributed food. It is awesome socializing with fellow pinheads. The brats were amazing for a guy originally from Milwaukee. Thanks Spencer for all your promo videos, and getting us pumped for the show. All the time and effort you put into hyping the show was well worth it. Steve and everybody else (I am terrible with names) thank you for a well organized event that will be even greater next year with more games and camping spots. And air conditioned. Won't that be nice.

Now I have to go through withdrawal until Lodi. I do like Pin-a-Lo-Di. That has a nice ring to it. See you all next year fellow pinheads!

Mark

P.S. - My ears are still ringing. Man, I miss that pinball rumble!

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Any body know what happened to the silent auction for Steve's Spirit?

I was curious about the final price too! Last I saw Don Highley was up at 8k

I would have bid on the spirit.

I hope I get to see it again.

Yeah, would have been cool if it permanently became a fixture of the show somehow.

Steve was helping me bring my Spirit back to life
most likely will take forever now.
I might just sell it as a project

I was there at the close of the silent auction at noon Sunday. I don't recall any bidding on it at the end, so pretty sure it went to Don @ $8K.

It's too bad they couldn't have displayed Steve's routed machines up for auction - probably would have generated more bids and money to the fund.

No, Robert, you can rebuild it.

Just an AWESOME weekend.
Great work team pagg!
Sun sets, but excited about turning the page.
Got home at 230 am, 8 hours of driving and closed freeways.
Steve's Pinball Magic unloaded and on legs. Next step, major shop job, no power yet. Was so excited to buy this machine from the Charland family.

Congratulations on winning the Pinball Magic, glad you and the game made it home safe. Nice meeting you!

I was wandering around the main hall Friday night about 9 or so, and I happen to hear this guy saying, "I need to find this Hawkmoon guy. I've been looking all over for this hawkmoon guy, but I don't know how to find him!" So I walk over and tell him that John is playing in the tourney, but I will take him over there, and introduce him when John has a minute. On the way over there, Kevin tells me that he's a noob on Pinside, and John's been counseling him on finding a Pinbot to buy, and that John told him to come to PAGG and they'd see what they could find, and suchlike.

So we go see John, and then go play some pinball and drink some beer with Mike (@Pinballlew). For a long time. I think we were the last to leave, playing that AFMr until after closing. Kevin sez he has to work tomorrow, and probly won't be back on Saturday.

Saturday comes, and at the bbq, I tell this story to Art (@MrArt2U), who says that he's restoring a Pinbot, and would probably have one to sell in a few weeks. Afterwards, I text Kevin, who says he's on his way back to play more pinball and drink more beer. So he does, and we do. But he's got money burning a hole in his pocket, and he wants a Pinbot now, but if he can't have that, mebbe he'll buy... that glaring DE Simpsons for a newly reduced price of $1600 (great deal btw) or mebbe that sweet Space Shuttle of @mof's. He was eyeing @Drewster's nice Police Force. Even that groovy green World Cup Soccer was a possibility.

So more beer and pinball, and Kevin's thinking maybe he'll be patient and wait on Art's refurb, and get a shweet thing for a little mo' money. OK. Meanwhile, we have met and played and partied with a whole buncha fine pinball people, and Kevin is rockin' (Right @Letsroe?)

Then, the tag on one of the Pinbots in the main hall (not the blinged one) is changed from "not" to FOR SALE. And at a nice price. So he texts. And doesn't get an answer in 10 minutes, and starts flipping. So for chilling purposes, I walk him over to meet Art and talk about that machine. You know, as a back up. We have a nice little chat.

Still no answer to texts or phone and it's been a whole half hour. We play some more AFMr, and Mike decides to try, and Timothie answers on the first ring. hahahahahaha. Kevin was thinking conspiracy But Timothie can't hear anything. So we wander over toward the machine, loudly saying that we're looking for Timothie. And sure enough, someone points him out, and Kevin gets his Pinbot! And then we drink more beer and play more pinball with a whole buncha pinheads.

And the new pinhead lived happily ever after.

Wotta show!

I think I'm just about recovered from pagg-lagg. Definitely been feeling it all day. Back to reality/work tomorrow. Cat has finally forgiven me for being gone all weekend and taking her favorite toys with me.

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GOOD TIMES! Kevin been texting me all sorts of questions. It's obvious that these things will be multiplying like rabbits at his place. Better tell his girlfriend to gas up that truck! -Mike

pagg-lagg compounded here by a thousand mile detour through Orange county to fetch a new toy. Didn't even have the oof to unload today. oh well. Tomorrow should be a nice day to move pins around. project Paddock to the garage 'til I have time to play with it. Hot Hand to that spot in the shop that Night Rider just vacated. Freshly acquired Bank-A-Ball to that spot next to Kings&Queens.

Yeehaw!

Thanks again for that awesome night rider!

You're welcome. and thanks again! Enjoy that awesome Night Rider!

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Sorry I missed the show! Poor vacation(Paris & Morocco) planning on my part. Looks like great fun (always) and it is nice being able to see the photos.
Looking forward to next year and the new location. People that make this happen, and I hope most/all come to Lodi.

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How about moving the show to Paris? Paris-A-Go-Go. I think that has been used for an adult entertainment show.

It was an absolute honor to help you get Steve's Spirit show ready Amber. Its honestly a memory I will cherish forever.

PAGG was a blast! I am sad I could only spend a short amount of time there. I brought my wife this year, and she proceeded to school my son and I on Aerosmith.

By any chance does anyone know the person who was there Saturday afternoon selling some older play fields? I think that one was a beat up Black Knight, and they had a new WOZ behind their table. Are they local to NorCal?

Lol I had PAGG LAG working Sunday at 6am!

Still at the event and the new pin is still in the back of the truck!