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Ep 61: Pinball Expo with Rob Berk
39 Plays4 years ago
Rob Berk, creator of Pinball Expo, has joined us for episode 61! We talk about Pinball Expo and how it has changed over the last 37 years.
If you would like more info on Pinball Expo, visit: https://pinballexpo.com/
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Transcript
Podcast Updates and Sponsorship
00:00:06
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to the Loser Kid Pinball Podcast.
00:00:08
Speaker
We're on episode 61 with me, my co-host as always.
00:00:11
Speaker
Scott Larson.
00:00:13
Speaker
And it has been a minute.
00:00:14
Speaker
We've been kind of slacking lately.
00:00:16
Speaker
Scott, what's up with this?
00:00:17
Speaker
Well, okay.
00:00:19
Speaker
This was mainly my fault.
00:00:20
Speaker
I actually took a vacation with the family.
00:00:22
Speaker
And so that was what was going on there.
00:00:24
Speaker
Well, then I took a vacation with the family right at the end of the vacation with your family.
00:00:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:00:29
Speaker
And it was kind of awkward that you were like on my family vacation.
00:00:33
Speaker
But other than that, you know, it kind of worked out.
00:00:35
Speaker
Yeah.
00:00:36
Speaker
Not only partners in pinball, but partners in family vacations.
00:00:40
Speaker
Okay.
00:00:40
Speaker
So that really didn't happen.
00:00:42
Speaker
But yeah, no, it's just summertime gets a little crazy, as we all know.
00:00:45
Speaker
We're all trying to get our things in.
00:00:47
Speaker
So I appreciate people coming back.
00:00:49
Speaker
And a few people have messaged us and said, sorry, you ended the podcast.
00:00:53
Speaker
And we're like, that's not really happening.
00:00:55
Speaker
But anyway.
00:00:57
Speaker
Stop believing poor men.
00:00:58
Speaker
They want us out of the running for whatever award's coming up next.
00:01:02
Speaker
Exactly.
00:01:04
Speaker
No, it's all good.
00:01:05
Speaker
So let's get our sponsor of the show out of the way.
00:01:09
Speaker
So if you need a new pinball, go ahead and check out Zach and Nicole Minney at Flippin' Out Pinball.
00:01:16
Speaker
A great place.
00:01:16
Speaker
And Zach is actually a good friend, but he's also a good resource.
00:01:21
Speaker
I will actually tell you that I had an issue with my Teenage Mutant Ninja Trolls, the premium.
00:01:29
Speaker
where the glider stopped working and this is actually a promo for both zach and both stern because i sent a message last night um to just stern support and they said yeah it sounds like a servo contact zach and he'll get you covered and that was under 12 hours so just in case you're wondering that's how you do customer service right
00:01:53
Speaker
Yes, definitely.
00:01:54
Speaker
And Zach actually messaged me too.
00:01:56
Speaker
He said, yeah, we'll take care of that.
00:01:57
Speaker
So anyway.
00:01:58
Speaker
Well, and I'm always the tire kicker.
00:02:00
Speaker
Like I feel bad for Zach because I'm always like, so what you got in stock?
00:02:04
Speaker
Like just randomly on a, you know, a Saturday evening.
00:02:06
Speaker
And he's always Johnny on the spot.
00:02:08
Speaker
He's like, don't worry.
00:02:09
Speaker
It's no biggie.
00:02:10
Speaker
He sends me over the list and that list is small.
00:02:12
Speaker
So if you're looking for a new pinball machine,
00:02:15
Speaker
Uh, good luck.
00:02:16
Speaker
I don't know.
00:02:17
Speaker
Okay.
00:02:18
Speaker
I actually do know what to tell you because they know like what gets on the line and what, and what the schedules are.
00:02:24
Speaker
So I actually have a Iron Maiden premium.
00:02:27
Speaker
That's going to be made this summer.
00:02:29
Speaker
And I know that the Jurassic park, the next run is going to be in December.
00:02:34
Speaker
So they actually do have an idea of when things will be available.
00:02:37
Speaker
So even if it's not available right now, um,
00:02:41
Speaker
You know, they he he will know exactly when the run comes up.
00:02:44
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:02:45
Speaker
Anyway, so pick up a new pinball machine as well, trying to come out of covid and practice up for those tournaments that are coming up.
00:02:53
Speaker
And speaking of things that are coming up, Josh, who do we have on the show today?
Introduction to Rob Burke
00:02:57
Speaker
This man has been in the pinball industry for quite a few years now.
00:03:01
Speaker
He is one of the original pinball convention creators.
00:03:05
Speaker
We're all excited for COVID to be finally over, and I think a lot of us are celebrating by going to Pinball Expo, and this is the man who puts it on every year.
00:03:13
Speaker
Please welcome Rob Burke.
00:03:15
Speaker
How are you doing, Rob?
00:03:16
Speaker
Good, guys.
00:03:17
Speaker
Thanks for allowing me to speak today.
00:03:20
Speaker
Definitely.
00:03:21
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:03:21
Speaker
Great to have you on.
00:03:23
Speaker
It's not too often, you know, being from Ohio, not too often you talk to people from Utah.
00:03:27
Speaker
So this is a very rare occasion.
00:03:30
Speaker
We're all part of the flyover state, so we kind of have to stay together, right?
00:03:35
Speaker
Yeah, I never knew they had pinballs in Utah.
00:03:38
Speaker
Only a few.
00:03:39
Speaker
It just became legal last year.
00:03:40
Speaker
There you go.
00:03:42
Speaker
All that Mormon talk, we had to convince him it wasn't gambling anymore.
00:03:47
Speaker
Well, we had to get Roger Sharp to come out here and make a shot, too, and show it wasn't really...
00:03:53
Speaker
it wasn't degrading all of the morality of the people.
The Growth of Pinball Expo
00:03:56
Speaker
So, Rob, you've got to tell me, how long have you been doing Pinball Expo now?
00:04:01
Speaker
Well, this is going to be our 37th year.
00:04:04
Speaker
So, you know, it's a passion that got out of control, guys.
00:04:09
Speaker
And it's been a lot of fun.
00:04:11
Speaker
It's been a long ride, but I just hope to keep it going.
00:04:15
Speaker
It's been a lot of fun.
00:04:17
Speaker
I think we can all relate to a passion getting out of control with pinball.
00:04:22
Speaker
Well, even as a collector, you know, I recently was having a discussion with a friend of mine.
00:04:28
Speaker
He says, how many games do you have?
00:04:30
Speaker
I said, you know, I don't really know.
00:04:31
Speaker
So I asked my right hand guy, Tony, that works for me.
00:04:34
Speaker
I said, hey, Tony, give me a count, will you?
00:04:36
Speaker
And he came back to me the following day.
00:04:38
Speaker
He said he calls me Roberto.
00:04:40
Speaker
Roberto, as close as I can guess, you got about 1,200.
00:04:44
Speaker
Wow.
00:04:47
Speaker
So that's pretty crazy.
00:04:48
Speaker
Holy crap.
00:04:49
Speaker
Where do you keep all these games?
00:04:51
Speaker
Well, I used to keep it in the family.
00:04:55
Speaker
We have a family business here.
00:04:56
Speaker
I used to keep it in the warehouse.
00:04:58
Speaker
But finally, I started seeing games get damaged.
00:05:03
Speaker
And there was an available space not too far from our family business.
00:05:08
Speaker
So I leased it out.
00:05:11
Speaker
And it's working out for now.
00:05:13
Speaker
But also, I keep buying because I'm looking for games all the time.
00:05:19
Speaker
And the passion has got so bad.
00:05:23
Speaker
And then you guys say, how bad is it?
00:05:24
Speaker
How bad is it?
00:05:27
Speaker
that I bought recently a grocery store that's been out of business for several years.
00:05:34
Speaker
And the idea is to put the entire collection in there, not only to store it, but actually to have a museum of sorts so people can come in and enjoy them.
00:05:44
Speaker
Wow.
00:05:45
Speaker
I love it.
00:05:45
Speaker
That is awesome.
00:05:46
Speaker
Okay.
00:05:47
Speaker
Where is this going to be?
00:05:48
Speaker
And when is it going to be open?
00:05:50
Speaker
Well, I have a name that was called past times,
00:05:54
Speaker
And it's going to be in a small community called Girard, which is near Youngstown, Ohio.
