(Topic ID: 267839)

Pintastic New England was June 23-26, 2022

By dmarston

3 years ago


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    There are 1,257 posts in this topic. You are on page 18 of 26.
    #851 1 year ago

    The hotel was “sold out” but I suspect half the rooms were empty.

    It’s a skeleton crew running the place now, and my guess is they are not operating at anything near full capacity.

    #852 1 year ago
    Quoted from CrazyLevi:

    The hotel was “sold out” but I suspect half the rooms were empty.
    It’s a skeleton crew running the place now, and my guess is they are not operating at anything near full capacity.

    I believe the building on the back of the hotel has a bad roof leak and they are essentially using some of the top rooms as the roof.

    #853 1 year ago
    Quoted from CrazyLevi:

    The hotel was “sold out” but I suspect half the rooms were empty.
    It’s a skeleton crew running the place now, and my guess is they are not operating at anything near full capacity.

    Housekeeping staff didn't visit my room once during the entire stay. I had to call the front desk for toilet paper.

    #854 1 year ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    Housekeeping staff didn't visit my room once during the entire stay. I had to call the front desk for toilet paper.

    We did the same. Front desk said housekeeping comes on your third day, which was Saturday for us. No sign of them. No cart in the hall.

    #855 1 year ago
    Quoted from rrosenhouse:

    We did the same. Front desk said housekeeping comes on your third day, which was Saturday for us. No sign of them. No cart in the hall.

    Place kinda reminds me of the resort in Hot Tub Time Machine. Crossed with the overlook hotel.

    #856 1 year ago

    I've always enjoyed this show as a patron but this was my 1st time as a vendor and the staff was GREAT! Special shout out to Nick and John for helping me get my U-Haul trailer unloaded! I had hernia surgery 3 weeks ago and they really took care of me!

    Thanks to Gabe for putting on a great show! He has a great staff and really tries to cover all the bases. I'm sure this is months of hard work that isn't always appreciated.

    I've said this before in the Allentown thread, but it's worth repeating: Any show is a balance of buyers-sellers-patrons. Each one drives the other. If nobody buys, then nobody comes to sell, if nobody sells, nobody comes to buy or play. 

    I know a lot of vendors who went home with a lot of games. I did well selling glass, but will definitely not be bringing 8 games to sell again.

    I started to shut it down around 4:45 because I had a 4-Hour ride home after a long 2 days.

    The hotel options in the area are limited and can be shaky at best. I did enjoy the Holiday inn Express last October show, but I guess it's summer season now and $250 a night can be tough to swallow when you're just looking for a shower and 7-8 hours of sleep.

    Food-wise I have always enjoyed the show, the barbecue place is good, the pizzeria next door isn't bad and the seafood restaurants has also been good in the past so I don't think of that as a sore spot.

    Having a booth is a lot of work and I appreciate everybody who takes a shot at it! Usually I try to spend money with the vendors and keep them coming back! I didn't have a lot of time to wander around because of having to stay close to my booth, but it was great being near Charles from Pinball Photos, Brian from Bushey Brothers and Joe & his son Joe from Pingraffix!

    I picked up a pile of awesome looking side blades from Pingraffix! Going to try to add them to all the games that I sell. I'll have some on hand if anybody local needs them!

    Thanks to Mike from Automated for bringing not one, but multipleToy Story 4's! I only got a couple of games on them but enjoyed what I saw.

    One of the cool things I love about the pinball hobby is that vendors really help each other out. I had a potential machine sale, but it needed to be delivered to Maine. Brian said he couldn't do it but told me to ask the Maine home recreation guys, they were super nice and charged a reasonable amount to my customer for bringing the game back to Maine. Either one of those guys could have easily tried to snipe my sale but instead were super cool and helped me make the sale!

    As always, great seeing familiar faces, friends and past customers! Thanks to everybody who stopped by and said hello, did a deal with me and bought something from us!

    I started writing this post with the intention of keeping it short, but ended up sounding like Skip.. LOL

    Final thought, I would love to see the show closer to Christmas, late October, early November like last year. Summer is typically a slow time for pinball, covid changed that the last couple of years but I think it's back to normal.

    #857 1 year ago

    Yeah I didn't see too many games selling. There really wasn't too much for sale, and the asking prices in the free play room on what was for sale were pretty ridiculous across the board. I heard from some vendors who brought games, and they said almost nothing was moving.

