Sorry to hear that Dave, one of our favorite shows!
(Topic ID: 267839)
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1 year later
Quoted from dmarston:I have activated Bonus Points for all the John Borg games, which is a lot! Notice that the 2015 Stern KISS game is a John Borg design with Kevin O'Connor art, which means you get both bonuses if you bring that game for our Free Play room, and stack on another bonus if it's the LE version! Whatever games you bring can earn extra rewards if you register them by October 24th!
See the list of games currently destined to appear somewhere at our show by going to https://pintasticnewengland.com/ and choosing the Game List option from the Free Play Games menu. And that list does not include games being shown by vendors in their booths!
Many thanks to the generous pinball machine owners all over the Northeastern USA (and Canada, we hope) who bring their games for everyone to enjoy!
.................David Marston
Dave I'm hustling to have my homebrew Seawitch there and might bring a DE Playboy and a Williams Firepower as well.
Quoted from dannunz:Why not help out your pinball show and get a chance to win your share of over $5,000 in cash and prizes.
I'm not being snarky but are you advertising this fact? I could find nothing on the website after poking around for 10 minutes and only a vague reference in the Pinside event description. Even a search of this thread for "raffle" turns up a single post.
Quoted from dannunz:It’s not a raffle it’s a promotion.
In 2019 we gave away over $5,000 in cash, prizes, and gift cards to game bringers who left there games in free play. We are on track to do that again. All the incentives are on our web site game registration page.
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Suggestion: put it on the front page so people can see it.
Quoted from dannunz:It’s not a raffle it’s a promotion.
Again not to be an asshole you actually use the term "raffle tickets" in your posting above.
Quoted from beelzeboob:I'll set up a kissing booth at Pintastic, but only if people request it.
$1 each. All proceeds go to the Make Rhode Islanders Happy Again Fund.
Let me know.
Free bump for a great show and cause.
How about throwing a hoagie in?
1 week later
Quoted from dannunz:Time is running out to get 2 tickets in our thank you promotion. You could win $500, $200 or $100 in cold hard cash. Plus we gave away $4,000 in prizes from our vendors and sponsors in 2019. Tomorrow is the last day to register games and get 2 tickets!
I'll register today, some issue with the game I'm hoping to bring but to have sorted soon.
Quoted from dmarston:Are you planning to attend the show? Maybe someone near you would offer to transport the games for you, if they saw a notice in this thread.
.................David Marston
Dave I see my two pins are registered but the information on the Seawitch has been changed. It is very much a home brew pin and that is how I wish to enter it, the amount of Stern parts in its assembly the last 2 months can pretty much be counted on one hand.
Details here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/seawitch-from-scratch-allentown-edition
E-mail replied.
Anyone have any Bally 77 to 88 loaded playfields for sale? Drop me a PM.
There was a Night Rider at York, should have grabbed it!
1 week later
Speaking of home-brew, the "Seawitch from Scratch" will also be at Pintastic Friday and Saturday!!
From wall hanging playfield to pinball machine in 64 days!
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/seawitch-from-scratch-allentown-edition
Just doing some tweaking and final tuning for your playing pleasure Friday and Saturday.
(For those confused about the logo, the cabinet is setup to run any standard body solid state Stern OR Bally playfield from 1977 to 1986)
It even has a chime box.
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1 week later
Quoted from dmarston:Thanks to all who have signed up to be volunteers! I am at the show venue now, where we have volunteers folding and stacking T-shirts, stuffing Limited Edition swag bags, marking the floors for vendor booths and Free Play games, and several other tasks. And the free play games are starting to come in. See you soon!
.................David Marston
See you with two games bright and early on Friday Dave!
Quoted from gac:Saw one of my favorite pinball people today... Mr. TNT himself (and Frank too)
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I got to shake hands with John Borg this morning, how cool!
Some random pics; Godzilla was well done and had an outstanding layout. I have to say the most impressive new Stern game I have played in some time.
Halloween was also a hoot to play, very well done sound and light assets. Played Houdini for the first time, not to our tastes. WAY to much stop and go video stuff and tighter shots than X-files which is saying something. Great use of mechs and magnet though. 24 a rare bird and Faith and I enjoyed playing it, lot of open space but good use of mechs. Big Shout out to Brian Bushey who brought 13 or 14 pins to the show! Transporter was a rare treat to play and in exceptional condition.
Soapbox time.
Mandalorin.
