Well, Dannunz (Gabe) and I (Derek) have put our heads and our wallets together and we have secured a great location to have our first annual Pinball Expedition right here in...New England!!!

The dates we have tentatively secured are Thurs-Saturday, July 9th through the 11th, 2015! We thought this would be the perfect time to hold the event because the weather is perfect, the kids are out of school and people like to take their family vacations in July. What better way to spend some of your family vacation than to get out and play a whole lot of pinball together?

That said, we want to hear from our Pinside family and see who'll be pumped up, geared up and looking forward to coming to the show. We want you ALL to come!

We'll also be looking for help from whoever would like to assist us with the various tasks required to run a show of this magnitude.

We are hoping to have over a thousand people at the event along with tons of machines and lots of vendors to support New England. Our area has been starving for this type of event and the time has finally come. We will now have our very own Pinball extravaganza!

Additional, we are actively looking for vendors and top sponsors (Please PM us if you are interested) who want to come and be a part of a new and annual tradition right here in New England! We're looking for dealers, parts companies, modders, LED suppliers, operators and EVERYONE to join in on the fun! We already have some awesome sponsors in place and some of the exciting news will be forth coming. We promise that we are going all out, all in and doing everything we can to make this a huge and unforgettable event.

We want to have a lot of machines at the event for free play, so anyone who brings a machine will get free admission to the show. 1 free admission per machine, per day. All machines must be set on free play (Except for vendors) for any and all to play. You know the drill.

Also, we have secured a large area outside in the nice flat, tarred parking lot for the flea market area. Everyone loves the flea market. It's one of the highlights of a show. So, we wanted to make sure we got a place that had a huge area for it with plenty of parking for all.

For those who will be coming from a distance, we found a convention center that is centrally located in the central Massachusetts area with great highway access right off of Rt 90 (The MA. Pike) and I-84. We are working on securing discounted rates in the adjoining hotel. this will be getting worked on over the next few weeks. Once the rates are finalized, we will give the exact location and put it up on our website (Being worked on) with a link to the hotel website and other various area amenities.

We told them that we wanted them to give everyone a great rate because people are going to want to stay right there at the event. The hotel looks to be very nice with the amenities you'd expect from a top hotel. There's a heated indoor pool with Jacuzzi hot tub, two on site restaurants, a large seating area for relaxing, all overlooking a beautiful lake! Everything in the convention area is also air conditioned and carpeted to give some cushioning as you walk. Now that's a big plus!

We are working on getting a nice website together with the events name and links to all those sponsoring and coming to the event. We know it's early, but this is very exciting and we want everyone to be excited with us.

Thanks guys. This is coming together fast and we just want to have a huge successful event that we can hold annually for the area. It's tough too because you want to be respectful and not overlap anyone else's show/event. We felt like July would be a perfect month for it. What do you guys think?

Sarah is a wonderful person and a true testament to keeping pinball alive in New England. I want to go and speak to her directly and get her to come and hopefully bring a bunch of machines.

That said, we have already spoken to several vendors who have committed to coming and we'll speak to many more. We really want to make this show a premier pinball event destination.

LOL I know, but we needed to have it when the weather was nice as well as at a time where it didn't overlap other events. Allentown is AWESOME and that's in May. JJP has an August event and October is York PA. Chicago Expo is Oct too, so it's tough to work around them you know.

We're also announcing it now to give people the heads up to potentially plan their family vacation around it as well as drum up excitement and spread the word to non pinheads. We really want to make this an event that brings new people/blood into the hobby. That's great for everyone.

Almost all of the machines that people will bring will be for sale. You may see 5 of the same machine at an event and they'll probably all be for sale. So even if there's a bunch of the same machine, it's all good. That said, if you have any machines you want to sell come show time, bring them. There's no charge to you and you'll get in for free.

Thanks Eric! This was originally your idea and a great one it was. It takes a lot to get something like this going, both in time and in money. But we know we have the best people of any hobby here in pinball. So we knew that tons of people would come, help and support the show. We're expecting nothing less than a great event.

We've already had a few people ask us this. I will say that there were some trees around so I believe there may be some points during the day that are in the shade.

I'm trying to go to the facility this afternoon to start mapping out a floor plan. If the lady can meet with me, I'll be sure to check that area again and take some pictures so we can get them added to the web site. But please feel free to bring and put up a shade structure in your spot if you think it will help. There's plenty of room for that.

That's really appreciated Mocean and thank you!

Honestly, New Englanders have long supported a lot of various companies within the hobby. We are fully expecting for all those same companies to get behind the show and now support New England. We really believe the show is going to be huge success and a ton of fun.

Awesome Dan and thanks brothah! The event is about an hour from you. Of course that doesn't factor in that 128 traffic. That can be a nightmare!

Thanks Joe! We need all the support we can get and we're working out space pricing now. Hopefully we have all the info soon.

BTW, I love the South Park inside cabinet decals I got from you in Allentown. They look awesome and I'm hoping you guys will have something for NASCAR come show time!

Hey James, a Tourney will definitely be part of the show and any help and ideas for that are more than welcome.

We want this to be YOUR show. We want to get New England on the Pin-Map! If you want it, we'll do our best to have it or get it.

Update time...Well, it's now locked and 100% official. We spent a lot of time haggling and beating them down on the room prices. I told them that Pinheads will fill the hotel and take it over!

They have 220 total rooms in the hotel and we got them to agree to block off 50 rooms for each of the three nights of the event for only $99 a night! I tried to get them to include breakfast, but they flat out laughed and said, "Ain't happening." Oh well, I tried. They do have a great breakfast buffet for only $10.95 though, so it's all good.

Thursday is set up day, so a lot of vendors are going to pounce on those rooms at the discounted price. I know it's early, but I encourage anyone thinking of going to book ASAP.

We asked how late the indoor pool and hot tub were open till and she told us that if we can get most of the place rented out, she will leave the indoor pool and hot tub open for us till 12pm!!! There's nothing better than soaking in a hot tub after being on your feet all day. Ahhhhhhh. LOL

Anyway, the rooms will be available on Monday. She is going to put in a discount code for us. The code is "Pinball". You'll need to use that code in order to get that $99 rate.

I will be contacting our hotel liaison to see how the rooms are selling out as time goes along and I'll update you here.

Once those first 50 rooms are booked, I'll then try to get them to block off another 50 rooms for us at the same discounted price. She said she didn't see that as being a problem. After that though, it's going to get tough to get that discounted rate. So, we'll see what happens.

So, that is our first update for you and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Hotel link... http://www.sturbridgehosthotel.com/

That's great mulder! Our goal is to make the New England show a pinballer's destination event for sure. It may take a few years of trial and error, great reviews and proven results before that happens, but we'll do our best.

In the end, we want to tailor this show around what our fellow pinheads want to see and have every year.

For now we'll go under the premise of "If you build it, they will come."

LMAO! Good luck with the cloning idea brothah! Too bad bro, it's gonna be an awesome time and we'll miss ya, but enjoy your weekend as well.

Our website just went live 30 minutes ago. Don't get too excited, it's still all under construction. We're getting there though. We spent several hours going over it tonight. Hopefully by this time next week it will be completed.