    I've never thought of this show as a big buying/selling show, but surely this time the pickings were slimmer than ever and prices dumber than ever. You never saw the typical "saturday markdowns" either, prices started dumb and stayed dumb for the most part. It's HODL?

    In vendor hall a pretty nice Funhouse sat around at $5k until finally selling Saturday afternoon. One gets the feeling that would sell in 10 minutes on Facebook, but this crowd simply wasn't in the mood to buy anything.

    As far as the "what about Sunday" crowd...anybody who has been to a pinball show knows you don't want to plan on coming for only the 3rd day. These shows are more or less over by then. So if you know a noob planning on coming on Sunday, tell them not to bother.

    #858 1 year ago

    Now that I'm back home and all unpacked, here's my take, especially with being a first time vendor-

    All of the vendors were really cool people. Joe and son from Pingraffix were AWESOME. I bought a PowerBlades set and Joe came over to my booth to install it himself. Victor the comic/toy guy was a super nice guy and we were joking around the whole show.

    The TOURNAMENTS. Every year it gets better and better. I wish there was a little more time to qualify for the main tournament, but I understand that they only have so much time to get the show on the road. Nice game selection. Both The Sanctum and WMPC are awesome for setting everything up. And the EMP peeps are the nicest people, they helped me move my gear, just super super nice. Much appreciated!

    Extra ball lounge was excellent this year, most of the games were playing strong the entire show and a really nice variety of games. Gabe, props for having a System 11 there!

    Unfortunately a lot of the vendors were upset about the hotel essentially double-booking the main hall on Sunday. According to the other guys there was MUCH LESS traffic in the vendor hall compared to November and much lower sales. I get that it's tough to put it all on, but November just makes more sense.

    #859 1 year ago

    This was my first pinball expo. I spent 4 or 5 hours there on Saturday with my son on the way to somewhere else and we had a blast (and my son really doesn't even like pinball much). I can see how much work this must have been for the organizers and I appreciate everyone who brought games. Best part - everyone, without exception, was really nice and having a good time. Overall great atmosphere & great community. Looking forward to the next one.

    #860 1 year ago

    Come see that entire row (and more) at the Western Mass Pinball Club in Three Rivers MA...they were all ours.

    Quoted from VALIS666:

    The Super 8 on the other side of the parking lot was actually pretty decent; clean, big fridge, good A/C. If anyone needs a room tonight check with them as I had to leave a day early.
    Also I thought I saw every pin but there has to be a dozen in ForceFlow's photos I never saw like Multimorphic, Elvis, Coney Island, SharpShooter II, Pool Sharks -- that whole row I seemed to miss.

    #861 1 year ago

    My opinion and observations:

    Show was good. Freeplay area had the least amount of pins I've seen so far (been every year), but the sponsors of the show can't control that. Vendor area was also lacking, which I'm sure is also out of their control. Hotel area appeared clean in regards to the area the average show visitor sees(I didn't, and would never again actually book a stay overnight at the host hotel). Everything I played worked pretty well, with just a few hiccups here and there. One game I wanted to play was frozen (Stern Star Wars). Took a walk over to the help desk area (whatever you call it), stood there for a bit (helper was in a conversation), gave up walked back, tried to un F it, no luck, went back (he was still in full conversation, didn't notice me). Excellent dude I know sitting next to him suggested I power cycle it. Walked back, couldn't find the F'n power switch (not familiar with Stern's new power switch location (70+ years in the same spot, and they have to move it), gave up and walked away.
    As for food, I usually eat elsewhere, but also usually grab a beer or two and a hotdog etc from the hotel. No beer this year?? (Odd) So I grabbed a "hotdog". It was cold, and oddly hard. Honestly, worst I've ever eaten (and I've eaten 3am Cumberland Farms burnt sticks that identify as hotdogs in the past).
    We ate actual food at Teddy G's up the street as usual, excellent steak&cheese and gallon size beers.
    I did like seeing that games in Freeplay actually stated "FOR SALE" "NOT FOR SALE", finally common sense prevailed, unfortunately most that were "FOR SALE" didn't have a price? (I'm not scanning a code, or wasting my time looking at a website, don't care).
    The flea market was pathetic as usual, but it's clear the sponsors of the show are not interested in a flea market. I do give credit to the two people who tried, A for effort.
    As for the vendors, I was surprised to see many missing, and don't understand the quantity of vendors who sell crap completely unrelated to the hobby. I understand they paid for their spot, but if I go to a "pinball and gameroom " show, I'm only interested in pinball and gameroom crap (pins, arcade cabs, wall mounted, table mounted games, flea market for parts and signage etc.

