# NORTHWEST PINBALL & ARCADE SHOW 2017

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2017-06-11  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2017/06/11/northwest-pinball-arcade-show-2017

---

## Analysis

Coverage of the 10th Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show held June 9-11, 2017 in Tacoma, Washington. The show featured 192 free-play pinball machines, tournament competition, and seminars with major designers and manufacturers including Stern, Jersey Jack, American Pinball, and Heighway. Key announcements included American Pinball's Houdini production plans and Stern's Star Wars pinball licensing challenges.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] American Pinball planned an initial production run of 1,000 machines for North America with intention to reach 100 machines per week — _Joe Balcer, American Pinball founder, stated during Saturday seminar at Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show_
- [HIGH] American Pinball expected additional 1,000 machine sales from European and Australasian markets — _Jolly Backer, American Pinball distribution lead, stated during seminar; company had 12-15 distributors in US/Canada but none yet in Europe/Australasia_
- [HIGH] Star Wars pinball Pro model production would begin in about one week from the show date — _Steve Ritchie stated during his 5pm Saturday seminar at the show_
- [HIGH] Stern's dealings with Lucasfilm on Star Wars franchise involved difficulties, especially in getting approval for artwork ideas — _Steve Ritchie and Greg Freres indicated during Saturday Star Wars seminar that licensing negotiations had challenges_
- [HIGH] American Pinball would build games at factory in Streamwood, Illinois with external playfield suppliers — _Joe Balcer detailed manufacturing strategy during American Pinball seminar_
- [HIGH] American Pinball rejected pre-order sales model in favor of building games first then offering for sale — _Joe Balcer stated during seminar that this was intentional business strategy shift_
- [HIGH] Mark Ritchie denied involvement in rumored Stern Pulp Fiction pinball game — _Mark Ritchie stated during his Saturday seminar that such rumors had 'no truth behind them'_
- [HIGH] The show featured 192 free-play pinball machines across multiple game eras — _Article explicitly states '192 free play pinball machines' were available on Saturday_

### Notable Quotes

> "He said they will build the game at the American Pinball factory in Streamwood, Illinois, with playfields coming from an external company. There are, he continued, a number of options available for playfield suppliers both in the US and in Europe."
> — **Joe Balcer, American Pinball**, Saturday seminar
> _Clarifies American Pinball's outsourced manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility_

> "Joe said they were planning for an initial production run of 1,000 machines, with the intention of ultimately getting production up to 100 machines a week."
> — **Joe Balcer, American Pinball**, Saturday seminar
> _Establishes American Pinball's aggressive production scaling ambitions_

> "Jolly also said that the 1,000 machine number quoted by Joe was only for North American sales. The company already had 12-15 distributors in the US and Canada but hadn't yet appointed any European or Australasian distributors. However, Jolly expected an additional 1,000 machine sales from those areas."
> — **Jolly Backer, American Pinball**, Saturday seminar
> _Demonstrates American Pinball's global expansion strategy and distribution network building_

> "Although always diplomatic about the details, it was clear from Steve's talk that his and Stern's dealings with Lucasfilm on the Star Wars franchise had not been without some difficulties, especially in getting approval for their artwork ideas for the game."
> — **Article narrator, describing Steve Ritchie's comments**, Saturday 5pm seminar
> _Indicates licensing complexity and creative constraints in major IP partnerships_

> "He put it in and, he said, nobody asked him to remove it."
> — **John Youssi, artist**, Saturday seminar
> _John Youssi's humorous reflection on adding the exclamation mark to 'Dialed In!' title art_