00:06:00
Speaker
And I would say early fall, it should be ready to rumble.
00:06:05
Speaker
All right.
00:06:06
Speaker
Okay.
00:06:07
Speaker
So when you have that ready to rumble, come back on and we'll talk about it and figure out all that stuff.
00:06:12
Speaker
We'll do a walking tour through it.
00:06:14
Speaker
It should be pretty insane.
00:06:16
Speaker
Yeah, that's really cool.
00:06:18
Speaker
You got to realize, you know, back when I was collecting in the early years,
00:06:23
Speaker
It was, and everyone in the pinball community, who has the most games?
00:06:29
Speaker
Well, at one time, I was about tied with Tim Arnold when we both had around 500.
00:06:39
Speaker
But then he started going crazy, and I never caught up to him.
00:06:43
Speaker
I might have caught up to him now.
00:06:44
Speaker
I've got pretty close to it.
Inspiration and Early Days of Pinball Expo
00:06:47
Speaker
You've got to be close.
00:06:48
Speaker
I mean, Pinball Hall of Fame is big, but it's not that big.
00:06:51
Speaker
Well, you know, I realize I got this many games, but not all of them will be set up for free play.
00:06:56
Speaker
But you never know if I get crazy enough.
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah, no, that is crazy.
00:07:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:06
Speaker
Love it.
00:07:07
Speaker
Love it.
00:07:07
Speaker
See, you got to tell me, you obviously got in the hobby.
00:07:10
Speaker
What possessed you to go from, you know, I enjoy collecting these too.
00:07:13
Speaker
I'm going to put on a giant convention in Chicago, Illinois, where it's all built.
00:07:18
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for asking.
00:07:19
Speaker
That's a great question.
00:07:22
Speaker
And the reason why is because growing up as part of the family vacation, we would always go to Miami, Florida.
00:07:29
Speaker
And my dad liked pinball, and he would always gravitate to the pinball machines, wherever they were.
00:07:33
Speaker
And as kids, we'd play.
00:07:36
Speaker
And that's where I think I started developing the passion and the excitement of playing pinballs.
00:07:40
Speaker
And again, we're talking about the early to mid-60s.
00:07:44
Speaker
Okay.
00:07:46
Speaker
From that, I went to college at Kent State and there got reintroduced to pinball in a big way because there was just pinball machines.
00:07:54
Speaker
Every game room had lined with pinballs.
00:07:57
Speaker
This is prior to the video craze.
00:08:00
Speaker
So it kind of reignited the flame.
00:08:05
Speaker
And because of that, I started seeking out various books on pinball.
00:08:10
Speaker
And I think Michael Coleman was the first book I got.
00:08:13
Speaker
And then later on, Roger Sharpe's book.
00:08:15
Speaker
But man, they were a wealth of information.
00:08:18
Speaker
For me, it was so exciting to see all these different pictures of games I'd never seen before.
00:08:25
Speaker
back glasses and so forth.
00:08:27
Speaker
But then also it introduced you to the designers, the guys behind the scenes.
00:08:33
Speaker
And I remember at the time I was fascinated by Space Mission and Grand Prix.
00:08:39
Speaker
And here those were Steve Kordak games.
00:08:42
Speaker
So the story gets even crazier.
00:08:45
Speaker
I'm in Chicago and this is about 1970 or so, 71.
00:08:50
Speaker
And my parents had a trade show there and we were staying at the Palmer House Hotel, which is one of the oldie goldie hotels.
00:09:00
Speaker
It's a Sunday night about 830.
00:09:02
Speaker
And this is back when there was phone books back in every hotel.
00:09:07
Speaker
So I pulled the phone book out and I'm just saying, what the heck?
00:09:11
Speaker
Let me see if I can find Steve Kornick in the phone book.
00:09:15
Speaker
And I find it, Stephen F. Kornick.
00:09:19
Speaker
I said, should I, should I not?
00:09:22
Speaker
So I call about 8.30 at night.
00:09:24
Speaker
This guy answered the phone.
00:09:26
Speaker
And I said, is this Steve Kordak?
00:09:27
Speaker
Yes, it is.
00:09:29
Speaker
Are you the guy that works in the pinball industry?
00:09:31
Speaker
Yes, I am.
00:09:33
Speaker
Boy, would I like to meet you.
00:09:34
Speaker
Well, that started the conversation.
00:09:37
Speaker
And he said, why don't you come down to the plant tomorrow?
00:09:40
Speaker
Well, gee, that was, are you kidding me?
00:09:42
Speaker
So I asked my dad, he said, yeah, I don't care.
00:09:44
Speaker
I'll drive you down there.
00:09:46
Speaker
And that was an early introduction to the people behind the scenes.
00:09:51
Speaker
And he introduced me to Norm Clark.
00:09:54
Speaker
And at the time, Norm was, you know, he worked at Williams for years, but then he went to Bali.
00:09:59
Speaker
So then I met Norm.
00:10:01
Speaker
And then between that meeting and then going to the AMOA and meeting some other people, I was introduced to a lot of other people in the industry.
00:10:10
Speaker
And the next guy was Wayne Nions, who worked for Gallup.
00:10:14
Speaker
So all of a sudden, mixing up my mind, and around the same time, I belonged to a group of pinball enthusiasts based out of Akron, Ohio, and they called themselves the Ohio Pinball Wizards.
00:10:27
Speaker
And basically, all it was was a bunch of enthusiasts that we would meet at a different guy's house every month to play pinball.
00:10:36
Speaker
And if it wasn't his home, we would meet at the local arcade.
00:10:40
Speaker
So I recall the one, it was a Friday evening, and I'm sitting there talking to the guys around the table.
00:10:45
Speaker
And I said, wouldn't that be cool if we had like a national pinball collectors club or gathering?
00:10:51
Speaker
I said, there's got to be other guys like us that are into this pinball hobby and so forth.
00:10:57
Speaker
And basically, yeah, yeah.
00:10:59
Speaker
But one of the members was Bill Kurtz.
00:11:02
Speaker
And I said, Bill, what do you think about helping me out?
00:11:05
Speaker
And let's draft a letter and let's put it in Steve Young's Pinball Collectors Quarterly.
00:11:12
Speaker
And let's see if there's an interest in actually doing such a thing.
00:11:18
Speaker
So we had 10 questions.
00:11:19
Speaker
Basically, would you attend?
00:11:21
Speaker
Number two, where would you want to see the convention?
00:11:24
Speaker
And it went on and on and on.
00:11:26
Speaker
Well, the responses came back.
00:11:28
Speaker
It was almost unanimous.
00:11:29
Speaker
Yeah, go for it.
00:11:30
Speaker
Do it.
00:11:31
Speaker
So the whole reason for doing the show, for me anyways, was to honor my heroes who were the pinball designers and artists.
00:11:42
Speaker
Because let's face it, whether it be Valley or God of whoever, you had the big guys on top of the heap that ran the operations.
00:11:49
Speaker
But at the end of the day, it was the designers that created these games.
00:11:53
Speaker
So I kept feeling in my heart, we've got to recognize these guys.
00:11:58
Speaker
They deserve a big thank you for what they've done for this industry because I love their game.
00:12:04
Speaker
I love Cortex games.
00:12:05
Speaker
I love Norm Clark's games.
00:12:09
Speaker
And I felt that this convention would be an opportunity to thank these guys in person.
00:12:15
Speaker
So
Key Milestones in Pinball Expo History
00:12:17
Speaker
I thought to myself, let's have it in Chicago, which is the home of pinball.
00:12:21
Speaker
And also I said, let's have a keynote speaker at the banquet, someone that's so powerful, people will come to this event just to hear the speaker.
00:12:31
Speaker
And the only guy I can think of is Alvin Gottlieb.
00:12:34
Speaker
So I reached out to Don Murphy from Electrical Windings, and he was the guy that gave me Wayne Nines name and contact information.
00:12:42
Speaker
And I said, hey, can you provide me a number for Elvin Gottlieb?
00:12:46
Speaker
Well, at the time, Elvin Gottlieb to me was like a god because, you know, the Gottlieb name, the great games they made and so forth.
00:12:53
Speaker
I said, you know, for me, nobody in the industry to approach him was like, wow.
00:12:58
Speaker
So I called him up and I said, hey, I'll be in Chicago next month for business.