    All in all it was a good show. I understand each show is different and has its own vibe. I don't care about a special lanyard, or a room of pins hidden behind a pay wall (especially when you have rows of pins missing from the freeplay area, thats just stupid), or websites I have to search to figure out what's going on (or how much a pin is for sale for), seminars, concerts, etc. I go to enjoy the show, the games, and good friends. I understand the host hotel it a borderline hostel, but, like it or not, Sturbridge is still a good location. Plenty of parking, decent restaurants and breweries nearby, no one busting your chops for open containers etc, central location, great game of "guess that smell" in the bathroom (but not the open sewage smell of Allentown). As long as the weather is good, I'll return each summer.

    Again, my opinion and observations.

    #862 1 year ago
    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    Took a walk over to the help desk area (whatever you call it),

    The registration desk outside the freeplay room entrance, or the repair area in the back corner?

    The best way to report malfunctioning games was to scan the QR code and select the appropriate option.

    However, I did notice that when someone reported my game as malfunctioning, I didn't get any notifications about it. I just happened to walk by and see that someone had turned it off, then I signed in to the website and saw the trouble report.

    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    unfortunately most that were "FOR SALE" didn't have a price?

    All the for sale signs I saw had prices. They were just in smaller print than the "for sale" text.

    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    I was surprised to see many missing, and don't understand the quantity of vendors who sell crap completely unrelated to the hobby

    Sometimes there are overlapping interests with collectibles and whatnot. And the general public may be interested in those things too. Personally, I don't mind seeing a few of those booths, as long as it doesn't turn into the main focus. But most of the time, if a vendor does well, they return for another year, but if not, they usually don't.

    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    I don't care about a special lanyard, or a room of pins hidden behind a pay wall (especially when you have rows of pins missing from the freeplay area, thats just stupid)

    On one hand, I can agree with that sentiment. On the other, it's nice to have a separate space that isn't completely mobbed, and where you actually have a small chance at hearing the audio on the game that you're playing. It's impossible to hear anything on the freeplay floor. Well, aside from the screaming crypt keeper. You could hear that from clear across the room.

    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    No beer this year?? (Odd)

    I saw plenty of people walking around with beer cups. I saw one of the workers in the concession stand pouring a bottled beer into a cup at one point.

    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    but not the open sewage smell of Allentown

    Apparently, it was some prankster messing around with fart sprays.

    #863 1 year ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    Apparently, it was some prankster messing around with fart sprays.

    Is this confirmed or your guess because the truth is that same smell was outside in between the vendor hall and the block of rooms where they were digging up the courtyard. I dont think someone would be spraying it outside and inside. I've smelled liquid ass that someone sprayed at the Ramada at Allentown a few years ago to try to tone down the actual grossness of the Ramada and this was not the same.

    P.S. I agree with everyones complaints about the hotel rooms. It's the most dreaded part of my Pintastic experience and makes me rethink my wanting to even stay more every time I attend. Thankful there weren't any rooms available because of the doll show going on Sunday in the vendor hall which wasn't Pintastic fault but the hotel's. If you were a vendor you're not gonna stay there until 9pm and have to be out by midnight and drive home. Doll people began setting up before 10pm going in and out.

    #864 1 year ago
    Quoted from Capinball:

    Is this confirmed or your guess because the truth is that same smell was outside in between the vendor hall and the block of rooms where they were digging up the courtyard. I dont think someone would be spraying it outside and inside. I've smelled liquid ass that someone sprayed at the Ramada at Allentown a few years ago to try to tone down the actual grossness of the Ramada and this was not the same.

    Someone said they found empty spray bottles.

    #865 1 year ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    The registration desk outside the freeplay room entrance, or the repair area in the back corner?
    The best way to report malfunctioning games was to scan the QR code and select the appropriate option.
    However, I did notice that when someone reported my game as malfunctioning, I didn't get any notifications about it. I just happened to walk by and see that someone had turned it off, then I signed in to the website and saw the trouble report.