Here's the site link... http://www.pintasticnewengland.com/

This is an exciting announcement...

Anyone who knows James Swain or the guys from the amazing Pinball Sanctum, know that these pinheads know how to run a tourney and do a incredible job with it. They have gotten together and have offered to run the Inaugural Pintastic 2015 tournament. This is awesome news! You can count on the tournament being a TON of fun for sure with the guys at the helm.

I would also like to say that I am going to be working hard to get a major company to sponsor the tourney. My sincerest hope is that I can get a few companies to band together and get a large amount of prize money together. We know that if we can somehow manage to pull $5-$10K in prize money, the best pin players from all around will come to play.

So please, if there are any companies out there that see this and you'd like to sponsor the tournament, please PM me and let me know.

We are working on the website and working on sponsorship tier rates for sponsors who want to help promote the event as well. We have several in place already and truly thank everyone.

I'd be remiss if I did not say this now...
The out pouring of excitement and offered help from people and sponsors for the event has been nothing short of amazing! Gabe and I are both simply blown away by how excited everyone is for Pintastic 2015. Our sincerest thanks go out to all of you, our extended pin family because the fact of the matter is, there is NO show and NO event with out ALL OF YOU!

Thank you...EVERYONE!

Jim, as Gabe said, I am looking to try to make this a $5-$10K tourney. I am going to try real hard to get some non pinball sponsors to try and sponsor it. I think that would really make the tournament something the whole show will keep an eye on.

That said, I know you and how you are. I think that I can totally turn it over to you my brothah. You can take full control and do what you guys think is the best and most fun for everyone.

This will take a load of my shoulders and will free me up to get as much sponsorship prize money as possible. I want people to come from all over to compete and have fun at the tourney.

I've said it multiple times to multiple people. Eric Bundy's T2 and your Taxi were the 2 best machines (IMHO) at the show. They were the stars! I'll really be looking forward to seeing what you bring to Pintastic! It won't be a Hurricane by chance will it??? LMAO!!!

I'm sure there will be a nice selection of Ems at the event. It's obviously early, but please feel free to say what games you may bring as some earlier in the thread already have.

We are going to try to add a running list link to the website where we can add what games people tell us they plan on bringing to Pintastic. I think it's nice to get an idea of what games are going to be at the event. Do you guys agree?

We plan on having all that and more!

Sorry Jim, I just called over there and the lady who is supposed to set it up is not in yet. Grrrrrrr. I left our hotel liaison a message to call me back. I'm sure it will be taken care of soon. I'll add a new post when it's all set. I think I added to the problem when I asked her to switch the code from Pinball to Pintastic. So, I have to straighten that out. Sorry guys.

Okay, I just got off the phone with the liaison. She's going to work on the rate code for us. Also, because there were a couple of issues with the contract, we have to go down and resign them agreeing to the changes. They will not set the room rate till the contracts are signed off on again. Grrrrr. We can't get down there today, so we are hoping to tomorrow or at worst, Wednesday. I will add a new post when they are 100% ready to go. Sorry guys.

Jim, this all sounds great. I love the idea of a relaxed and fun pin-golf tourney on Friday with a more competitive tourney format for Saturday for the big prize money. Your team can come up with the whole format and do what ever you guys would like to do and feel would work best. I will leave that 100% in your hands. That way, I KNOW it will be an AWESOME tournament!

Thank you "Team Sanctum"!!!

Okay, I am looking for a volunteer or two for a special event project.

I want to eliminate the obscurity and shyness usually found at pin shows. SO, is there anyone here that could make some stickers for the event?

I'm thinking I could buy some basic white stick on name tags BUT, with 2 name lines. The first line is for your website handle and the second line is for your name. Lets face it, people know you by your handle more than they know you by your name.

Can some volunteers make us some quarter sized stickers of the Pinside, NEACF, and BPA logos? Then, after someone registers, they can fill in their handle and name and then be given a sticker to represent the website their handle is from.

As people walk by you, they'll be able to see the logo on your name tag, see your name, and say hi.

I've left a few events bumming that I couldn't find certain people. I also found myself asking a lot of people if they were on Pinside or not. This would eliminate that and would (I hope) help get more people to be friends in here. I think this would help people be nicer to eachother as well. One tends to answer and say things a little differently and nicer on a website when they can put a face to the handle name.

Of course, you don't have to participate in this if you don't want to. But at least you'd have the choice.

Any thoughts positive or negative on this?

PS-Gabe, YOUR paying for these.

Why you being so obtuse? Is it deliberate?! I thumbed you down ya JERK!

That's a nice one. I'm just thinking about a plain white stick on your Pintastic 2015vT-Shirt ( ) name tag that you can write your name on and then ask for your website of choice sticker and put it on the name tag. Simple, easy and not too expensive. I hope anyway.

Thanks Eric. It's a great way to break the ice into a conversation and maybe even start a great friendship.

You are being Obtuse! LOL

Thanks Raisondot. That FB page is looking nice brothah!

Okay Everyone. The hotel is ready to room reservations with the rate code now. They had been working on a way to incorporate the entire event name into the code, but couldn't get it to add anymore than 6 letters. They said the needed to have the event date in the code as well so the proper discount code rate is... 1507Pintas

15 for 2015 and 07 for July. If you type in Pintastic, it will stop at Pintas. So, that's the best they could do for the code. So if anyone wants to book the guaranteed savings rooms, do so ASAP. I know the vendors are going to take a lot of them and fast, so jump in while you can.

Again, the rate code is - 1507Pintas

Remember, there will be a big Friday night after show party for all the vendors, event staff and hotel guests. Hotel guests will need to show their room key to be allowed into the party. Also, the manager told us that if we get the whole hotel sold out, they will keep the indoor pool and hot tub open for all hotel guests till 12am!

Thanks Jim. Stay tuned to FaceBook and the thread.. MAJOR event announcements are forth coming.

That's really cool of him to do that. Thank you Jack!

Jack is top notch and we should have him make a couple of our major announcements.

That's great guys. I know that all the vendors are going to gobble up the rooms quick. So we're hoping that everyone that pretty much knows they are going to go will grab those discounted room rates first.

My thoughts are that if we can get the discounted rooms they have allotted for us taken up by regular pinheads, it will be easier for me to ask for more rooms for the vendors and sponsors who are coming to the show. I'm going to try and push the hotel manager on the fact that these are the people (in essence) who are paying for the event. Support them because they are the ones supporting you.

I promise that Friday's after party is going to be a blast! Hopefully we get the rooms we need taken so we can get the pool and hot tub area kept open to 12. We're also going to be having Pizza and drinks (including many different brands of beer) available as well. The vendors and staff will be able to just chillax and have a good time playing some pinball after working hard all day. They'll also be able to talk to one another when they couldn't during the craziness of the event. It's going to be a great time.

You know, we have some people here in New England with some serious talent and ability. They do this because they have such an intense passion and love for pinball. For them, bringing a game back from the dead to better than when it was new condition is what drives them. Knowing they saved a machine from the thrash heap is all the encouragement they need.