I think there was a single one there and our experience is exactly the same as Allentown. One guy got on the machine and just tied it up for a half hour ON ONE BALL. He won replay and extra ball and just kept going. After 20 mins we just got out of line and walked away. He was still banging away after we finished a four player game on Halloween with a friendly couple.
Either Mandolorin is too easy out of the box or the owner had it setup too easy for show environment, both times. I'm thinking the game is geared towards the casual pin buyer and not inclined to buy one. Godzilla on the other hand, easy buy if one should come my way. Outstanding playfield layout and just plain fun while busting your ass.
Thanks to everyone who brought games to the show, an excellent experience! The vast majority of pins were up and running despite electrical issues at the host hotel. Several pins I have never played before (including CUE!) always great to sample different offerings for possible acquisition and/or restoration.
Gabe, Nancy, Dave and the rest of the Pintastic staff and volunteers did a fantastic job running the show and look forward to bringing more than 2 pins next year for the free play area. Both Seawitch and Playboy got flogged for dear life and never skipped a beat!
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Quoted from DaWezl:Shhhhhh….don’t remind me of the timeline yet!
But seriously, crazy as it may sound, I’m really looking forward to the next one, even as my body is yelling at me about this one!
I'm seriously thinking of sitting on the Firepower I was going to put up a for sale ad and bringing it to the next show with a few others.
Quoted from HoneyBadger:Thanks to all involved.
BEST PINBALL SHOW...nuff said!
Attending Allentown, York and Pintastic I have to say they all have a different flavor to them and enjoyed them all.
Best place to play a large number of games? Pintastic.
Best place to meet & greet people from all over with a large selection of new and used parts? Allentown (Plus the farmers market!)
Best place for a traditional show with lots of EM and good selection of used parts? York.
Quoted from hool10:FYI this is the game bringer card we put on games. Photo credit to Martin Ayub of "Pinball News".
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Much bigger font needed along with YOU COULD OWN THIS GAME.
Green color means nothing to most people.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:I don’t think it’s a huge deal or needs the hard sell but games for sale should have the price in a very large font.
You have to make to obvious for the lowest common denominator and most of them will still miss it.
Trust me on this.
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:Was it color coded, green for sale?!? I didn’t even know that. And the prices were so small!
I only noticed because I brought two pins, one for sale and the other not. One card was green, the other white.
3 months later
Quoted from arcyallen:I like how my initial reaction is "Two pin shows in the same year, that's too many. People wouldn't go to both."
Me, exactly .1 second later: "I'd go."
I go to York, Allentown and Pintastic. All 3 shows have their own unique vibe.
1 week later
I should be able to make this years event if surgery isn't delayed- Looking to bring a Firepower and Space Shuttle for freeplay/trade/sale and might bring Seawitch from scratch again for freeplay.
Looking for a routed Star Trek Pro, Data East Simpsons and possible playfield candidates for the Bally/Stern cabinet. Have a loaded (or stripped) standard Stern or Bally playfield you are looking to move from the MPU-100/200 -17 &-35 era? Drop me a line.
Already have Seawitch, Quicksilver, Centaur, Silverball Mania, Skateball and a worn Trek and Nitro.
3 weeks later
Quoted from DaveH:I think the answer back then was that it was too hard to tell, color coding them wasn’t the answer, and that they would be making it more clear and testing new fonts, especially price. Just go to the top of a page, and look at pictures of cards. Here is a quoted post of one.
Color coding doesn't work if you don't explain to people what the color coding means.
I had a game for sale and one for free play and the only way I knew the difference was because I asked when handed 2 different color cards.
Picture attached- There is nothing that can be seen from the players position that indicates my pin is NOT FOR SALE.
Next show I attend I was simply going to make a sticker to slap on the playfield glass that states FOR SALE or NOT FOR SALE because people understand that.
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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.
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.
Quoted from jrpinball:At times, the men's room between the free play area and the box office smelled like a barnyard.
I must have lucked out, Friday was fine.
Quoted from Grandnational007:I brought a game as usual (Robo-War) which ran flawlessly all weekend, so that was good.
Thank you, I enjoyed playing such a rare title several times on Friday.
Quoted from jrpinball:Didn't see too many unsupervised young children at the show this time. A few years back, a young boy was trying to slam all five balls into the shooter lane on my Gottlieb "Sky Line" and managed to bend the ball lift mechanism inside the game. It was balky the rest of the show, but I repaired it when I got home.