    All the for sale signs I saw had prices. They were just in smaller print than the "for sale" text.

    Sometimes there are overlapping interests with collectibles and whatnot. And the general public may be interested in those things too. Personally, I don't mind seeing a few of those booths, as long as it doesn't turn into the main focus. But most of the time, if a vendor does well, they return for another year, but if not, they usually don't.

    On one hand, I can agree with that sentiment. On the other, it's nice to have a separate space that isn't completely mobbed, and where you actually have a small chance at hearing the audio on the game that you're playing. It's impossible to hear anything on the freeplay floor. Well, aside from the screaming crypt keeper. You could hear that from clear across the room.

    I saw plenty of people walking around with beer cups. I saw one of the workers in the concession stand pouring a bottled beer into a cup at one point.

    Apparently, it was some prankster messing around with fart sprays.

    I tried to report the game issue to a guy in the back corner wearing a Vest. Again, I'm not mounting a machine to scan anything.
    There were prices listed? I must be blind, only one I noticed was the $7500 POTC.
    My beer comment was in regards to beer on tap. "Craft beer" is usually listed on the signage for the show with a local brewer's beer on tap at the show. Did not observe that (I had my own in my vehicle, not buying a bottle from them).

    #866 1 year ago
    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    I tried to report the game issue to a guy in the back corner wearing a Vest. Again, I'm not mounting a machine to scan anything.
    There were prices listed? I must be blind, only one I noticed was the $7500 POTC.
    My beer comment was in regards to beer on tap. "Craft beer" is usually listed on the signage for the show with a local brewer's beer on tap at the show. Did not observe that (I had my own in my vehicle, not buying a bottle from them).

    I saw a number of "machines for sale" and they had prices, in small print but they were there.

    The unshopped Meteor for $2800 with the vintage doorbell credit mod on the front comes to mind.

    Most of the prices were as questionable as the machines they were attached too, very few used machines of quality for sale. There were some but they were outnumbered. A number of free play games were exceptional though and much appreciated. I know it sounds dickish, but it is what it is. Last year the number of used games was exceptionally good, perhaps that has colored my expectations this year.

    As an aside and unrelated; I'm astounded people eat at hotel restaurants. I have been staying at hotels for over 35 years now and can count on one hand the number of times I have had a meal at a hotel restaurant. Breakfast buffet? Sure. But an actual sit down meal?

    Nope-nope-nope. Almost always ends badly. The food is poor, the food is expensive, the food is late, etc. Always hit the local mom and pops or if you must a chain like Dennys or Applebees.

    #867 1 year ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    Someone said they found empty spray bottles.

    Was that here or at Pinfest? I know people said they found evidence at Pinfest, but I didn't smell that smell at Pintastic. Idiots who do that should be drawn and quartered if caught, or at least banned from shows for life.

    #868 1 year ago

    I saw one bargain….someone bought a lectronomo for $600. The 300 block of hotel rooms had the musty moldy smell. One theory is the construction area might have started a water issue under the slab. It was bad closest to the entrance. My room had the funk even with AC running continuously. The Holiday Inn express was a much better choice in November but twice the cost this time. I really think a November show is a better alternative. It’s one of the reasons the Houston show is such a winner. Great time of year and a decent Marriott hotel. It makes a big difference.

    #870 1 year ago
    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    Was that here or at Pinfest? I know people said they found evidence at Pinfest, but I didn't smell that smell at Pintastic. Idiots who do that should be drawn and quartered if caught, or at least banned from shows for life.

    There must have been BO spray bottles somewhere too.

    #871 1 year ago

    is there any chance the other hotel in Boxborough is still an option?

    #872 1 year ago
    Quoted from jp1985:

    There must have been BO spray bottles somewhere too.

    To be honest on Friday the only smells I noted was a few ladies running a bit heavy on the perfumes but I'll take that any day of the week over some of the escapades down at Allentown!

    The phantom stink bomber should be dropped in a septic tank.

    #873 1 year ago

    LOL!

    #874 1 year ago

    Our elevator and hallway stank bad, I figured it was all those kids from the 2 weddings there as they were partying on our floor. Made the ghetto whirlwind feel right at home though

    #875 1 year ago
    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    There were prices listed? I must be blind, only one I noticed was the $7500 POTC.

