As a friend of both Rich & Ivan I have to say BOTH are equal but very different shows.

Ivan does a hell of a good job with the Allentown Show but that show has grown to a point of just craziness. It is super busy from opening right up to closing each day and a high energy show. The flea market area is likely the best in the country and is my favorite part of the show. The down side with Allentown is it has grown to a point of almost not being fun anymore. Really busy, really noisy, and just plain crazy pretty much all day. Farmers market food right across the street is another great thing about Allentown! (If you like busy & high energy Allentown is just that).

On the flip side Rich has a totally different approach to his York Show - he isn't looking for HUGE - craziness - etc. It just has a nice feel to it - very relaxed and still a lot of fun. Rich runs the show more like he is dealing with family & friends. The show just has a great feel to it - like your old favorite pair of shoes! I actually set up for the first time as a vendor at York this past year and it exceeded all expectations actually doing better than Allentown for me. York typically has shorter lines for freeplay machines and a lot more earlier stuff including "Bingo Row' and a nice selection of woodrails & EM's. There are still plenty of newer machines but nothing like the selection at Allentown if you are into newer stuff.

Asking which is better is like asking a parent which child is their favorite. If you can make both shows - go to both. If you can only get to one or the other flip a coin and do the other show the following year. You will not regret going to either!

Size wise I would say Allentown is 30 to 40% bigger than York with a lot more vendors selling new parts & mods. As far as freeplay machine count I think Allentown is typically around 275 and York just over 200. If Ivan or Rich reads this post they can verify that count. I know this past year Ivan had to turn machines away due to freeplay area being 100% full on Friday. I am not sure how Rich did but I think he was at least close to full Friday (maybe room for 20 or 25 more machines at a guess).

Rob,

I have to agree food is tough at York and great at Allentown. As far as my comment about Allentown "not being fun anymore" I am not big on huge crowds and the freeplay room at Allentown is always soooooooo crowded I typically hang out just on our flea market side of the building. I hate just trying to walk through the freeplay side heading for food so I typically head out the back door and walk to the farmers market through the parking lot.

Don't get me wrong the action at Allentown is incredible but just not my thing with the lines & crowd in that main hall. Ivan's issue with Allentown is it has basically outgrown the space. Sadly there is no additional space to use at Allentown unless he moves the flea market back outside and expands the show to both sides of the building. York doesn't have that space issue but York has the food issue.

In my eyes both are great shows with great promoters. Another great show is Pintastic thanks to Gabe's hard work. I have never been able to attend Gabe's Show yet but I think he works harder than any promoter I have ever had the pleasure of meeting to make that show something special. We are truly lucky to have three great guys putting on 3 great shows here in the north east. And while I am at it I have to give a "shout out" to ForceFlow and his event each Summer. He started that show just two years ago and it has filled a void up in NY.

One thing good about Allentown is it is less than three months away (79 days to be more exact). York is still in the "distant future" about 8 months away at this point in time. Another good thing is if you don't find something you love at Allentown there is always York coming up a few months later. But if you wait and go to York in the Fall Allentown would be 15 months away if you don't find something at York.

But again - if you can - hit both of them you will not be sorry!

What is kind of a shame is both shows want to keep growing (which is great) but there is no room for Allentown to grow at this point. On the other hand York could grow each year for 100 years and never run out of room at the York Fairground but the food at York pretty much sucks & Rich is stuck with it because York will not allow outside vendors to sell food at their fairground unless they are approved vendors.

The cost of renting buildings at York is insane and their rules are even worse but it is a great venue to hold an event. I know nothing about the Allentown venue other than they have great food handy.

It is hard to beat the food at Allentown but I go to shows for pinball not for the food so I can live with snack bar food or brown bagging it a couple days a year at York. And set up day at York Rich buys vendors pizza & soda for dinner so at least we get to eat good when setting up.

All I can say is if you are close enough to attend you will not regret going to either of these shows & personally I feel very lucky to have two great shows within 100 miles of home. Both Rich & Ivan do a great job making these shows happen every year and we all own them big for what they do! Running a show is a lot of risk & work for very little return so I am always thankful for the effort they each put into making these shows happen.

Food at York isn't all that bad and you don't have to worry about getting sick after eating it (like at the Allentown snack bar) but your selection is somewhat limited. At Allentown you could eat lunch & dinner for a month and never have the same meal twice with all the food vendor choices over at the Farmers Market. But I made the mistake of grabbing some food at the Allentown snack bar one year and I'll never do that again! Maybe it was just bad luck but my stomach was a mess for almost a week.

About 3 years ago after Ivan got tired of people doing silly stuff they should not have been doing so Ivan started having guards on every door on Thursday (set up day). This changed the show a lot because it is impossible for anyone to get in without a wrist band (vendor or freeplay game people only). That is the way it should be but it sure cut into my Thursday sales.

Anyway - don't show up Thursday thinking you can just sneak in - that doesn't happen anymore. Last year I had my van and trailer at the door and security still didn't want to let me in until one of Ivan's crew came over and told them I was a vendor and needed to get my trailer to my space. Long story but since I am in the back of the building they want me in and out as quickly as possible and didn't want me in line waiting for my paperwork yet security was doing their job and I wasn't getting in without that wrist band as far as they were concerned.

I think this was a necessary change but I do miss the "good old days" of just walking in and out on set up day without an issue.

Flea Market is typically almost 100% inside these days. Occasionally one or two people set up outside but that is about the extent of the outside flea market area now.

Vendors typically like outdoor markets better because it is easier to set up but both Allentown & York have a history of so much rain lately it has changed things. Sun is also brutal if it is a hot & sunny day so inside is just easier for the duration of the show but there is something lost when everyone moves inside. Another issue with flea market area is the supply of machines and parts has rapidly dried up over the past several years. So flea markets will keep getting smaller instead of bigger since it has gotten so hard to buy project & parts machines.

I know from experience how much things have changed. 8 or 10 years ago there were weeks that I picked up a half a dozen machines or more and was averaging a machine coming in about every 4 or 5 days (close to 100 machines a year). Last year I think I picked up a total of around 10 machines and had to pay dearly for those. If vendors can't buy they don't have as much to sell!