James, thumbs up and kudos my brothah! I LOVE this idea as well and I say...YES!!!

What better way to show our appreciation to these guys and their amazing efforts and abilities by rewarding them with something as a way of saying,.. Great job guys. Congrats, and Thank You for the hard work?

Now, I am going to say, that in my honest opinion, the 2 stars of the Allentown show were Eric's T2 and Jim's Taxi. There was also a gorgeous BK2K that looked fantastic as well. But you couldn't get near Taxi and T2. People know that this is my honest opinion because I have said it multiple times in various threads on Pinside. And as much as I've said it, many others have said it as well.

So with that, I'd like to officially implement this contest into Pintasic! We can call it... The Pintastic Restoration Throw Down! PRTD for short! LOL

Now, if I had to choose between which guys machine was better I'd have to say...YEAH RIGHT! Like I could choose!? What are you NUTS!?

So I think that what we can do is first, PLEASE register your machines that you are taking in to Pintastic in the soon to be activated (hopefully next week) game registration form. I am setting this up for 3 reasons. #1 - This guarantees you a spot at the event. #2 - Helps to give us an up to date rough idea of how many games to expect so we can set up the Pinball Room properly. And #3 - I am going to keep an up to date running list of machines that we are expecting to have at the show in a link on PintasticNewEngland.com. That way people can click on the link and they will know (for the most part) most of the games that will be there to see, play and possibly buy at the event.

So if you are going to enter a machine into the PRTD contest, register your machine and in the provided comments box, please tell us that your are entering the machine into the "Restoration Throw Down" contest. We'll be sure to add them to the link as well.

We will set up the machines in a row so that they can all be seen and played in one easy to find location. Then, we will make ballots available so everyone can vote for the machine they think is the best one. I'll have to figure out a way to prevent people from voting multiple times. But I'd like to think that we could all be honest and vote once and see how the chips fall. So, we'll have to see what we can come up with for a voting system/strategy.

Additionally, I will definitely do my best to get some great prizes and possibly some cash together for the contest.. Depending on how many games we get, I'd like to award prizes to the top 3 machines. I just think it's nice to spread the loot around a little. But if we only have 2 or 3 machines entered, than it will be a winner take all contest.

So, since I have already gotten the go ahead from my partner on this, I'd like to officially say...LET THE CONTEST BEGIN!!!

Good luck to you all!

Hey Steve. We already have an insurance policy in place that would cover an event like a fire or flood or other act of God. However, we cannot be responsible for damages caused to any machine, or if a machine were somehow stolen. Just as you can't baby sit it, I'm sorry to say, we can't either.

I'll have to check with the director of the facility, but I'm sure there are many security guards and cameras in and around the entire property. If someone were to steal a machine, it would be far too easy to roll back the footage and catch the thieves.

But I'll reiterate again that in no way will Pintastic or the hotel be held liable to any lost, stolen or (and especially) damaged property. I'm sure you understand that we cannot control other people's actions.

Additionally, we have already retained a lawyer who is in the process of writing legal disclaimers that state that by bringing a machine to the show, you acknowledge and accept these facts and understand that problems and situations arise that are simply out of our hands and thus we cannot be held responsible.

All that said, anyone who would be nervous, uncomfortable or afraid that something may happen to their machine is probably better off not bringing it.

I hope that you will still take your Joust as many people (myself included) would love to see and play it.

Does anyone have any horror stories of things like this happening at other events?

I must confess that I am really excited about this. It's going to be an awesome competition and a lot of fun.

By the sounds of just the last few posts, I think we'll get quite a few machines for the competition. I'm going to try hard to get a nice chunk of prize money together for this.

As Gabe stated, please make sure you take some well document before pics. There's a difference with starting with a decent game to begin with and a machine that went through Hurricane Sandy that gets restored. So document it well.

I don't know if we'll have game categories or what, but I'm expecting it will be a contest based on the best of the best with prizes and cash for the top 3 spots. But, we'll see.

To answer Jim's question on game registration... There's no rush to register your game. Heck, I don't care if you register it a couple days before the show, but it MUST be registered to enter the contest.

As for ballots and judging, I was thinking of handing everyone out a ballot right when they get their Pintastic Wrist Pass. The ballot will have an explanation of the contest and how to vote, that way, everyone will get 1 and only 1 vote.

Thoughts?

There re a lot of extremely talented restorers here in NE. I'm hoping that the contest will get them to come out and show off their skills. Of course, some cash and prizes is extra incentive for them to bring something to the show.

As for separating eras, I'd love that, it's just going to depend on if we get enough machines from said era that determines how we will run the contest.

Thanks for all the great input and suggestions Dave.

Also, I'm going to be encouraging several repair techs to rent a space at the event. One thing about shows, as machines are always in need of a little love, and attention.They'll be no shortage of opportunities for repairing stuff for people. I think some serious money will be there to be made at the show. Ideally, I'd like to have 3 or 4 techs available to repair machines for people. Let me Know if you'd be interested and thanks.

I just hung up the phone with the hotel liaison and she confirmed that Gabe/Dannunz is correct. In order for the discount code to work, you must choose a discount category after typing in the rate code 1507pintas. Choose the "Group Rate" code and the 1507pintas code will be accepted and you will get the $99 rate.

BTW, the regular room rate for those nights in July are $159 a night. So make sure you use that code so you get that discount.

Glad your coming. You can never have too many EMs.

It's going to be a great event with a lot of games, vendors and special guests. We're going to ALL put New England back on the pinball map!

They don't get any nicer or better than Llyod! Keep an eye out for guest announcements on this thread!

That is a great suggestion. No promises obviously, but I will see what I can do. Thanks NG!

Thank you for this heads up Jad. Since seeing you post, I have had multiple talks with the hotel management. I finally went down there for a face to face with the corporate "Big Wig".

Here's the nut shell of how it went down...

I said to him that this is going to be the type of event that draws over 2,000 people through the doors and will fill up your hotel. NOW, if you want to see other hotels take your business away, by all means, keep things the way they are. But if you want to see this place filled, then drop the rates down and give people a deal.

He then asked, "What would you like to see the rates at for the other rooms?".

I said, "$99 for the doubles, $109 for the queens and $119 for the kings. That's a fair deal.".

He then asks, "So, you think you're gonna fill this place?".

I said, "I know you don't know this hobby, but I'm telling you, this facility will be swarming with people and everyone is going to want to stay here. Especially because we're going to let everyone who stays here go to our exclusive Friday after party we're having. Everywhere there's a pinball show across the country, ALL the hotels always sell out and this place WILL sell out too."

He said, "Okay, I tell you what...I'll make ALL the rooms available for the $99 price."

I start laughing and I'm like... "WHAT!? REALLY!?". LOL

He said yup. "I want to see this hotel filled for a great event."

I said, "Hold on to your seat brothah. By this time next week, the rooms we already have booked will double. And I haven't even started booking the sponsors yet. Once they are on board this place will fill up fast!"

So, THEN I asked him, "Will you give us the whole hotel at this price!?".

He turned to our hotel liaison and asked her how many rooms we already have blocked off. She said 50 but I extended them an additional 50. He asked how many rooms were already booked, she said 32.