    Most of the games for sale had a price listed. I wasn't given a choice-- when I registered it as being for sale, the woman at the counter made me include a price.

    Quoted from Irishbastard:

    My beer comment was in regards to beer on tap. "Craft beer" is usually listed on the signage for the show with a local brewer's beer on tap at the show. Did not observe that (I had my own in my vehicle, not buying a bottle from them).

    Yeah, nothing on tap at all. $6.50 for a bottle of Bud Light? I don't think so. There were lots of people walking around with their own booze, and with the hotel prices, I understand why...

    #876 1 year ago

    Yeah, nothing on tap at all. $6.50 for a bottle of Bud Light? I don't think so. There were lots of people walking around with their own booze, and with the hotel prices, I understand why...

    Yup, we brought a couple cases of beer and a box of k cups, no problem carrying our own around, that's a big and only plus for the hotel

    #877 1 year ago

    Lectronamo was definitely a bargain....game gets no love but it's great. And there were plenty of bargains on newer stuff believe it or not. I wouldn't have bought my Godzilla Pro at the show if it wasn't a bargain - show special pricing is definitely where it's at. Less than 200 plays on it when I got it...as far as I'm concerned that just means any new out of box issues got ironed out before I bought it. Come play it over at WMPC if you're in the area.

    Also kuddos Gerry for bringing a very nice playing Aztec....if I hadn't gone home with Godzilla I was coming your way next . Still one of my favorite late EM's and yours played great.

    And as far as prices on games....plenty of them were "I'll put a stupid price on here and see what happens" kind of listings. Which is fine with me....I basically take that as "I really don't want to sell".

    Quoted from Nhpolarbear:

    I saw one bargain….someone bought a lectronomo for $600. The 300 block of hotel rooms had the musty moldy smell. One theory is the construction area might have started a water issue under the slab. It was bad closest to the entrance. My room had the funk even with AC running continuously. The Holiday Inn express was a much better choice in November but twice the cost this time. I really think a November show is a better alternative. It’s one of the reasons the Houston show is such a winner. Great time of year and a decent Marriott hotel. It makes a big difference.

    #878 1 year ago
    Quoted from Yoko2una:

    Hasn’t this hotel had years of complaints, they claim to renovate… and then somehow the complaints get even worse?
    Why is the show still there if it’s bordering on a health hazard? That place in Westford sounded way nicer.
    I was considering going but heard it’s hot AF there and super stuffy (and it’s even hotter today).

    This is exactly what stopped me and my wife from attending - I checked the hotel reviews beforehand and saw all the negative feedback.

    Mold, non functioning AC's, bugs in the rooms, etc, etc....- C'mon!

    Pinball people deserve better than this. Move it to suitable place next year please.

    #879 1 year ago

    Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other show (in the northeast at least) that has a hotel attached to it....there is absolutely nothing requiring anyone to stay at the hotel itself other than perhaps "convenience". The show space itself is perfectly fine.

    Quoted from in2kiss:

    This is exactly what stopped me and my wife from attending - I checked the hotel reviews beforehand and saw all the negative feedback.
    Mold, non functioning AC's, bugs in the rooms, etc, etc....- C'mon!
    Pinball people deserve better than this. Move it to suitable place next year please.

    #880 1 year ago

    Outside with Borg, we saw a rat run by the lobby door outside. Or maybe it was a gerbil. Somehow this turned the conversation into Jerry Penacoli. Thankfully we never saw anything in our room but some broken playfield glass.

    #881 1 year ago
    Quoted from 80spit:

    Our elevator and hallway stank bad, I figured it was all those kids from the 2 weddings there as they were partying on our floor. Made the ghetto whirlwind feel right at home though

    The ghettowind was amazing. I had an Earthshaker we lovingly called Derpshaker and it reminded me of that. Played split flipper with a friend and it took us 100 tries to hit the ramp to lock a ball... Finally did it and it was like we unlocked a wizard mode or something. Thank you to you or whoever brought that.