00:13:03
Speaker
I said, is it possible I can meet you?
00:13:05
Speaker
I have an idea, but I want to see if you could help me with it.
00:13:10
Speaker
So he said, yeah, here's where I live.
00:13:12
Speaker
Come to my home.
00:13:13
Speaker
But hey, this is crazy.
00:13:15
Speaker
Couldn't believe it.
00:13:16
Speaker
So I go to Alvin's house.
00:13:18
Speaker
He answers the door wearing blue jeans and just a casual dress.
00:13:22
Speaker
I thought this guy would be all decked out to the nines.
00:13:25
Speaker
So he's just like an average guy.
00:13:27
Speaker
We came in and I told him about my dream of doing this pinball show.
00:13:34
Speaker
And apparently I must have shown so much enthusiasm.
00:13:39
Speaker
He looked at me and says, how can I let you down?
00:13:41
Speaker
Of course I'll be your speaker.
00:13:43
Speaker
So to me, that was the finishing point that I needed to make this thing happen.
00:13:49
Speaker
So I came up, I found a hotel near the airport and I lined up several people to speak at the show.
00:13:57
Speaker
We had a factory tour and then we had a banquet at night, the last night to recognize the guys.
00:14:06
Speaker
And we had, I think, about 100 or so people show up that first time.
00:14:10
Speaker
And I remember one guy, it was really wild for me to see, was Rich Conger from California.
00:14:17
Speaker
And he was, I remember him distinctly because he was one of the guys that never wanted to fly in an airplane.
00:14:24
Speaker
So he took a train to come to Chicago to come to the event.
00:14:27
Speaker
So I thought that was pretty wild.
00:14:29
Speaker
But at the time, Dick Buschel was still living, and he was a guy that wrote several books, I think two books on pinball.
00:14:38
Speaker
But he met all the guys that were there and all the designers and a lot of the fans, such as ourselves.
00:14:45
Speaker
And he called it a love-in because he said, you know, here you've got all these people that love this stuff and had never before met.
00:14:53
Speaker
Because you've got to remember, this is a time, you know, there was no –
00:14:57
Speaker
Internet, everything was by phone or writing a letter.
00:15:02
Speaker
Or for you old timers out there, sometimes corresponding via a cassette deck.
00:15:09
Speaker
Or you're talking to a cassette for 15 minutes, a half hour, and then it's sent to your friends, and that's how you would communicate.
00:15:16
Speaker
But through all that, the show turned out great.
00:15:20
Speaker
For me, the highlight was when I mentioned Cornette Clark, Wayne Nyans, and finally Harvey Heiss, who at the time had worked for Genco.
00:15:32
Speaker
But he had long retired, but he was the fourth designer that we recognized at this event.
00:15:38
Speaker
And I remember saying at the banquet, would the following gentleman come up front in front of the podium here?
00:15:46
Speaker
I mentioned their names and I said, these gentlemen are responsible for designing over 650 games.
00:15:54
Speaker
I said, would you please rise and give them an applaud?
00:15:57
Speaker
And not only did people applaud, but they were cheering them on.
00:16:01
Speaker
And for me, what was really great was for these guys to see them finally getting the recognition and they had tears in their eyes.
00:16:10
Speaker
So it was just great.
00:16:12
Speaker
Very magical moment.
00:16:14
Speaker
Wow.
00:16:15
Speaker
And you've been doing it ever since.
00:16:17
Speaker
So, yeah, so what happened was, in my mind, I was done, one and done.
00:16:22
Speaker
I accomplished what I wanted to, what's used to going on.
00:16:25
Speaker
And about six months into the following year, I started getting phone calls, what's the next show?
00:16:30
Speaker
And I said, there is no more show, this is it.
00:16:34
Speaker
Well, no, man, this is too much fun, you've got to have another one.
00:16:37
Speaker
So I did, okay, let me do one more, and then another one, and then another one.
00:16:44
Speaker
So here we go, guys.
00:16:45
Speaker
This year we're number 37.
00:16:48
Speaker
There's a lot of other guys that have done shows.
00:16:50
Speaker
Some have come and went.
00:16:52
Speaker
But to do the same show, the same promoter for 37 years, if you think about it, it's pretty unbelievable.
00:17:01
Speaker
That is truly amazing.
00:17:03
Speaker
So I want to go through last year.
00:17:06
Speaker
So what happened last year?
00:17:08
Speaker
And you guys had to pivot pretty quickly because with COVID and with the
00:17:14
Speaker
gatherings all being eliminated basically.
00:17:19
Speaker
How was that and how were you able to pivot because you moved online pretty quickly.
00:17:24
Speaker
Yeah, Dave Fix who helps me with the vendor chair, he had the idea of doing a virtual show.
00:17:32
Speaker
So I had met a lot of guys, of course, over the years, plus new faces and people I'd met through Facebook.
00:17:40
Speaker
And I reached out to him and I said, I want to do a virtual event.
00:17:44
Speaker
Would you agree to be in it, be part of it?
00:17:47
Speaker
And it was a pretty overwhelming yes.
00:17:50
Speaker
And at the time, you know, a lot of this stuff was a relatively new technology as far as doing a show via Zoom or whatever Teams or whatever app that you got.
00:18:02
Speaker
But...
00:18:03
Speaker
You know, just think about the coordination guys.
00:18:06
Speaker
You know, hey, Scotty, I got to get you guys together, you and Josh, and be ready at 4 o'clock a certain day to be on the air.
00:18:16
Speaker
So I had to do that, but for the most often the case, people just recorded, prerecorded their seminar and just, you know, sent to us and then we downloaded it.
00:18:28
Speaker
But it was crazy.
00:18:30
Speaker
You know, we won a Twippy Award for that, for the best virtual show.
00:18:34
Speaker
But I think it was one of the few virtual events that really took place.
00:18:38
Speaker
But we tried to do it in a big way.
00:18:40
Speaker
And not only was it a one-day show, it was a three-day show.
00:18:44
Speaker
So three days' worth of seminars virtually.
00:18:47
Speaker
So even that's pretty insane when you think about it.
00:18:51
Speaker
So we were happy with how it worked.
00:18:54
Speaker
And I think we did a pretty good job of pulling it off.
00:18:57
Speaker
I think so too.
00:18:58
Speaker
I think everyone was very happy with the way that the response was for COVID.
00:19:03
Speaker
I mean, there wasn't much else we could do.
00:19:05
Speaker
And so I think it pulled off very well and it was, well, you guys were nominated for the best event for 2020.
00:19:11
Speaker
So obviously it did something for you guys.
00:19:14
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:15
Speaker
So, but in our mind or in my mind, I kept my, my streak going of continuous shows.
00:19:22
Speaker
So that was pretty special.
00:19:25
Speaker
It also, the one thing that I've noticed with last year, and I've noticed even in my business, that a lot of these things are starting to incorporate like an online presence.
00:19:37
Speaker
So you can actually see some of the talks or you can at least view the information virtually, which before, if I couldn't go to Expo or I couldn't go somewhere, you were basically out of luck.
00:19:51
Speaker
But with that option, is that something that you're thinking of continuing for this expo?
00:19:58
Speaker
Or what lessons did you learn from the last one that you're going to possibly incorporate into the next one?
00:20:03
Speaker
That's a great question.
00:20:05
Speaker
Most of the guys in Europe would even think of the idea of doing a virtual event.
00:20:15
Speaker
But virtual is okay, but nothing beats live.
00:20:20
Speaker
the feel of it, the excitement of it.
00:20:23
Speaker
And, you know, we're trying to incorporate all that stuff, maybe have some live feed from the show.
00:20:30
Speaker
But personally, I still prefer a live over virtual.
00:20:34
Speaker
I agree.
00:20:35
Speaker
I'm just saying this as a possible option for people who can't come.
00:20:38
Speaker
So say you're in Europe and you can't fly over for the expo.
00:20:43
Speaker
Right.
00:20:43
Speaker
This is still a way that you could possibly participate.
00:20:47
Speaker
Listen, Josh, the best thing for me to do would be to do that.
00:20:51
Speaker
And you can read my eyes and ears so you can do broadcasting live from the Renaissance Hotel.
00:21:01
Speaker
Make it fun.
00:21:01
Speaker
But, you know, that's the thing.