So he turns to me and says, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I'm sure we can come to an agreement that will make everyone happy."

So this is it. I just got word that the links are all livened up. So whether you need a double bed, or want a queen or even KING, they are ALL ONLY $99!!!

I'm sure this goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. Obviously the suites are NOT included in this special price. This is for all the basic rooms. Just want to be clear and save someone from calling the hotel and asking this question.

So, get in on these now while you can. Just remember, you choose your room, then put in the discount code... 1507Pintas Then choose the group rate and you should be good to go. If anyone has a problem, let me know here and I'll work it out for you.

Good luck guys!

Here's the hotel link again... http://www.sturbridgehosthotel.com

LOL Thanks. Wish I could've recorded the whole convo. There was a lot more to it with some funny comments, but you guys got the gist of it. I'm just so glad I was able to get them down. I can't believe they went to $99 bucks on the King rooms. At $119 they would've been a great deal. At $99, it's like getting FREE ADMISSION FOR BOTH DAYS OF THE EVENT!!!

I can't BELIEVE you got a mini suite for the $99 dollar price!!! That may be a mistake there, but they will have to honor it. ANYONE who wants one of those suites better pounce on that before they change it and take it away. That's an awesome deal on a very nice room. If they ever did the common areas over, they'd be a 4-41/2 star hotel.

Anyway, congrats on the room and I look forward to meeting you and your wife at the show.

Jake, you...are...AWESOME!!! It really came out amazing and I love it. Thanks for all the help and hard work. I publically thanked you as well on our "THANKS" page link as well. Thanks again Jake and I look forward to the Tee design.

Truth be told, we wanted to have it on Sunday too, but the Convention Center had another event already scheduled for that day. ;( So...

Pintastic New England is proud to announce it's first "official" MAJOR event sponsor.

New England, you can officially look forward to Jersey Jack Pinball supporting and attending your pinball show! JJP WILL BE THERE!!!

In speaking with Jack directly, he is extremely excited for New England to finally be having its own pinball show and he is ALL in with us to make this event a HUGE success!!!

He said that he will have some very special and "BIG" surprises for everyone at the event. He wouldn't even tell us what they were!

All I can say is, if you know Jack, you KNOW you can count on him making a MAJOR splash at Pintastic 2015!

I know I speak for everyone when I say Thank You Jack for supporting us. We'll all be looking forward to seeing what you have up your sleeves.

LOL I didn't ask what event was going on. Possibly a wedding? We could all crash it!

Anyway, I look forward to seeing you at the event Tom.

I was at Allentown last year for the first time and I thought it was AWESOME! Ivan does a HECK of a job making that a great and fun event for all. Not to mention all the vendors and helpers who come together to make it happen too.

I'll also say that I thought there was a good showing of outside vendors at the show and I would DEFNITELY encourage you to go. I think you'd have a blast regardless of what you do or don't purchase. Gabe and I will definitely be there too. That's how much we loved it.

As for Pintastic, we have over 12,000 square feet of air conditioned indoor space for vendors and we've marked out over 10,000 square feet of space for outside vendors. We could EASILY double the amount of outdoor vendor space, so if ANYONE wants to be a part of the indoor or outdoor vendors areas, please head over to PintasticNewEngland.com and click on the "Vendors" link at the top of our home page. There you can register for the event and we will advertise you here so that others will see that you will be there. People WANT what you have to sell, so by all means, jump in with us either inside the show or in the outside flea market area.

We fully expect to have everything you would want or hope to see at the event Luke. As of right now, JJP as well as Automated will be there with plenty of new machines for sale as well as individuals selling their used machines. We expect well over 200 at the event and most will have a sale price on them..

As for vendors...I believe we'll have over 40 different vendors inside and I easily think we'll have 15 - 20 flea market vendors outside. So there will be plenty of sellers on hand for you to purchase anything you may want or need.

Either way, I hope to see you at Allentown AND Pintastic next year. Thanks Luke.

This is all true and I would like to add that on the PintasticNewEngland.com web site, we will have a game registration form available for everyone to fill out as to what game they plan on bringing to the show. We will then take that list and post a separate (Event Games) link on the site that we will update every time we have a machine get added. That way you'll be able to click the link and see every game registered to be at the event.

NOW, I will say, this does NOT mean that we are guaranteeing that the machine will be there. We can't do that because people have the right to sell their machine anytime they want. So they could easily sell it before the show takes place. If they let us know it's been sold, we'll remove that machine from the list.

Hope that helps and TY Rave for that great comment.

I am happy and proud to announce that Marco Specialties is in for Pintastic! Marco Specialties has committed to not only partner with us, but also to vend at the show! You can be sure they'll bring a bevy of parts with them for all your pinball needs.

I'd also just like to say thank you to Marco's for helping to make Pintastic a reality for New England. Your support is greatly and sincerely appreciated. We simply can't do this without you.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Rock Custom Pinball is IN THE HOUSE!!!

Chris is an unbelievable guy with a crazy passion for pinball. His under cabinet lighting kits are second to NONE! If you're even remotely interested in undercab kits and other things LED, you definitely want to check him out at www.rockcustompinball.com

Thanks Chris for helping to make this event a reality. New England thanks you!

Thank you Chris. I hope you and your family will be able to attend the show my friend, it's going to be AWESOME!

We've had a few people ask if pets were allowed at the hotel. I spoke with our hotel Liaison and she confirmed that animals are in fact welcome at the hotel but there is a $25 charge per day per pet. So those of you who have pets and would like to take them, the Sturbridge host is a pet friendly facility.

I know that's great news for many out there, but I must make mention that no pets are allowed into the event area for safety reasons. The only exception would be for service dogs/guide-dogs. So please be aware of that only exception.

I will update the Pintastic website with this info tonight.

Thank you everyone!

I am happy and proud to announce that Comet Pinball is down with Pintastic!!!

Anyone that knows Art, knows that he is top shelf and top notch all the way. He has a RIDICULOUS amount of love and respect for our beloved hobby and making it more fun and enjoyable for everyone with all his awesome LED's is his mission! Art has some of the best LED's in the business. Please make sure to visit his site and check out all the various LED's he has in stock at CometPinball.com for you to deck your game out in style.

Truly an asset to the pinball community, Art hit me up and wanted to make some GREAT donations for Pintastic. We will be using those items towards prizes and charity raffles at the show. It's going to be a great event because of all the great people and companies that are getting behind it.

Thank you Art for your partnership and support.

For anyone else who would like to partner with Pintastic, donate to the show, or volunteer to help, please head over to PintasticNewEngland.com or PM me here directly.

We can't do this without you. Thank you everyone!

The trailer idea is a great idea especially if you have pins you want to sell. But whatever you do, be sure to take the kids, they're gonna have a BLAST!

Thanks Eric. It's a bummer that you're not going. I was really looking forward to talking and hanging out again like at Allentown. Will miss you and Sam both.

Thanks brothah, it's been a lot of hard work, but it's coming together well.

Looking forward to seeing you too. It's going to be a great time in York. We'll definitely hook up at the trailer.