    #882 1 year ago

    My wife and I stayed at the hotel a number of shows ago but she is convinced she got athletes foot from there so she won't allow us to stay there. We have been using the Holiday Inn down the street. More money but happier wife. I was in the Navy for 10 years so I can sleep anywhere. I used to sleep next to torpedoes so yeah I can survive the Host. We take the opportunity to eat at our favorite Sturbridge Seafood once and then check out new places while there.
    Free play was lean but I can't complain, I didn't bring a game. Disappointed I couldn't stock up on my normal supplies as not many vendors were there. But I understand times are tough with inflation right now, we are lucky to get a show at all. Overall very positive feedback. We had a great time and played a ton of pinball. I haven't missed a show yet and don't plan on it. If Gabe and company keep putting these on I'll keep showing up. I do plan to expand out and check out another show as well next year.

    #883 1 year ago
    Quoted from ejacques:

    Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other show (in the northeast at least) that has a hotel attached to it....there is absolutely nothing requiring anyone to stay at the hotel itself other than perhaps "convenience". The show space itself is perfectly fine.

    I agree. Yeah, the hotel is shaky at best, but there are other lodging options. I've stayed at the Host for every one of these shows, and luckily have not experienced any major issues with my room. The shower was only lukewarm on Saturday morning, but other than that, no major complaints.
    I like the fact that once you park your vehicle, you really don't have to move all weekend. The amenities within walking distance, and the scenic lake are also pluses for this location.
    I think many of the regular attendees would not go if the show moved to Boxborough.
    Have to take the good with the bad, and overall, I love the location of the show where it is.
    Oh, the BBQ place; got lots of food, and the ribs were huge, but they were very fatty and greasy. Similar to Grumpy's bbq near the Allentown show. Onion rings dripped grease. Brisket, pulled pork, and smoked chicken looked good from what my table mates reported.

    #884 1 year ago
    Quoted from ejacques:

    Also kuddos Gerry for bringing a very nice playing Aztec....if I hadn't gone home with Godzilla I was coming your way next . Still one of my favorite late EM's and yours played great.

    Agreed- I got a bunch of games in on that Aztec, and it really played nicely. If I wasn't pressed for space, I might have tried to find a way to get it home with me...

    #885 1 year ago
    Quoted from drsfmd:

    Agreed- I got a bunch of games in on that Aztec, and it really played nicely. If I wasn't pressed for space, I might have tried to find a way to get it home with me...

    I hear ya -- I'm still kicking myself for not picking up that Aztec, too. Shot like a dream! It was having a few scoring issues and ball advance issues come Sunday, but nothing some TLC wouldn't have fixed. Gah!

    #886 1 year ago
    Quoted from drsfmd:

    Most of the games for sale had a price listed. I wasn't given a choice-- when I registered it as being for sale, the woman at the counter made me include a price.

    Yeah, nothing on tap at all. $6.50 for a bottle of Bud Light? I don't think so. There were lots of people walking around with their own booze, and with the hotel prices, I understand why...

    That is not true. You could not see the tap when standing at the concession stand they had to walk to the side were it was. I ordered multiple worm town be hoppy bears during the show

    #887 1 year ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    However, I did notice that when someone reported my game as malfunctioning, I didn't get any notifications about it. I just happened to walk by and see that someone had turned it off, then I signed in to the website and saw the trouble report.

    Our process for trouble reports is to have the Tech Team look into it first, and involve the game-bringer only if necessary. We have some ideas for MyFlipR that would make it simpler for the owner to get a quick view of the status of all the games they brought. As with almost any software package, that feature request is competing against other feature requests for the programmer's attention.
    .................David Marston

    #888 1 year ago

    I don’t know who the tech was in the tournament area but he did a fantastic job. A few games went down but he always got them back up in relatively short time.

    #889 1 year ago

    The elevator stank like death. Literally. As in there must have been a dead animal in the shaft or on the roof.

    Quoted from 80spit:

    Our elevator and hallway stank bad, I figured it was all those kids from the 2 weddings there as they were partying on our floor. Made the ghetto whirlwind feel right at home though

    #890 1 year ago
    Quoted from dannunz:

    That is not true. You could not see the tap when standing at the concession stand they had to walk to the side were it was. I ordered multiple worm town be hoppy bears during the show

    That's good to know. The person at the counter offered me Bud Light, Heineken and a third option (maybe Amstel? I don't remember). I didn't specifically say "what's on draft" which may have prompted a different answer.