00:21:03
Speaker
I'm open to all ideas.
00:21:05
Speaker
You know, we try to be creative in everything we do.
00:21:08
Speaker
And.
00:21:09
Speaker
You know, for me, the show in the past was about a 25,000 square foot facility as far as the vendor space and exhibit space.
00:21:20
Speaker
And this year, I just wanted to constantly outdo myself.
00:21:26
Speaker
This year, the vendor space will take up 66,000 square feet, almost three times larger.
00:21:36
Speaker
So anyone who's in the pinball, they're going to be in for a treat this year.
00:21:41
Speaker
So you are moving to a new location again this year.
00:21:44
Speaker
So let's talk about the new location.
00:21:47
Speaker
Now, this time it's at, make sure I get this right.
00:21:51
Speaker
It's at the Renaissance.
00:21:53
Speaker
Is that right?
00:21:54
Speaker
Right.
00:21:54
Speaker
Renaissance Center in Schaumburg.
00:21:56
Speaker
How is that different?
00:21:57
Speaker
Tell me more about this space.
00:21:59
Speaker
Well, it's more of a convention center.
00:22:02
Speaker
I mean, every year since day one, we've had the expo, it's been in the hotel.
00:22:07
Speaker
But this is actually a convention center that's made exclusively to handle big events.
00:22:17
Speaker
And what's special about this for those, any of those people listening that might be vendors, in the past, it was a real hassle to come to the show as a vendor.
00:22:29
Speaker
And you had to throw your equipment or your booth on a dolly and had to bring it down one aisle way and down a hallway and behind the restaurant.
00:22:40
Speaker
I mean, it was a pain.
00:22:42
Speaker
Or is this year the first time we've been at a venue where you can actually drive your car right into the venue, unload at the venue, and you can unload right there where your booth will be at.
00:22:55
Speaker
So it'll be extremely convenient for those that care to be a vendor this year that want to come to the show.
00:23:02
Speaker
you mentioned if you are a vendor.
00:23:04
Speaker
So if people are trying to get ahold of you to be part of this expo, they want to exhibit something, they want to be part of this, what's the best way to get ahold of you?
00:23:13
Speaker
Well, I can be reached by reach by phone, which is 330-716-3139.
00:23:17
Speaker
Or you can go through the website and the vendor application is right there on the website.
00:23:26
Speaker
with this place that you're you've moved to, it's a lot more accommodation for where you're sleeping and whatnot as well.
00:23:32
Speaker
And this is the fastest you guys have ever sold out for a hotel, correct?
00:23:35
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good point.
00:23:39
Speaker
I'm pleasantly surprised.
00:23:41
Speaker
I just didn't know that it would sell so quickly.
00:23:43
Speaker
So for those trying to get a room, we have an additional location on there for another hotel.
00:23:52
Speaker
This is our backup hotel, the Marriott.
00:23:55
Speaker
But there will be another one as well coming on board early next week, the Embassy Suite.
00:24:00
Speaker
So there'll be several other choices to choose from.
Expansion and Activities at the Pinball Expo
00:24:03
Speaker
But the hotels are connected.
00:24:06
Speaker
Our main hotel is connected to the convention center.
00:24:09
Speaker
So everything is in walking distance between the hotel and the event.
00:24:14
Speaker
You've been doing this for 37 years.
00:24:15
Speaker
Has it just been – you've obviously seen the ups and downs of the pinball industry.
00:24:19
Speaker
Yep.
00:24:21
Speaker
Is this the biggest it's ever been or was there a time before this it was pretty big?
00:24:25
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good question because I remember Steve Kordik always saying that the pinball industry ran in cycles.
00:24:31
Speaker
There was the ups and downs, but it would keep rebounding.
00:24:35
Speaker
And he was right, and it's true.
00:24:38
Speaker
But I guess my best answer to your question is this.
00:24:43
Speaker
I'm going to ask you guys a question.
00:24:44
Speaker
Are you there, Scotty?
00:24:45
Speaker
Yeah, I'm still here.
00:24:46
Speaker
I want you guys, between the two of you, to list every pinball manufacturer that you know of today.
00:24:54
Speaker
Okay.
00:24:55
Speaker
So, okay.
00:24:56
Speaker
I get to go first.
00:24:57
Speaker
Yep.
00:24:57
Speaker
Stern.
00:24:58
Speaker
Stern.
00:24:59
Speaker
One.
00:25:00
Speaker
JJP.
00:25:01
Speaker
Two.
00:25:02
Speaker
Spooky.
00:25:03
Speaker
Three.
00:25:07
Speaker
Chicago Gaming.
00:25:08
Speaker
American.
00:25:09
Speaker
Okay.
00:25:09
Speaker
Chicago Gaming.
00:25:10
Speaker
Good.
00:25:11
Speaker
American.
00:25:12
Speaker
Good.
00:25:13
Speaker
Haggis.
00:25:14
Speaker
Good.
00:25:17
Speaker
The P. What's the P3 one?
00:25:20
Speaker
Multimorphic.
00:25:21
Speaker
Multimorphic.
00:25:22
Speaker
Yes.
00:25:22
Speaker
Yep.
00:25:23
Speaker
Okay.
00:25:23
Speaker
Does pinball ventures count?
00:25:27
Speaker
Yeah, we'll call them.
00:25:28
Speaker
Okay.
00:25:30
Speaker
We know that deep root doesn't count.
00:25:32
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:25:34
Speaker
Shots fired.
00:25:36
Speaker
Yeah, you have to actually make a game to be part of this.
00:25:40
Speaker
Yes.
00:25:41
Speaker
Yeah, it seems like there's a new option every couple months.
00:25:47
Speaker
Like someone says, hey, let's start this up.
00:25:50
Speaker
So you just gave me about eight names, okay?
00:25:52
Speaker
Okay.
00:25:53
Speaker
There's at least three that you haven't mentioned that will be at the event showing a new pinball machine.
00:26:02
Speaker
Really?
00:26:02
Speaker
And are these trophies that have announced that they're actually making games to the public?
00:26:08
Speaker
I don't know if they want me to announce it or want me to announce it, but most likely we will.
00:26:13
Speaker
But...
00:26:15
Speaker
Guys, that's crazy.
00:26:16
Speaker
So we got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
00:26:18
Speaker
It's going to be over 10.
00:26:23
Speaker
Maybe we'll even get 12.
00:26:25
Speaker
But these are all different.
00:26:28
Speaker
They're hoping to make a major presence.
00:26:30
Speaker
Now, what's become a big topic, as you know, is the homebrew guys.
00:26:37
Speaker
Yep.
00:26:37
Speaker
So we're going to have an area to show just for homebrew games.
00:26:43
Speaker
So I wouldn't be surprised if there's over a dozen titles at the event just with homebrew stuff.
00:26:51
Speaker
Okay, so this reminds me about, I would say the polarizing documentary, A Special When Lit, which certainly it emphasized interesting personalities in the industry, but it does talk about the decline in the 90s where they started with about 10 or 12 and then slowly dwindled down until one, until basically Stern.
00:27:14
Speaker
And Stern was the only game in town for the...
00:27:18
Speaker
the turn of the century and then when JJP jumped on, it started to pick up more steam and now in the last five years, it's amazing how many different options have really started to, it seems like we went through the bottleneck and now we're expanding again.
00:27:33
Speaker
You know, it just shows you how hot Pinball is right now and I'm saying for all ages and in all countries and
00:27:41
Speaker
A lot of the manufacturers are back-ordering now.
00:27:44
Speaker
They can't produce quick enough.
00:27:46
Speaker
And it doesn't help that China's caused some grief, you know, getting parts delivered into this country.
00:27:51
Speaker
But I guess the point being, there must be a demand or you wouldn't find these guys coming out of the woodwork and coming up with new companies.
00:27:59
Speaker
So it remains to be seen, you know, how many guys will actually show up at the end of the day.
00:28:05
Speaker
But you have to appreciate the fact that Stern has built, you know, put together a team of employees that, you know, are really terrific for them to produce the amount of games they produce and the quality they're producing.
00:28:20
Speaker
And, you know,
00:28:22
Speaker
It's a really interesting industry, you have to admit.
00:28:24
Speaker
And the more you dig into it, the more you'll see, you can appreciate the efforts these guys make.