Well, York was a lot of fun. Met and made some new friends and caught up with some great old ones. Rich and his crew did a wonderful job. I spent some time talking to Rich as well. All I can say is he's a class act and stand up guy. He graciously let us talk about Pintastic as well as hand out our information postcards. Rich, I don't know if you'll read this, but thanks for everything my friend.

Now, even though we had a great time at York, we weren't there on pleasure alone. We wanted to let the vendors there know that New England was going to have a huge pinball show too and invite them to be part of it.

Make no mistake, without the support of our sponsors and vendors, there is no show. Some are large, some are small, but they're all equally important to having a great event. When it comes time, be sure to support those who are supporting you.

Pintastic was well received at York and as a thank you, we will list the names of all the vendors who said they will be attending in the coming weeks.

These are some great companies with great products and owners behind them. We know you'll be very excited to hear that they will be at Pintastic New England. We will start things off with a bang tomorrow.

Morning everyone. It's announcement time as promised.

The first company I'd like to formally announce that was at York and will be coming to Pintastic is a great one indeed. You Know em, you love em and they have some of the best products and prices in the hobby. More importantly they are a GREAT group of people who work extremely hard at being one of the best at what they do.

All that said, it gives me great pride, pleasure and excitement to announce that Coin Taker will be vending at Pintastic in 2015!!!

Coin Taker was front and center at York and really made the show an exciting one indeed. They unboxed a brand new Walking Dead pro and set it up for all to play and enjoy. It never sat untouched with constant lines of people wanting to play. TWD was well received and Coin Taker sold a bunch of them at the show. Many thanks to them for bringing it out and congrats on selling so many. TWD was definitely one of the highlights of the show for me.

I'd just like to say a very humble and sincere thank you both Chris, Melissa and everyone at Coin Taker for supporting Pintastic 2015 and New England. We look forward to seeing you guys and all the great stuff you'll be bringing to Pintastic next year.

It was great meeting up with you guys as well. Had a blast talking to everyone as well as playing some great pinball machines. You guys have really done an amazing job setting up the Sanctum. Congrats, kudos and thumbs way up to all of you.

Anyone in driving distance of the Sanctum owes it to themselves to make a pilgrimage out to Meriden. Jump in on one of their fun tournaments they throw and meet up with some awesome guys and gals. It's a ton of fun for sure.

Tomorrow I will make another vendor announcement, so keep an eye out for the thread bump.

Good morning everyone. I'd just like to shoot out a great new vendor update to you all.

The PinGraffix crew is in!!!

I'm so happy to have these guys on board for Pintastic. If you look back to the start of this thread, you'll see that Joe (JoeRaptor2003) was the first person/vendor to commit and say that he was in and would be at the show. So we give Joe and the boys a super sincere thank you for supporting New England at Pintastic 2015.

Anyone that has seen and talked with these guys knows just how awesome they are. They're always quick with one liners and jokes when you talk with them. They're always smiling, keeping it real and are easy to talk to and deal with and you gotta love that.

I had a blast hanging out with them for awhile at Allentown this past May. That was the first time I had met them and I had a ball playing the Mustang and incredibly pimped out STLE they had there. Seeing them again at York and seeing some of the great new products they came out with was awesome. The side blade and apron graphics they come out with are simply AMAZING! These guys are driven to bringing awesome graphic mods to the marketplace. Their combo mirrored, graphic side blades really set machines over the top, while their STLE and IM mirrored combo side blades are just straight up off the HOOK!

I have a set of their South Park graphic blades I bought at Allentown and they add so much to the look and detail of the game. I was going to buy another set for my TFLE-C in York, but they told me to wait because they are trying to come out with a set of decals on the mirrored side blades like the ones for STLE and IM. I hope they can work their magic and pull those off because they would just really send an already beautiful machine right over the top! If they are available at Allentown, I'll be buying a set.

With all that said, I'd just like to again say thank you to Joe, Jim, Jose, Lew and the whole PinGraffix gang for agreeing to be an awesome part of Pintastic New England in 2015.

Make sure you guys check out their awesome gear at PinGraffix.com. Like I always say and will continue to say, there is NO show in New England without all our awesome vendors and partners. So please, show them your thanks by making sure you support them first and foremost.

Nice idea Eric. Some of these guys have prices so low, they may not be able to even offer a discount. I'm sure some will if they see this though.

I know in our talks with vendors, they've ALL said that the New England/NY area has always been good to them and they all have wanted to show their support for us and have all said they're excited to be part of Pintastic.

Believe it or not, we only have about 10-15 vendor spots left at the show. So if you're a vendor and you want in, please log onto our website at PintasticNewEngland.com, click on the vendor registration link at the top of the page and book your spots. We don't want anyone to get left out.

There are also upgraded vendor spots at the event. Those are priced accordingly so please be sure to let us know what upgraded spot you'd like to choose in the comments section at checkout. Our preferred method of payment is by check, but we also accept Paypal.

Thanks Eric for that great idea and thanks again to everyone out there for making Pintastic a reality.

You guys are awesome Jim and we're super excited to have you. Can't wait to see the pimped out machines you guys will have at the show. I'm still thinking about that IM at York. I want that!

You're a riot Eric! I'm in for extra jelly beans. LOL

Meant to comment on this earlier...Todd is awesome. I love his vids as well. Funny, informative and entertaining for sure. He's a real throwback and asset to the hobby. I'll talk to Todd face to face in Allentown and (hopefully) get him to commit to come with Frankie and video everything. Todd's great like that and I'm sure it won't take too much prodding.

LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!! Nice one! I hope he comes in here and see that.

Miss a few days, miss a lot!

Okay, let me address some concerns. First off, if you bring a machine to the show, we simply cannot guarantee it's safety from being dinged or scratched any more than I could guarantee that my high end sports car won't get dinged up in the parking lot. Trust me, I could buy 7 BBB's for it's cost.

Now believe me, I would HATE to see your BBB, rare, or high end restored pin get damaged in any way shape or form. I'd equally hate it if your $300 dollar EM got dinged or scratched. I don't want to see anyone's machine be damaged, believe me. But let's be honest, no matter how many security guards or staff members you have on hand, it's impossible to watch every machine all of the time. What's worse is, we can't control other people's ignorance, rudeness, disrespect, or actions and thus can't be responsible for them. However, not only will we have our staff being ever vigilant to help and watch the machines as best a possible, but as Daniml said, we as pin heads need to ALL keep our eyes out for anyone that would try to damage someone else's property. I know if I saw someone trying to scratch or beating on a machine, I'd be pissed and jump in and say something. So please, to everyone, let's all keep an eye out and have each other's back so nothing ever happens to anyone's machine, ever.

As for theft, no machine will be allowed to leave the floor without being checked. That's standard at any show so nothing is new there. And yes, we do have a catastrophe insurance policy in place that covers us if God forbid there were a fire or flood or natural disaster. Additionally, as Gabe stated earlier, there will be only one way in and one way out after hours. That way goes by the hotels front desk. Not only will a hotel staff member be on duty, but we will have a security guard at that lone entrance and NO ONE will be allowed down to that area, so everything will be safe.