    #891 1 year ago

    The Free Play room had fewer games but a better selection of quality games, so in my opinion it all evened out. I brought two games, both worked flawlessly the whole time. I tried to sell them, even with below-average pricing (according to Pinside) but no takers. Oh well.

    The EB Lounge is great as always.

    The West Mass / SNH club room was awesome. Great selection of games and that crew knows how to run a tournament. They ran THREE! These guys pretty much get my MVP award. Andrew I think his name is? Well done, take a bow!

    Good selection of forums.

    The vendor hall was lacking, yes, but at least it was replaced with a boatload of games you could play and purchase. A NIB Rush pro would cost 6800 + tax + shipping, or you could get one there for 6000-6200 total if you said the right things.

    The main tournament sponsored by The Sanctum was incredible yet again. Jim knows how to run em and the volunteer crew was equally awesome. Thanks to all who helped with that.

    The Rush tribute band Limelight was AWESOME! I don't see many people talking about this but that's as close to Rush as I'll ever get. I took a video and posted it and people in the comments thought it was actually Rush because it was so good.

    We (wife and I) had a room in the annex building on the top floor. Smelly hallways and stairways, but our AC worked. Room was run down and filthy-looking. My only real complaint about the weekend, probably.

    I get the LE pass every year but I found it too expensive this time around. I usually buy two but this time I brought two games instead. Saved $550 that way. The check-in process was simple and the people running that area did a fantastic job.

    Actually, I couldn't find the give-away thing for the people who brought games. The schedule didn't show a location or time, just "Sunday Morning" and that was it. I looked around and finally somebody told me I had missed it. I'd like to see this fixed in the future. I wasn't the only one who was left searching.

    I love the location at Sturbridge. It's right next door to a large liquor/beer store. The crew I went with tailgated all 4 days, it was great. Walkable distance to fast food and if you put in a little effort you can get better food a tad further away. We had stuff delivered too. Plus it's right off the highway. Gotta love that.

    All in all it was either my favorite Pintastic or close to it. I would very much like to see more vendors next year, and it'd be great if they updated their rooms or something. It's 20k per room but you can also charge $50 more per day so that pays for itself in 2 years at 50% capacity. I don't get why they don't do that.

    #892 1 year ago
    Quoted from jackd104:

    The elevator stank like death. Literally. As in there must have been a dead animal in the shaft or on the roof.

    It was amazingly terrible. Like a stench that none of us had ever witnessed before. Just a combination of all of the most foulest of substances. Everyone should experience it once to experience what hell must smell like. Seriously, the hotel should advertise it.

    #893 1 year ago
    Quoted from dmarston:

    Our process for trouble reports is to have the Tech Team look into it first, and involve the game-bringer only if necessary. We have some ideas for MyFlipR that would make it simpler for the owner to get a quick view of the status of all the games they brought. As with almost any software package, that feature request is competing against other feature requests for the programmer's attention.
    .................David Marston

    I think it might be a better option to give the game bringer a choice on how/when they're notified. Personally, I would've liked to have been notified immediately. However, I understand if other people might prefer the option of letting a tech do a preliminary evaluation first, especially if they're not roaming around at the show 100% of the time.

    #894 1 year ago

    At times, the men's room between the free play area and the box office smelled like a barnyard.

    #895 1 year ago
    Quoted from truemagoo102:

    It was amazingly terrible. Like a stench that none of us had ever witnessed before. Just a combination of all of the most foulest of substances. Everyone should experience it once to experience what hell must smell like. Seriously, the hotel should advertise it.

    pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).png
    #896 1 year ago
    Quoted from ThePinballCo-op:

    The Rush tribute band Limelight was AWESOME! I don't see many people talking about this but that's as close to Rush as I'll ever get. I took a video and posted it and people in the comments thought it was actually Rush because it was so good.

    They were very good, but I've seen better. The acoustics/sound mix was terrible though. Drums were way too loud (but the drummer was awesome!) Vocals were drowned out. It was a nice touch to the show though.

    #897 1 year ago

    We have been going to this show since the beginning never stayed at the host we do the econobox next to BT's smokehouse. I only need a bed and a shower so my standards are low. We love this show because you can walk almost anywhere and get food, beer and even some mary jane if that is your thing. Gabe throws a hell of party show and gives back to those who bring games!