00:28:30
Speaker
And also, for those of you that have never been to Expo, part of our program is you can tour Stern Pinball.
00:28:37
Speaker
And typically they don't allow an open door to their factory, perhaps from a special invitation or something that they may do it.
00:28:46
Speaker
But they go all out and do a wonderful job of providing a tour of the factory.
00:28:52
Speaker
And you get a chance to meet Gary Stern, which is always fun, and his team of surrounding team that make that company rock and roll.
00:29:02
Speaker
So you live in Ohio.
00:29:03
Speaker
What convinced you to do it in Chicago?
00:29:05
Speaker
Why didn't you do it closer to home?
00:29:07
Speaker
Only because it's the home of pinball.
00:29:09
Speaker
I always felt that the show would only prosper and only be strong if we had it in Chicago, the home of pinball.
00:29:17
Speaker
And the reasoning is, if I want to do a tour of a factory, I'm right there.
00:29:22
Speaker
If I want to get some of these Chicago designers or artists to participate in some manner, they're right there.
00:29:29
Speaker
It's an easy request.
00:29:31
Speaker
And so far, you know, I've been correcting that mindset that, you know, they'd be glad to come.
00:29:36
Speaker
And some of the other shows, you know, have had guest speakers here and there, but not to the breadth of the Expos got.
00:29:42
Speaker
And it only makes sense just because of the location alone.
00:29:46
Speaker
Right.
00:29:46
Speaker
It's easier for you to organize from a distance and then show up as opposed to have everybody from there come to you.
00:29:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:54
Speaker
And you're probably going to get a lot more buy-in if they can drive there.
00:29:57
Speaker
Yep, absolutely.
00:29:59
Speaker
And, you know, one other thing about the expo, for those that have never been there or seen it, is we have an autograph session.
00:30:04
Speaker
So to me, that's one of my favorite events.
00:30:08
Speaker
But if anyone likes a particular designer or artist, there's a good chance you'll be there at the show signing autographs.
00:30:16
Speaker
But here you get a chance to meet them and talk to them one-on-one and ask them any questions you have or take your pictures with them.
00:30:22
Speaker
So it's a real fun event.
00:30:24
Speaker
opportunity we have at the show that um and we bring out some of the old timers too i mean the one guy that keeps showing up every year which i think is great is dave madoc christensen the artist for uh captain fantastic to name but one of many titles but uh his artwork was always fun and uh very creative guy and he comes to the show so you get a chance to meet him
00:30:49
Speaker
Yeah, that's pretty amazing to be able to draw.
00:30:52
Speaker
It really does seem like Chicago is the mecca for pinball.
00:30:56
Speaker
And so, so many, so many tentacles out there that you can just draw in from the basically the the history of modern pinball past the 1970s.
00:31:08
Speaker
And most of those people are still around and kicking so that they're still able to come in.
00:31:14
Speaker
Yes.
00:31:15
Speaker
And, you know, one thing, Josh, over the years, I've been working on this personally, but every year I try to bring a lot of games myself to the event.
00:31:27
Speaker
And this year, based on how the numbers are looking, there'll probably be well over 400 games, you know, set for free play.
00:31:37
Speaker
And for me, what's a special treat to the attendees is I'm bringing –
00:31:44
Speaker
a lot of new titles and a lot of including games made in italy and games made in spain and you know you would never guess especially in spain that they had a market they had their own market that was developed there because of the complexities and difficulty in getting pinball machines made in america so spain actually developed their own uh
00:32:12
Speaker
from the bottom of their own industry of pinball machine manufacturers, artists, and designers that makes games exclusively for the Spanish market.
00:32:23
Speaker
So, I mean, I bought these games two years ago, and people went bonkers over the stuff because they had never seen these titles.
00:32:30
Speaker
I mean, this is a full-size game, full-size graphics made by people we never heard of before.
00:32:37
Speaker
So I am bringing these games back plus additional ones that people have never seen in the past.
00:32:44
Speaker
Are those the Zachariah games like Farfalla and Mars Trek and whatnot?
00:32:48
Speaker
That's just a very, very scratch in the surface of the games you'll see there.
00:32:54
Speaker
Okay.
00:32:54
Speaker
So that's nuts.
00:32:55
Speaker
Plus there'll be the Joust Pinball, the two-player Joust head-to-head game will be there.
00:33:02
Speaker
I actually saw one of those last week.
00:33:05
Speaker
It was torn apart.
00:33:06
Speaker
They're trying to rebuild it.
00:33:07
Speaker
But there is one there's one about an hour from me because I was taking an arcade out to get them to fix it up.
00:33:13
Speaker
So there's another game I just got worried when they come to Expo this year.
00:33:18
Speaker
Hubert's Quest.
00:33:20
Speaker
OK, I didn't realize I was a pinball machine.
00:33:23
Speaker
Yeah, let me up.
00:33:24
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:25
Speaker
It was made about the time when, uh, like 1983 ish when, um, when video games seem to be taken over.
00:33:32
Speaker
So they did a lot of, uh, a lot of video game themes that they were trying to incorporate into pinball.
00:33:37
Speaker
And, you know, that's when Pac-Man pinball came out and yeah.
00:33:41
Speaker
Space invaders and stuff like that.
00:33:43
Speaker
Spy hunter.
00:33:44
Speaker
Yeah, exactly.
00:33:45
Speaker
Though I don't know of too many that were wildly successful, but, uh,
00:33:51
Speaker
We're going to have also a pretty good selection of Valley games from the 60s.
00:33:56
Speaker
So there's a resurgence of interest in games of that era.
00:34:01
Speaker
So there'll be about 15 different titles from games, you know, from Blue Ribbon and a lot of oddball titles you just don't see every day.
00:34:08
Speaker
Well, Dave Fix was telling us that there's usually a rat race up there, which has only had, what, 10 maybe made?
00:34:15
Speaker
Yep.
00:34:16
Speaker
Very low production.
00:34:17
Speaker
All I can say, you guys and those in your enlisting audience, get ready.
00:34:23
Speaker
So go through.
00:34:24
Speaker
So for people who haven't been to a show before, because there are a lot of people who I think have never been able to go to a show and now they're going to be coming.
00:34:35
Speaker
So, like, lead us through the options that they have, because, you know, they have they have lectures, they have free play stuff, they have vendors, they have tournaments they have.
00:34:46
Speaker
So tell me about all the things that you're going to be offering.
00:34:48
Speaker
And so we'll be able to generate some buzz to figure out what people will be going for going to expo for.
00:34:55
Speaker
Right.
00:34:56
Speaker
Good question.
00:34:57
Speaker
So when you enter Wednesday night, we have what we call our bumper blast, which is kind of like our introductory welcoming party.
00:35:05
Speaker
And that'll be in the vendor hall.
00:35:08
Speaker
So you'll start to see parts of the hall as it's coming together.
00:35:12
Speaker
But they'll also have, like I mentioned earlier, the tour.
00:35:16
Speaker
But the show offers seminars, and I mean like close to 50 hours of seminars.
00:35:24
Speaker
It's just crazy.
00:35:26
Speaker
But it's all facets of the hobby from A to Z. So there's always something for everybody.
00:35:31
Speaker
But we have that.
00:35:32
Speaker
Like you mentioned, we have the tournaments, and we have a separate women's tournament.
00:35:40
Speaker
We have the PAPA tournament.
00:35:43
Speaker
There'll be a tournament there for some of the older games that you can enter.
00:35:48
Speaker
And this is for all age groups and for all levels of playing.
00:35:52
Speaker
I mean, there's a lot of A players out there.
00:35:56
Speaker
But also there'll be prizes and awards for the B players as well.
00:36:01
Speaker
We're going to have a raffle there.
00:36:04
Speaker
So you can buy a ticket for a raffle for a new pinball machine.
00:36:09
Speaker
Still in the box, Scotty.
00:36:12
Speaker
Don't take that from me.
00:36:13
Speaker
I need that game.
00:36:14
Speaker
All right.
00:36:15
Speaker
All right.
00:36:15
Speaker
So you're going to give me one of your Zacharias.
00:36:18
Speaker
There you go.
00:36:19
Speaker
But, you know, I used to use the tagline, the everything for everyone show, because there's just so much happening that for those coming, whether the first time or not, you got to tell your better half.
00:36:34
Speaker
Don't talk to me.