I'd just like to say Thank you for voicing your concerns and even bringing your BBB to the show. You're top shelf and I again just want to say thank you.

Come on!!! I was counting on you and that cattle prod! Now what do I do in lieu of muscle? I can't just rely solely on Gabe. LOL

A gold chain and a haircut?

Thank you all who have "officially" registered to help. You guys are awesome!

There's so many different things to do at the show and there's simply no way we can do it without you. We sincerely appreciate each and everyone of you for volunteering your time and services. We know you are doing this out of kindness and excitement the show. For you, helping out is good enough and you don't want anything. Well, we're very grateful to all of you and as a way of saying thank you, we're going to have some cool stuff for everyone who helps out. Thanks again everyone.

Vendor Update Time!

I'm very happy to announce that Bruce Nightingale and his dad Bruce Sr. from Pinball Lifters will be at the show!

These guys have a crazy passion for pinball and are 2 of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet. Their pinball lift systems are second to NONE. We saw and tried out their lifts and jack systems as well as their PB Helper (GENIUS!) at the Allentown and York shows and they are simply AWESOME! Check them out at their website here... http://www.pinballlifter.com/ and watch the PB Lifter video and how amazingly versatile their jacks are. The jacks they sell are light weight and turn on a dime with ease.

These are a must for every pinball owner. So if you're in need of a new jack or lift system for moving your machines, you need not look any further than the guys at Pinball Lifter.

Thank you for supporting and being part of the show Bruce.

Remember everyone to support those who are supporting us!

I just had to take a moment to say a HUGE Thank You to everyone who has already signed up to volunteer. In just 2 short weeks, you guys have really showed your excitement and support. We can't thank you guys enough. We already have 16 people who have officially registered to help at the event and have an additional 7 who actively help us now. You guys are AWESOME! We genuinely thank, appreciate and applaud you.

I've said this time and again and will continue to say it because it's the truth and we are constantly reminded of the fact. There simply is no show without the help of all you great guys and gals out there who truly love this hobby and believe in what we're doing. From all those who are helping us now and will help us at the event, to all our awesome vendors and sponsors. YOU all are the ones who are making this show a reality. We are humbled by all of you and sincerely thank you for all that you've done are doing and will continue to do to make this all happen. Your kind words, excitement and support keeps spurring us onward.

So again, to each and everyone one of you, you're help is NOT taken lightly and is GREATLY appreciated. Thank you all!

Vendor update:

Allan Davidson is one of the greats when it comes to pin repair. Anyone who owns a pinball machine in and around MA. has probably had him come out and repair their machine for them. He moves like lightning across a machine and does great work. I'm bringing my Baby Pac-Man to him next week so he can fix that for me. I know I'll never have a problem with that machine again after he gets done with it.

Allan does repairs on all machines from EM's right up to todays state of the art games. On top of being a great tech, Allan in a top notch board repairer and restorer and that is the expertise he will be bringing to Pintastic 2015. He is going to have a booth set up that will be dedicated to board repair. So, if you have a board that is damaged, broken, crazy, bugging out, hacked, needs a chip, transistor, on the fritz (who doesn't!?) or anything else that needs to be repaired or checked on it, bring them to him at the show. He'll go over it, diagnose it on his test fixtures, see what it needs and tell you if it can be repaired, or if you're better off replacing it. If it's repairable, he'll do it right there on the spot for you and at a great price too! Now that's what I call Super Service!

Allan's company is called Aardvark Pinball Repair. If you need anything on your machine fixed or repaired, Allan's the guy! He can be contacted at [email protected] or by phone at 508-369-1572.

Thank you Allan for support! Make sure you continue to support him New England.

That would be great, except I think Allan is going to be beyond busy doing board repairs at the show.

We have someone in mind to teach some repairs classes. Already reached out to him and he wants in. Just a matter of scheduling. Stay tuned for updates on the thread as the show gets closer.

Thanks D!

Snowing pretty hard out there on our way to a foot. Not complaining next to Buffalo, but just the same, safe travels to all who have to drive in it. I hope everyone has a safe, fun, wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!

Looking forward to Automated's Christmas party this Saturday. Gabe and I will be there. Anyone else planning on attending?

Gabe and I will be wearing our Pintastic logo shirts. If you notice us, come up to us, introduce yourself and say hi. We're looking forward to meeting a bunch of our great friends, supporters volunteers and fellow pin brothahs.

See you all Saturday!

I'll be there at 12. Gabe will be there around 1. Should be a lot of fun. Can't wait and see you there.

Yesterday was an amazing day at the Automated Christmas party. Mike was a great host providing pizza and drinks for us and all his games were set to free play for everyone to enjoy. The Hobbit was the main attraction of the event for sure but everyone had a great time playing all the great games Mike has in his store. We all had a ball to say the least.

It was also great to see and meet some great Pinsiders there. Thanks to all of you for the excitement you expressed for Pintastic. I'll say here what I said to many of you there yesterday...It's a lot of work for sure, but it's our pleasure to do it for New England.

We've all been wanting this for years now, but admittedly there's some doubt and skepticism out there about how serious New Englanders are about actually having a show. Lets wow all the skeptics and prove to them, that we want a yearly pinball show and we're gonna make it one of the country's best! We do that by the amount of people who show for the event. That's what all the sponsors and vendors have told us that they want to see. They want to see thousands of New Englanders there with a passion for pinball. That will make them want to come every year. So let's make it happen!

Word of mouth is the best advertising in the world. If you want to help out your show and make it a huge success, please be sure to spread the word about the show to your family, friends and coworkers and then bring them out to the show. Let's get a ton of new blood into the hobby. That's great for everyone and will help to keep our beloved hobby alive and well for generations to come!

Additionally, we are going to be doing a huge run of postcards (10,000) to promote the show. Some are going to awesome pinball vendors like Comet Pinball and Marco Specialties to be added into their orders. But if anyone out there would like a packet of 100 or more to pass out to people, let us know here in the thread. Maybe you can hand them out to people at work. Or maybe ask if they can be displayed in businesses like stores, supermarkets or restaurants. Maybe you can ask if you can leave 50 or so in a rack near the door for people to grab on their way out. Whatever it takes to get the word out to those who otherwise would never had known about your show if not for the cards.

So let me know if any of you are interested in helping to push the show in that way. That would be a HUGE help and go a LONG way toward proving how serious we New Englanders are about our pinball!

Thanks guys and thanks again to Mike at Automated for the party and also to JJP for bringing out a Hobbit for all to play and enjoy. (more on that tomorrow)

Thanks all and stay tuned for a major show update tomorrow!

Well, Saturday at the Christmas party gave us some time to meet and talk with Mike from Automated. As you all know, Automated is the largest pinball distributor in the country and they're located in good ole' CT. So it doesn't get more pinball New England, than Automated.

We met Mike for the first time and talked with all about the show. What an awesome guy and pinball pioneer. Talking to him was probably the fastest couple hours of my life. The time just flew by and he really is the nicest and most generous person. He was not only excited, but has agreed to throw his full weight behind Pintastic.