    As far as game prices most were pretty high. I brought Globetrotters this year and started out at $2750 which I thought was high but others told me to go with that price. It was a very nice example and I only had one issue a sticky sling that I got fixed. I dropped the price 4 times $2550, $2250 and then $2000. I had no offers even though I had obo on the price card with the price I wrote in marker so it could be seen. I finally sold it to a friend for 2k but had to bring it home with me for delivery at another time. Funny thing is after I sold it I crossed off all the prices and got 4 text messages asking what the price was. Another person low balled my buddy for his Mata Hari he had listed for 2k they offered 1200 which was less than he paid for it.

    I will go to this show if it stays where it is or gets closer to me. It is a 4 to 7 hour drive depending which house I leave from and I won't drive any further. I would like to see it move back to the November dates as nothing is going on the first two weeks of November for me.

    I did get to smell the elevator as 80spit and dmacy had the Ghettowind setup and I wanted to play it in their room. We only took it up and then walked down the stairs to avoid whatever had died in there!

    Joe

    #898 1 year ago
    Quoted from ThePinballCo-op:

    I would very much like to see more vendors next year, and it'd be great if they updated their rooms or something. It's 20k per room but you can also charge $50 more per day so that pays for itself in 2 years at 50% capacity. I don't get why they don't do that.

    As I said before, I don't think the Host is very long for this world. I highly doubt any kind of long-term plan or investment that doesn't include a wrecking ball is in the planning stages.

    #899 1 year ago
    Quoted from jrpinball:

    They were very good, but I've seen better. The acoustics/sound mix was terrible though. Drums were way too loud (but the drummer was awesome!) Vocals were drowned out. It was a nice touch to the show though.

    I'd cut the sound guy some slack...the atrium/defunct hot tub area doesn't exactly scream "designed for optimal acoustics during a rock concert."

    #900 1 year ago
    Quoted from ThePinballCo-op:

    The Free Play room had fewer games but a better selection of quality games, so in my opinion it all evened out. I brought two games, both worked flawlessly the whole time. I tried to sell them, even with below-average pricing (according to Pinside) but no takers. Oh well.
    The EB Lounge is great as always.
    The West Mass / SNH club room was awesome. Great selection of games and that crew knows how to run a tournament. They ran THREE! These guys pretty much get my MVP award. Andrew I think his name is? Well done, take a bow!
    Good selection of forums.
    The vendor hall was lacking, yes, but at least it was replaced with a boatload of games you could play and purchase. A NIB Rush pro would cost 6800 + tax + shipping, or you could get one there for 6000-6200 total if you said the right things.
    The main tournament sponsored by The Sanctum was incredible yet again. Jim knows how to run em and the volunteer crew was equally awesome. Thanks to all who helped with that.
    The Rush tribute band Limelight was AWESOME! I don't see many people talking about this but that's as close to Rush as I'll ever get. I took a video and posted it and people in the comments thought it was actually Rush because it was so good.
    We (wife and I) had a room in the annex building on the top floor. Smelly hallways and stairways, but our AC worked. Room was run down and filthy-looking. My only real complaint about the weekend, probably.
    I get the LE pass every year but I found it too expensive this time around. I usually buy two but this time I brought two games instead. Saved $550 that way. The check-in process was simple and the people running that area did a fantastic job.
    Actually, I couldn't find the give-away thing for the people who brought games. The schedule didn't show a location or time, just "Sunday Morning" and that was it. I looked around and finally somebody told me I had missed it. I'd like to see this fixed in the future. I wasn't the only one who was left searching.
    I love the location at Sturbridge. It's right next door to a large liquor/beer store. The crew I went with tailgated all 4 days, it was great. Walkable distance to fast food and if you put in a little effort you can get better food a tad further away. We had stuff delivered too. Plus it's right off the highway. Gotta love that.
    All in all it was either my favorite Pintastic or close to it. I would very much like to see more vendors next year, and it'd be great if they updated their rooms or something. It's 20k per room but you can also charge $50 more per day so that pays for itself in 2 years at 50% capacity. I don't get why they don't do that.

    Thank you for your input. We will make those changes. The hotel is in 1 year into a 3 year remodel. The new owner has dumped a lot of money into it so far and rooms are being remodeled in sections. This takes time and will improve as we move ahead.

    There are 1,257 posts in this topic. You are on page 18 of 26.

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