00:36:35
Speaker
Don't expect a phone call because I'll be up from morning to night.
00:36:40
Speaker
Explaying, meeting people.
00:36:43
Speaker
You know, to me, what's kind of cool is all the people that come from Europe, Japan, Italy, Spain, and to connect to them.
00:36:53
Speaker
And that's been a lot of fun.
00:36:55
Speaker
It's a pen pal of the sort.
00:36:56
Speaker
You know, you meet new people that share a common interest.
00:37:00
Speaker
And for a lot of people, it's like a family reunion where they see friends that they've met in the past, but also new friends that they make there at the show.
00:37:10
Speaker
I wouldn't say tell your better half.
00:37:11
Speaker
I would say bring your better half because having a spouse that's really into pinball or a boyfriend or girlfriend that's really into pinball, that makes it a lot easier to buy pinball machines yourself.
00:37:23
Speaker
Well, yep.
00:37:24
Speaker
But then Josh, are you married?
00:37:26
Speaker
I assume.
00:37:27
Speaker
Yes, 14 years.
00:37:29
Speaker
Okay, so your wife's going to say, Josh, why aren't you hanging with me?
00:37:33
Speaker
Why are you hanging with all your buds and not with me?
00:37:37
Speaker
Here, honey, here's a couple hundred dollars in my credit card.
00:37:40
Speaker
Go shopping downtown.
00:37:43
Speaker
So, by the way, for those people that are into the shopping, Chicago is a shopping mecca.
00:37:48
Speaker
So you'll certainly have a good time to go shopping there.
00:37:51
Speaker
But, you know, some spouses are into this and some are not.
00:37:56
Speaker
So if you're into pinball, you know, by all means, bring your spouse.
00:38:03
Speaker
I'm just trying to think.
00:38:04
Speaker
We have one lady from Fargo Pinball that's going to give a talk on women in pinball.
00:38:09
Speaker
So she'll have a lot of different women involved in the industry.
00:38:12
Speaker
They'll be a part of that panel.
00:38:13
Speaker
So, you know, like I said, it's the everything for everyone.
00:38:16
Speaker
So if you're into pinball at any facet of it, you're going to go nuts, man.
00:38:21
Speaker
You're going to go crazy.
00:38:23
Speaker
Bring your checkbook, bring your credit cards, because there'd be plenty of stuff for sale, machines for sale.
00:38:31
Speaker
There was a game that Dino Gasparri from Canada had built.
00:38:35
Speaker
It was a one-of-a-kind pinball expo machine he built for the show two years ago.
00:38:42
Speaker
He's bringing it back, and I think he wants to sell with kind of a waffle thing, or what do they call those waffles?
00:38:47
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:47
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:48
Speaker
Waffles, you know, and made the best guy win, have your name pulled, but there's just so much happening guys that, uh, you'll leave it saying, wow.
00:38:59
Speaker
But, uh, it's a lot of fun, a lot of excitement and connecting with fellow pinball, uh, collectors and players and enthusiasts.
00:39:10
Speaker
Okay.
00:39:10
Speaker
So the days that I see down are, it's basically, uh,
00:39:14
Speaker
The weekend is October 27th, which is Wednesday.
00:39:18
Speaker
And then you have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is when everything's being torn down.
00:39:22
Speaker
So if you're budgeting time, budget the 27th through the 31st to get to Expo.
00:39:28
Speaker
Tell me about tickets, multi-day tickets, a single-day tickets.
00:39:33
Speaker
How is the best way for people to get in?
00:39:36
Speaker
Yeah, I'm going to back up for one second.
00:39:38
Speaker
On Sunday, nothing happened Sunday other than the finals of the pinball tournament.
00:39:44
Speaker
So I wanted to mention that.
00:39:45
Speaker
But yeah, you can buy tickets there at the door or you can buy the packages.
00:39:50
Speaker
So the packages includes a mission, includes the factory tour and so forth.
00:39:55
Speaker
So this is all explained on the website.
00:39:58
Speaker
So there's just different levels.
00:40:00
Speaker
You can buy, and if you don't buy the package, like I said, you can buy tickets just to come to the event for the day, just to go to the vendor hall.
00:40:07
Speaker
There's tickets to go to just the seminars only if you're there just for the educational experience.
00:40:13
Speaker
So it just depends on your level of interest.
00:40:17
Speaker
It definitely sounds like it's quite the party.
00:40:20
Speaker
Have you guys been there?
00:40:22
Speaker
No, I have not.
00:40:23
Speaker
This will be my very first year going.
00:40:26
Speaker
Yeah, I couldn't go two years ago, but I was planning on going last year, but obviously it didn't work.
00:40:30
Speaker
Right.
00:40:31
Speaker
But I have been to a show, so I at least have the general vibe of what a show is about.
00:40:37
Speaker
Well, you know, the show has changed a lot over the years.
00:40:40
Speaker
The past two years, I've kind of really let loose, and this year is just reaching the point of insanity.
00:40:48
Speaker
Besides the pinballs, we're also incorporating more and more of the retro video games.
00:40:55
Speaker
because you have those groups of people out there that collect the Pac-Man, the Centipedes and so forth.
00:41:01
Speaker
So there'll be a sampling of those games.
00:41:05
Speaker
Plus, also this year, we're going to have an area for those guys or the retro guys that collect the retro video games, the Atari, the GameCubes, the Sega systems and so forth, Dreamcast systems.
00:41:18
Speaker
So there'll be a fellow named Paul Zimmerman and Todd Friedman are helping with that.
00:41:24
Speaker
And they're bringing a whole layout of monitors and game systems to play some of these earlier games as well.
00:41:33
Speaker
It sounds like you said, you've got something for everyone.
00:41:36
Speaker
So there's no reason for you not to go.
00:41:38
Speaker
Well, I guess unless you're stuck in a country that is not allowing travel for COVID.
00:41:42
Speaker
But other than that, if you're not going, why are you not going?
00:41:48
Speaker
Yeah, you know, for a lot of people that have never been there, perhaps this is the airport to give it a shot.
00:41:54
Speaker
And you know what kills me is some people will call from Europe and they say they want to just come for the day.
00:42:02
Speaker
And I basically... From Europe?
00:42:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:04
Speaker
I basically... I'll beg.
00:42:06
Speaker
I'll say, do yourself a favor.
00:42:08
Speaker
It's so far away to come.
00:42:10
Speaker
Come and enjoy the whole event.
00:42:12
Speaker
It's just too far to come.
00:42:15
Speaker
And they don't... A lot of people just don't realize how explosive and fun this show is.
00:42:21
Speaker
There's so much to do.
00:42:22
Speaker
You just can't see everything in one day.
00:42:24
Speaker
You need days to see everything, to see the people...
00:42:28
Speaker
to see all the attractions.
00:42:30
Speaker
There's just so much going on that your head's going to spin, but in a good way.
00:42:37
Speaker
I'm excited.
00:42:38
Speaker
I don't know about, I know Scott's excited too, but it just, I think, like I said, everyone's just kind of, we're ready to get back to normal.
00:42:46
Speaker
A lot of us have got our vaccines and we want to do something fun.
00:42:50
Speaker
And I think this is the very first big event that everyone can go to.
00:42:54
Speaker
And so is there a limit to how many people can get in?
00:42:58
Speaker
Cause if so, you might not get a ticket if you don't plan early.
00:43:04
Speaker
The limit will be 10,000.
00:43:04
Speaker
So we should be okay.
00:43:07
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:07
Speaker
And I don't know.
00:43:09
Speaker
And I'm on the website now.
00:43:10
Speaker
It looks like you can get the advanced registration package and you can get that whole thing for $175.
00:43:18
Speaker
And, yeah.
00:43:19
Speaker
You know, to answer your question, guys, you know, there's still COVID in the air and some people are still very concerned and careful.
00:43:26
Speaker
So we're going to do what we can to handle that situation as well.
00:43:31
Speaker
And whether it be wipes or a way to clean Chicago, which was closed down for the longest time, is finally opening up more and more to events like this.
00:43:42
Speaker
So as far as I know, I do not believe that they mandate masks.
00:43:47
Speaker
But by all means, if certain people are still concerned, they're welcome to wear their mask.
00:43:53
Speaker
But it should be a pretty amazing event and a chance for everybody just to get the cobwebs out of their hair and just let their hair down and just have a great time and seeing their old friends again and playing pinball to death.