It gives me sincere pleasure to announce that Automated is in and will be one of the headliners at Pintastic New England 2015!!! This is really exciting because Automated will be an anchor for the show.

Mike is so excited at the opportunity to support the New England show and give back to his home area by attending Pintastic. He really has a heart for pinball and seeing it grow by giving back to everyone who has supported his business since he opened way back in 1972. You can count on him bringing a full truckload full of all the latest and greatest machines for his vendor spots along with some beautiful playing blasts from the past for the free play area.

So if you see Mike, please thank him for his generous support, because there simply is no show with out our sponsors and vendors. But for now, on behalf Of Gabe, myself, Team Pintastic and all us die hard pinheads out there who have been starved for our own show, we just all would like to say thank you Mike for EVERYTHING you are doing to make this show a reality. Pinheads from all of New England and beyond will come out in full force to show their real thanks.

Gabe...You're hilarious! Elfie in AC/DC!? Tori is all wowed by it and Andrea & I laughed. LOVE IT bro!

Project Pinball is BEYOND AWESOME for all the work they are doing for kids. We are proud to be partnering with them at Pintastic. One of our main focal points is having charity raffles at the show and helping those who are hurting and up against hard times. What better way to do that then to help these poor and beautiful children and their wonderful families?

So please, if you have anything you'd like to donate for "charity" specific raffles, PM us and let us know. We'll make sure that every item is combined with others to put together some great raffle contest prizes and 100% of all monies collected from each raffle will go to it's designated charity.

Help us help others. Together, we can.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!! I hope you all have a very special and wonderful family day.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Thank God the craziness is over. Whewww.

As for the hotel...People have asked what the room availability situation was. I will call them tomorrow to find out and update the thread with the info.

WOW! Poster came out awesome! Great work by you and James Gabe. One question though...How the heck did you get that pic of bigfoot from WH2O playing that WOZLE!!!???

Okay guys, I called the hotel today and here's the situation.

The hotel now has 2 other small events going on (although in completely different sections of the hotel) at the same time as Pintastic. People attending these events are also booking rooms in the hotel. As of now, Pintastic has 86 rooms booked across the 3 day event while the other events have 62 rooms booked during the same period. That's 62 less rooms for those who want to come and stay on the premises (not to mention attend the Friday after party).

I told the hotel manager that some of those rooms may actually be Pintastic attendees. They said there's no way to prove that.

SO, if you have booked a room through another site (like Bundy did) or booked without using the Pintastic rate code, please call the hotel and let them know that you are staying there for Pintastic. This will also help us to secure another block of rooms for Pintastic attendees only.

Thanks everyone and I'll have another hotel update soon.

Feeling sick today. Sinus infection is starting. God I hate that. Ughhh.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that the main reason we chose our location venue was it's proximity to great stuff all pretty close by. We wanted families to get excited about ALL the things in and around MA. and make it a great vacation, not just a one day visit to a pinball show where dad goes off alone. So try to plan a great vacation around the event too. If anyone wants to take extra days off and stay at the hotel for 4 -5 days, a week, w/e, PM me. I'll talk to the hotel manager and try to get them to honor our special Pintastic rate for your whole vacation stay.

Now, not only are we a straight shot, 1 hour drive from Boston with myriads of things to do (think the Red Sox in Fenway Park, Faneuil Hall, The Old State House, a TON of great museums and restaurants, the USS Constitution, the Bunker Hill Monument and the whole Freedom Trail, etc) but in the exact opposite direction, the hotel is about 45 minutes away from Six Flags New England in Agawam MA. Also out that way (45 minutes from the hotel) is the home base of the Yankee Candle Factory Store in Deerfield, MA (an awesome place to visit with it's indoor Bavarian village) as well as the Holyoke Mall, which as of a couple years ago was New England's largest mall. That crown was taken over by the Natick Mall which is about 35 minutes away from the hotel venue headed right on the way to Boston. There's a lot of very high end stores in that mall along with some great restaurants.

The event location is also about 45 minutes from Foxboro which is the home of the Pats at Gillette Stadium. They have a great mall in there (called Patriot Place with some great restaurants) along with the New England Sports Museum which is a must see for any sports fan.

On top off all that, directly across the street from the hotel is Old Sturbridge Village which is a Colonial blast from the past. People dress like the colonial days and do everything manually just like the Colonial days. It's a great learning experience that's a lot of family fun and truly great for the kids. Dad could be playing pinball at the show on day 2 while the wife and kids are right across the street at OSV. Check them out online and see all the cool stuff they have in there.

Lastly, right on the hotel property is a gorgeous lake with a nice sandy beach for swimming. They also have beach volleyball, paddle boats, a basic mini golf course, horseshoes, bocce, a lakeside restaurant, indoor swimming pool with hot tub and pet friendly rooms!

So we really tried hard to pick a location that was family, pet and vacation friendly. Plus, being just outside of Boston means no dealing with traffic and tons of free on site parking with room for over 600 vehicles! It's easily accessible for people to enjoy all the great history of Boston, (America's first major city) with all it's great natural history as well as tons of other fun stuff less than an hour from the hotel. So hopefully people will take advantage of our location and do some other great stuff as well.

See you all at the show!

Making progress. There's been a bunch of new updates to the website. The latest...Just got the Game Registration page completed. Check it out and be sure to register your games as we get closer to the event.

Restoration Throwdown Contest page will be next. Stay tuned.

Ok guys, tons of changes and additions to the website over the last 2 days. Check them out and let us know what you think and where we can improve. Thanks!

www.pintasticnewengland.com

If you haven't checked out the Restoration Throwdown Contest page on the website, check it out. The excitement is ramping up in a big way on this and we already had our first official entrant early this morning.

I want to publically acknowledge James AKA ShaklersRevenge for coming up with this idea and wanting to see it be a part of Pintastic. And for me, this contest is dear to me because I have restored a couple of games cosmetically, so I know and respect all of the really hard work that is involved in restoring a machine. For these guys, they know everything from A-Z and they repair the circuit boards and can diagnose things down to a tiny transistor that needs replacing. It's incredible and I am truly baffled and amazed by these guys.

So I am hoping to see a lot of people get in on this because it's really exciting to see someone take something meant for the trash pile and restore it to glory.

Good luck!

Okay guys, we just got a very interesting suggestion.

The Restoration Throwdown Contest entrance fee is $35. That $35 goes towards the printing up of ballots and pens and won't even begin to cover the cost of the trophies. It also comes with a 2 day pass into the show. The cash and prize pool for the contest will be $1,000 spread out between the winners.

Well, it has been suggested to us that we up the entrance fee to $50 and take the extra $15 and add that cash directly to the prize pool. So if we had 35 entrants into the contest, that would add another $525 cash into the pool.

Now we like the idea, heck it's only $17 to get in the door, so that's $34 right there. At $35 you're only paying a dollar to get your game into the RTC contest! For me, I'd do it because what's another lousy $15 bucks in this hobby? Plus I stand to win a lot more than that back!

So, we wanted to put this out to a vote. We want to hear what everyone thinks especially the restorers who are going to be in the contest. Is this a great idea or should we just leave it as it is?

Post your thoughts here, or if you want to remain anonymous, please feel free to PM us and it will be kept confidential.