I was crestfallen to see the sign on cris-cross that it had been broken only a few hours into the show.
To survive 90 years and get broke at a show is a crotch kick.
Quoted from drsfmd:It's endemic. I know a guy who owns a very high grade restoration 16 cylinder Cadillac. A couple of years ago, a father picked up his kid, plopped the kid down on a fender, and wanted to take a picture. The father couldn't understand why my friend went ballistic on him for assuming it was ok to do this to his $250,000+ car. The father's response "what's the big deal? It's just an old car". Dad is lucky he left with all of his teeth.
I have restored muscle cars; this is one reason I don't got to any shows now that the kids are grown up. Joe average public is utterly indifferent to your property if not downright abusive.
4 weeks later
Quoted from dannunz:Problem is for financial reasons of the contract we need people to stay at the hotel to make the show happen.
The hotel is not living up to its end of the contract.
Quoted from dannunz:You would think that’s the case. But unfortunately it’s not. I can’t say any more than that right now. Trust me we are aggressively working on a solution.
Tell them point blank you are leaving.
5 years I have been going to Pintastic and the host hotel is looking worse than ever.
Be a shame if someone dropped a dime to OSHA about mold and mildew.
Who knows what else they would find while there, rather through they are.
Quoted from jrpinball:I don't know if OSHA would be the agency to go to, unless you were complaining on behalf of the employees of the place.
Don't have to be an employee.
Quoted from MG7322:Isn’t NH the center of New England? Equal distance from every point. It is Pintastic NE after all.
Population is heavy to the south.
My vote is Massachusetts is fine, i have no opinion on staying at host hotel because I'd never stay at the host hotel. The show layout is fine there though the place itself has gone downhill.
Quoted from CubeSnake:Not sure if it has ever been mentioned, but have you looked into Mohegan Sun Casino? I know, I know-it's expensive. Really expensive. But if properly managed, it will be a monster of a show! Went to Terrificon there and it was amazing. I've been to many, many other events there and it never disappoints.
To say it's clean is an understatement. The hotel is beyond Disney-quality as far as being clean. The bathrooms (there are MANY) are spotless and are usually manned. As far as infrastructure goes, it's perfect. I'm not too sure of this, but I know busses come & go for those who don't like the drive. That may be an option.
Will this increase admission price? You bet your ass it would, but all of the problems people are having with Sturbridge Host will not be present at MSC. Now, keep in mind there is a subset of people who will complain regardless of where the event is held. That's too bad. Let them complain.
I was going to suggest them as well, large size and clean.
Quoted from arcyallen:That's exactly what I thought when I heard "Mohegan Sun". I hate to say this, but I'll take my mosquito laden, pot smelling, loud, not quite secure room for $120 over a flawless room for only $380 more. Per night. There are other hotels in the area (and Foxwoods is traditionally cheaper, I'm sure you check with them already) that are cheaper, but not staying onsite is a toughie for many.
No one stays onsite at York or Allentown.
Quoted from beelzeboob:Well, the geographic center of the US is Lebanon, Kansas, but you wouldn't want to have a pinball show there, either...or at least one that anybody would show up to. Where are most of the people coming from at Pintastic? I'd argue that Gabe gets the NE crowd as well as loads from NY, NJ, and even PA. As enticing as it might be to move the show closer to Boston or other points in NE, you risk cutting out about half of your regular patrons. Also, as the organizer of the show, I'm sure he'd like to keep it close to where he lives since he schleps many of the great machines there every year.
I go to Allentown, but York is a little too far for me for what you get. Likewise, Pintastic is great where it is, but I'd have to think about annual attendance if it was in the Boston area or up in NH.
It maybe the "geographic center" of New England but boatloads of people come from PA/NJ/NY.
The "geographic center of NE" is a thin argument for "I want it closer to my house"
I wish York was closer to my house as well, but it would be a bad call for the show guys to make moving it.
Quoted from drsfmd:I'm about the same distance as you are from the current location.
Desperate? I'm not even sure what you're talking about. Allentown and York are both further for me... but I still go. Flea market aside, Pintastic is a *much* better show than either of those.
I go to all three.. they all have thier own vibe.
Quoted from GreenMachine19:Mystic Marriott in CT? It’s where we have our company Christmas party every year (before Covid ruined that)
They had several computer shows in the past, might be worth checking.
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