Memorable Moments and Impact
00:44:11
Speaker
Rob, I got to ask, you've been doing this for so long.
00:44:13
Speaker
What has been your favorite moment, or if you can narrow it down to a couple, what's been your favorite moments from the past expos that you've done?
00:44:21
Speaker
Yeah, certainly the first year, there was the magic of putting everything together.
00:44:27
Speaker
And in that case, meeting people that you have talked to, but never met.
00:44:33
Speaker
So that was always special.
00:44:36
Speaker
Another special year for me was when Joe Kamenkao, when he worked at Daddy East, helped build from scratch a machine that Harvey Heist talked about in one of his seminars, and it was called Baby in the Hole.
00:44:53
Speaker
If you Google it, I think you can find it on the IPVD website.
00:45:00
Speaker
or database DB, but you'll see a picture of it and you'll see what it's all about.
00:45:06
Speaker
But Joe Kamikow, who has been a great advocate of Pinball Expo, helped build this game.
00:45:14
Speaker
It was a roll-down game.
00:45:16
Speaker
But he helped build this game, and we presented it to Harvey Heiss at the expo.
00:45:23
Speaker
And talk about a magical moment.
00:45:25
Speaker
Guys, I'm telling you, it was unbelievable.
00:45:27
Speaker
We wheeled this game into the hall there.
00:45:30
Speaker
And then basically we had Harvey stand in front of this game.
00:45:34
Speaker
And at this time, Harvey Heiss was hitting about 88 years old.
00:45:38
Speaker
Yeah, I'm actually looking at the picture now.
00:45:41
Speaker
Yeah, I'm right there with you.
00:45:42
Speaker
His tie is about five inches long.
00:45:45
Speaker
He was very bright up to the very end.
00:45:50
Speaker
And when we pulled that blanket off that game, he fell to his knees.
00:45:58
Speaker
It was so great.
00:45:59
Speaker
And Kevin O'Connor did the artwork on that.
00:46:02
Speaker
And if you look at that back glass, they put my likeness on one corner of that back glass.
00:46:07
Speaker
So that's you in the top right.
00:46:10
Speaker
And then I'm guessing this is Heiss on the top left.
00:46:12
Speaker
Yep, yep.
00:46:15
Speaker
See all the different manufacturers come and go.
00:46:17
Speaker
It's crazy.
00:46:18
Speaker
And,
00:46:20
Speaker
You mentioned about some of the highlights.
00:46:22
Speaker
I think it was just touring these places, these factories, which typically are off limits.
00:46:27
Speaker
I remember touring Gottlieb the first time.
00:46:30
Speaker
And you always heard rumblings that Gottlieb was very secretive and they don't let any secrets out.
00:46:38
Speaker
And, you know, you just didn't know a whole lot about the inner workings of that plant.
00:46:43
Speaker
And to go to that factory was like, that was very cool.
00:46:47
Speaker
But there's so much happened.
00:46:48
Speaker
Everything kind of intertwined.
00:46:50
Speaker
You can't remember even what year you saw certain things.
00:46:53
Speaker
But I know for me another special moment was when Nolan Bushnell came from Atari.
00:47:02
Speaker
He came as one of our speakers at the banquet.
00:47:04
Speaker
I mean that was a special moment.
00:47:06
Speaker
I've been working on trying to get that guy for 30 years.
00:47:10
Speaker
Finally, at our 30th expo, he showed up.
00:47:13
Speaker
So that was really very special for me to have him finally show up.
00:47:19
Speaker
But over the years, so many guys show up that are luminaries in the industry.
00:47:24
Speaker
Tom Neiman was a great one because Tom Neiman, I'm not sure if you know who he is, but he was the marketing genius of ballet.
00:47:30
Speaker
He's the one that put together Tommy with Ann Margaret and all the stuff and Bobby Orr and all those years of ballet, one title after the other, Rolling Stones, Dolly Parton.
00:47:42
Speaker
He was a guy that put these celebrities on these back glasses.
00:47:47
Speaker
Gotcha.
00:47:48
Speaker
I've got to ask you too, because it was Pinball Expo 1999 that WMS closed.
00:47:55
Speaker
It was the Monday or the Tuesday after Expo.
00:47:58
Speaker
Do you remember that and kind of what the thoughts were going on there?
00:48:02
Speaker
Well,
00:48:03
Speaker
I do and I don't.
00:48:05
Speaker
I remember the seminar going on.
00:48:07
Speaker
And again, as the chairman of the event, I was always bouncing around from place to place.
00:48:14
Speaker
So I recall going in there and hearing him talk and saying,
00:48:20
Speaker
You know, it sounded like, you know, the end was near.
00:48:24
Speaker
And there was kind of a reminiscing kind of talk about what it was like for Williams and so forth.
00:48:29
Speaker
So it was a weird time.
00:48:31
Speaker
And for me, what was unbelievable.
00:48:35
Speaker
You ready, Scott?
00:48:35
Speaker
You sitting down?
00:48:36
Speaker
I'm sitting down.
00:48:37
Speaker
Let's bring it.
00:48:38
Speaker
How about Josh?
00:48:40
Speaker
I am.
00:48:41
Speaker
Here I am, little old Rob Burke doing this little old show.
00:48:47
Speaker
And Williams waited.
00:48:50
Speaker
till after Pinball Expo to close their doors.
00:48:56
Speaker
My point being, they could have done it at any time.
00:49:00
Speaker
In my mind, they made a commitment to allow us to tour their factory and to have their people at the event.
00:49:07
Speaker
But can you imagine the day after Expo is when they made the announcement.
00:49:13
Speaker
So- It's crazy.
00:49:15
Speaker
Yeah.
00:49:17
Speaker
People were just in shock.
00:49:20
Speaker
But, you know, the industry keeps going, like everything in life.
00:49:24
Speaker
Things keep moving forward, and all you can do is keep going forward and hope for the best.
00:49:29
Speaker
And pinball keeps driving.
00:49:31
Speaker
I mean, I think it's the strongest now that it's ever been.
00:49:35
Speaker
So, you know, the future, I would say, is pretty rosy.
00:49:39
Speaker
Yeah, it seems like the nice thing about being a niche hobby, and we've talked about this before, is the interconnectivity that the online presence or the internet has been able to branch out.
00:49:53
Speaker
And so even if it's a smaller hobby than it was when you saw a pinball in every, you know, 7-Eleven, Pizza Hut, etc.,
00:50:02
Speaker
but it's still very passionate and interconnected because I have a lot of friends in every city and thinking, oh, well, I know who to go play pinball with in this city just because otherwise, you know, 15 years ago, that resource wouldn't have been there.
00:50:17
Speaker
Yeah.
00:50:18
Speaker
I mean, to me –
00:50:21
Speaker
The only thing that gets me excited about my achievements is the fact that when I see all these other shows going on, and let's face it, there's shows all over the world now.
00:50:31
Speaker
And once things open up, there'll be a show every month going on in the calendar.
00:50:35
Speaker
But it all started with me.
00:50:38
Speaker
It was the vision due to a passion that became a reality.
00:50:44
Speaker
And that one show is a kickoff of many, many other shows.
00:50:49
Speaker
And like I say, from all over the world.
00:50:52
Speaker
Well, it's definitely paid off because you're considered one of the top pinball conventions in the world.
00:50:57
Speaker
People come from all around just to come to this one.
00:50:59
Speaker
Who's saying that?
00:51:01
Speaker
Well, I'm saying it.
00:51:02
Speaker
We just said it.
00:51:03
Speaker
I love you, man.
00:51:08
Speaker
You know, it was hard getting that because, you know, for a while there, I think being the promoter, you know, I saw at times I think the show was kind of at times getting a little stale.
00:51:18
Speaker
And that's why, you know, I felt some changes needed to be made.
00:51:22
Speaker
And I kind of got more and more involved in the show and bought out my ex-partner.
00:51:27
Speaker
And I just...
00:51:29
Speaker
decided to do some things a little differently and get everyone kind of rekindled to the show and show that we can do a great job.
00:51:38
Speaker
And for those that have been in the last one, which is what, a year and a half ago almost?
00:51:43
Speaker
Yep.
00:51:43
Speaker
But it was a pretty special event.