Thanks guys!

This is NOT Gabe's and my show. This is YOUR show. We want to try to do and have everything that everyone wants. We want to go all out, every year and make Pintastic a pinball destination and put New England on the pinball map because we have some of pinballs most passionate fans. So keep the thoughts and ideas coming.

We know that most people who restore games do it more for the fun and prestige of it. As someone who's done a lot of restoration work, I appreciate the time and effort that goes into it. We want to be different and have some cash and prizes for you guys because you deserve it and it's our way of saying thank you for all the hard work and adding some awesome excitement to the show.

Remember, every attendee who walks through the door is entitled to 1 vote. There is no way to rig this and no politics will play into it because there will be hundreds of new people at the show. They will be choosing the machines that they think are best. So politics will play no part in this.

I'm super excited!

This is the last thing we want whether it's with the Restoration Throwdown or the pinball tourney. Regardless, we can't control who enters, prizes or not.

Now, we did have some people say that trophies and ribbons we all that were needed when the idea was started, but we really wanted to have some cool stuff for people. And lets face it, $500 in cash and another $500 in prizes spread out between several winners is not a whole lot of money. So I'm sure that the novice restorers will be very proud to show off their great, quality work regardless.

That said, we'll see how it goes this year and maybe we'll change it up next year. We're open to anything.

Sorry guys, I've been sick and yesterday it just knocked me down and I never touched the computer.

Anyway, there's been a lot of great discussion on the BPA about the Throwdown Contest so I want to say a couple things on it.

My take with this is, I look at it like a car restoration. You can do or spend as much or as little as you want. You can make it purely original and rebuild the original engine and tranny and do it factory numbers matching inside and out. OR, you can make it a resto-mod where you through in a new motor and tranny and install all digital gauges and a killer stereo and nav system with DVD screen in the dash and head rests.

Same goes with the pin you're choosing. You can do whatever you wish and spend whatever you want. Just document the process and show receipts as proof of your work.

As of now, I have more people wanting to up the entrance fee and building up the prize pot than those that don't, but I'm hoping to get more responses back before the decision is made.

Don't put yourself under any pressure to win. Some have said they do it for fun and that's awesome. Don't worry about winning. Just use this as a great opportunity to have some fun aand show off your talents. Let's face it, when you restore something and make it beautiful again, that prize enough. So don't get tied up into winning or thinking you have no shot. Just do your restore and bring it out for everyone to enjoy. Who knows how people are going to vote.

Lastly, we are adding a new element to the show for nicest games that's in addition to the Throwdown contest, but Gabe is the one working out the details, so I'm going to let him give you guys the details on that.

Thanks all.

You nailed it James. The prize money is just potential gravy. Do a restoration because you want the satisfaction of restoring it, bringing it back to life and seeing people's eyes light up at the show. That's what's most important. The prizes are not what this is about.

Restoring a game is a very special and gratifying accomplishment. But putting it on display and having people ohhh and ahhh it in appreciation gives you the best feeling and what it's all about.

Thanks again James for such a great show idea.

Happy Friday all!

Just wanted to say that there have been a bunch more website changes made over the last 2 days based on your feedback.

The feeling with our site is that we are a "pinball" exclusive site and being as such, we wanted our site to reflect on what pinball truly is. Piinball is bright, colorful, cheerful, whimsical and fun! I mean, besides a big box of Crayola's, what's more colorful than pinball? The great Centaur excluded.

So, we wanted the site to be modeled after the awesome hobby that we love. We didn't want to be another normal, stuffy, old, plain, basic, black and white, generic website. We feel that different, colorful, whimsical fonts against a black back round for easier reading would set us apart and make us stand out.

So let us know what you guys think.

Dan...you ARE the man!

I like it and thinks that's really cool. Maybe make one page with a collage of pics of the businesses with the poster in it and then under the picture I can put the name of the business in there as well? I'll even make it a hyperlink to their company website too. Anyone who gives out a poster can tell the business that that's part of our way of saying thank you.

Thanks again for the awesome idea daniml "The Animal"!

Thank you Lloyd. I sincerely appreciate that my friend. Thanks again!

TY darkknight. Many have expressed their appreciation and have said thanks. It means a lot. And so many people have had a hand in the show I can't even begin to thank everyone.

Pintastic really is EVERYONE's show and we love all you out there for everything you're doing to help promote the event and make it a huge success. Gabe and I just want you all to have an awesome time and the vendors and sponsors see tons of people at the show so it becomes a great New England tradition.

Thanks again everyone!

This is a great article posted up by PinballEric. So if anyone missed it, I wanted to add it here along with my comments on the thread.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/stern-pinball-ces-2015/

Stern Pinball also does a lot more PR and outreach nowadays — partially just to let people know they’re still around, and partially to expose pinball to new players. The gaming landscape has become far more competitive and crowded in the past couple decades, so pinball needs more evangelists than it used to.

“That’s why we’re here talking to people like you,” he explains. “We’re here to promote pinball, because life would exist without pinball, but a little bit of the fabric of life would be gone if pinball didn’t exist.”

*This is the main reason Gabe and I are doing the Pintastic Pinball Show for New England. We really want to see the hobby grow and get stronger so it gets passed down to future generations.

We are specifically targeting people who think pinball is dead. You know who they are. The people who loved playing pinball at the arcades in the 80s and 90s but think they aren't made anymore since most arcades have closed down. We want to get them into the hobby just as we all are.

We believe that once they hear about this this giant pinball show here, they'll come out, fall in love all over again and then buy into the hobby like we all have. This is what will not only help to keep pinball alive, but thrive! That's what we care about most.

Very encouraging article and I thank you for posting it up Eric.

**To add here...
I'd just like to thank everyone here who has been getting the word out about the show. Getting new people into this hobby is what the whole thing is about. New people means more money. More money means more games being sold (Both new & used) and parts being made and sold. It's about strengthening our beloved hobby and seeing it grow.

So thanks again and keep up the great work guys. We'll be sending our proofs out to the printers soon. We're having lots of posters and postcards made out and we'll be sure to get them into the hands that want them so you can get them out there too. We're also happy to get posters to people who would like them just to hang up in your game room or whatever. Just let us know.

We will definitely be there Wednesday Jim. Looking forward to seeing everyone and playing some pinball! Oh wait! Eric's gonna be there!? Uhmm...Yeah, Uhhh I think I have something to do that night.

J/K! Can't wait!

We wouldn't want to take ANYTHING away from the Sanctum story. They are coming out to talk about you guys and the Sanctum, not Pintastic. You deserve the focus to be 100% on you guys and the Sanctum alone.

It's seems like mother nature will prevent us from coming out tomorrow anyway. Definitely not worth getting into an accident and Gabe has to work late cleaning snow at all his job sites. Major bummer as we were both looking forward to coming out again. We'll have to make it for next week if that's okay?

What a difference a day makes! Turns out Gabe doesn't have to work late and since the snow isn't nearly as bad over by you CT. boys, we're gonna man up and come down. Can't wait and we'll see you all there!

LOL Ted.

I think he meant...Sweet Suites?