00:51:47
Speaker
Yeah, I know everybody's looking forward to it this time, Rob.
00:51:50
Speaker
So best of luck to it.
00:51:52
Speaker
I know we are looking forward to it.
00:51:54
Speaker
We're definitely going to be getting our tickets here soon.
00:51:57
Speaker
And definitely get on.
00:52:00
Speaker
Schedule the rooms because, hey, I was a little behind the eight balls.
00:52:05
Speaker
So I actually need to schedule my rooms too.
00:52:08
Speaker
Hey, one final thing, guys.
00:52:10
Speaker
We are doing something else this year.
00:52:13
Speaker
It's typical.
00:52:14
Speaker
It's a common thing in the retro video world, but they call it cosplay.
00:52:19
Speaker
Yep.
00:52:20
Speaker
Dress up as your favorite character.
00:52:23
Speaker
So we are going to do that Saturday, but we're also going to do dress up as your favorite pinball machine on Saturday.
00:52:30
Speaker
Yes.
00:52:31
Speaker
So we're going to make it really super fun because it's basically Halloween weekend.
00:52:38
Speaker
You know, we want to add to the festivity and just to the craziness and the insanity of the whole event in a good way.
00:52:45
Speaker
You know, it's for the family, let's face it.
00:52:47
Speaker
It's family friendly in all aspects of it.
00:52:51
Speaker
So we're here for the whole family to have a good time.
00:52:53
Speaker
Well, Josh is going to dress up like his favorite game, Popeye, right?
00:52:58
Speaker
Yes, you know it.
00:53:01
Speaker
My favorite, we did this many, many years ago at the Expo Banquet.
00:53:06
Speaker
And Phoebe Smith dressed up as Bad Cats.
00:53:10
Speaker
Oh, nice.
00:53:10
Speaker
That's awesome.
00:53:11
Speaker
She dressed up as like a little kitty cat.
00:53:12
Speaker
So it was just so fun.
00:53:14
Speaker
And the idea was you had to guess who it was.
00:53:16
Speaker
So, you know, she was dressed up as that.
00:53:19
Speaker
I remember some of us dressed up as a professional wrestler.
00:53:22
Speaker
So, you know, Gollum tag team.
00:53:26
Speaker
We had a couple other ones.
00:53:27
Speaker
Let me think what else was fun.
00:53:31
Speaker
Could have been something from the Addis family, but, you know, there's so many titles now.
00:53:35
Speaker
It could be really fun, you know, to dress up and just to be part of the event.
00:53:41
Speaker
And let's face it, you can get involved as much as you want to in the expo, or you can just sit back and chill out and enjoy the scenery and enjoy seeing people and enjoy playing the games.
00:53:51
Speaker
I mean, you could just play games until your eyeballs pop out.
00:53:55
Speaker
If Zach Manny doesn't show up as a giant whirlwind topper, I will be disappointed.
00:53:59
Speaker
He's going to bring a leaf blower.
00:54:01
Speaker
All right.
00:54:03
Speaker
Put the word out.
00:54:05
Speaker
Anyways, I want to thank you guys for including me and even considering and talking to me.
00:54:11
Speaker
I want to thank those in your listening audience that tuned in and hopefully they enjoyed it.
00:54:16
Speaker
Well, and we appreciate having you on.
00:54:18
Speaker
We feel like you're a very important part of pinball history within itself.
00:54:21
Speaker
I mean, you've been doing this for 37 years.
00:54:23
Speaker
You've definitely seen the ups and downs, like you said, that Steve Kordek was talking about.
00:54:27
Speaker
Yep.
00:54:28
Speaker
And, you know, for those of you just even thinking about modeling coming, you got to give it a shot, whether it be this year or next year or any of the shows, because there's there's a magic in the air.
00:54:40
Speaker
And also the fun is seeing some of these vendors.
00:54:44
Speaker
So whether it be Marco or whoever it is, you can meet these guys one-on-one.
00:54:50
Speaker
So that's really fun.
00:54:52
Speaker
I know Marco brought in this Antoinette Johnson.
00:54:55
Speaker
She dressed up with her hair all up in a... I don't know how to explain it.
00:54:58
Speaker
She does that a lot.
00:54:59
Speaker
Yeah, it's impressive.
00:55:00
Speaker
How do you explain it?
00:55:02
Speaker
But, you know, to see it, it's like, man, that is cool.
00:55:07
Speaker
It looks like a punk peacock.
00:55:09
Speaker
It's cool.
00:55:10
Speaker
Yeah, it's impressive.
00:55:12
Speaker
A lot of fun is just meeting these people and then walking up to the manufacturers or the vendors and say, hey, do you have this widget or that widget?
00:55:23
Speaker
I can't seem to find it.
00:55:24
Speaker
And if they don't know it, they might know who can help you out.
00:55:26
Speaker
So there's so many people there from all many different facets of the hobby that you're certainly bound to find what you need.
00:55:34
Speaker
All right.
00:55:34
Speaker
Sounds good.
00:55:35
Speaker
Well, we certainly love having you on.
00:55:38
Speaker
We also have some of our own little swag, so we'll definitely get you a hat and we'll send you some other stuff.
Thank You and Engagement with Audience
00:55:44
Speaker
You may or may not be familiar with it, but it's a pretty coveted hat.
00:55:48
Speaker
We're pretty impressed with it.
00:55:49
Speaker
I love it.
00:55:50
Speaker
Make sure you guys sign it.
00:55:51
Speaker
That way it'll be worth millions.
00:55:55
Speaker
Project Pinball will be there as well.
00:55:57
Speaker
Okay, perfect.
00:55:58
Speaker
So what he does every year is he brings a ton of stuff down there for sale.
00:56:04
Speaker
Normally he'll have one or two pinball machines for auction, but all that game goes towards his charity.
00:56:10
Speaker
So that's somebody else that if you heard about him or what he does, you'll be able to see him firsthand.
00:56:18
Speaker
Okay.
00:56:19
Speaker
Awesome.
00:56:20
Speaker
Always a good charity support.
00:56:22
Speaker
Yeah.
00:56:23
Speaker
So Rob, if people want to get ahold of you, what's the best way to get ahold of you?
00:56:27
Speaker
330-716-3139.
00:56:28
Speaker
All right.
00:56:32
Speaker
That's the first time we've had someone give out their phone number on our Pitfall podcast.
00:56:37
Speaker
It no longer is a secret.
00:56:41
Speaker
Okay, Rob, stick around.
00:56:42
Speaker
We just need to, as soon as we're done, you just need to wait because it uploads from your side.
00:56:47
Speaker
So...
00:56:48
Speaker
You know, one other thing, if anyone wants to be either a vendor or wants to speak at this show, you know, either reach out to me through the website or call me directly.
00:56:59
Speaker
And, you know, we'll make room for you.
00:57:01
Speaker
We'll find room for you to be part of the show.
00:57:05
Speaker
That would be awesome.
00:57:06
Speaker
Sounds good.
00:57:07
Speaker
We're happy to help out, too, if you need us.
00:57:09
Speaker
Great.
00:57:10
Speaker
Thanks, guys.
00:57:11
Speaker
Thanks, Rob.
00:57:13
Speaker
want to get a hold of us we are loser kid pinball podcast at gmail.com you can also hit us up on facebook instagram and twitter at loser kid pinball we are also starting to stream well i am scott not not so much for scott but uh i've been trying to get more on a schedule but you know life is crazy right now so if you want to contact or if you want to watch it just go to at loser kid pinball on twitch.tv
00:57:37
Speaker
You can follow us there and it will remind you or let you know when we went live and doing some stream.
00:57:43
Speaker
We've been having a lot of fun.
00:57:44
Speaker
You can come and talk to us and chat and whatnot.
00:57:48
Speaker
Anything else, Scott?
00:57:50
Speaker
I think that's it.
00:57:51
Speaker
Definitely get on your schedule.
00:57:53
Speaker
And if you guys have any feedback for us or any suggestions or people you want us to try to get on, go ahead and send that to Josh and me and we'll see what we can do.
00:58:03
Speaker
Sounds good.
00:58:04
Speaker
I guess we'll see you in two weeks, right, Scott?
00:58:06
Speaker
Sounds good.
00:58:06
Speaker
Okay, thanks, Josh.
00:58:07
Speaker
Shut up and sit down.