> "Mark certainly didn't rule out a return to pinball, but did confide to us that rumours of his involvement in a Pulp Fiction game being built by Stern were just that – rumours, with no truth behind them."
> — **Article narrator, reporting Mark Ritchie's statements**, Saturday afternoon seminar
> _Officially denies speculation about rumored Pulp Fiction Stern pinball collaboration_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show | event | 10th annual show held June 9-11, 2017 in Tacoma, Washington; featured 192 free-play pinball machines, seminars, and tournaments |
| Joe Balcer | person | Co-founder of American Pinball, led seminar discussing Houdini game, production strategy, and distribution plans |
| Jolly Backer | person | American Pinball team member responsible for distribution network setup; discussed regional sales and distributor appointments |
| American Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer presenting Houdini game; planning 1,000 unit North American production run with factory in Streamwood, Illinois |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer with extensive game lineup at show (Ghostbusters, Batman 66, Game of Thrones, AC/DC Remake, Aerosmith); producing Star Wars pinball |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer displaying The Wizard of Oz and The Hobbit games, plus two Dialed In! machines |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer at Stern; gave 5pm Saturday seminar discussing Star Wars pinball design and licensing challenges with Lucasfilm |
| John Youssi | person | Renowned pinball artist; designed artwork for Pat Lawlor games since Whirlwind (1990), including Dialed In!; gave Saturday seminar on artwork evolution |
| Greg Freres | person | Stern Pinball Art Director; co-presented Ghostbusters and Star Wars seminars discussing artwork and licensing approval processes |
| Jeremy Packer (ZombieYeti) | person | Stern Pinball artist who created cabinet, playfield, and backglass art for Ghostbusters game across all three models |
| Pat Lawlor | person | Legendary pinball designer; designed Dialed In! for Jersey Jack; collaborated with John Youssi since Whirlwind (1990) |
| Mark Ritchie | person | Pioneering pinball designer; discussed career at Atari and Williams, classic game designs including Firepower II, Taxi, Diner, Fish Tales, Indiana Jones; denied Pulp Fiction game rumor |
| Jack Guarnieri (Jersey Jack) | person | Founder/owner of Jersey Jack Pinball; co-presented Dialed In! seminar discussing game conception and factory production |
| David Thiel | person | Sound designer and composer for Heighway Pinball's Alien Pinball; played game at show and co-presented Dialed In! seminar |
| Tim Kitzrow | person | Voice artist and commentator; pinball credits include NBA Fastbreak, World Cup Soccer, Judge Dredd, Roadshow, Twilight Zone, Attack from Mars, The Shadow; gave Friday seminar |
| John Trudeau | person | Stern Pinball game designer; designed Ghostbusters game; co-presented Friday seminar with Greg Freres |
| Butch Peel | person | Jersey Jack Pinball team member; co-presented Dialed In! seminar discussing game conception and development |
| Dave Okert | person | Technical seminar presenter; conducted NVRAM, Scan Line Generator, and Wizard of Oz troubleshooting seminars with David Shoemaker |
| David Shoemaker | person | Technical seminar co-presenter with Dave Okert; covered NVRAM, Scan Line Generator, and Wizard of Oz technical topics |
| Marco Specialties | company | Pinball parts distributor; brought extensive Stern Pinball game lineup to show, expanding display to two rows by Friday |
| Heighway Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Alien Pinball; had game at show with sound designer David Thiel present |
| Nitro Amusements | company | Operator/distributor that displayed Alien Pinball, Medieval Madness Remake, and Houdini at show |
| Hilma Josal | person | Pinball artist exhibiting artwork at show; available for commissions and guest interaction |
| John Youssi | person | Designer of Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show 2017 poster |
| Dhaval Vasani | person | American Pinball team member; presented at Saturday seminar |
| Lucasfilm | company | Licensing entity for Star Wars franchise; involved in artwork approval process for Stern Star Wars pinball with reported difficulties |

### Topics

- **Primary:** American Pinball manufacturing and distribution strategy, Stern Star Wars pinball design and licensing challenges, Jersey Jack Dialed In! artwork evolution and design process
- **Secondary:** Pinball show organization and venue logistics, Industry veteran designer retrospectives (Mark Ritchie, Steve Ritchie), Voice acting and audio design in pinball (Tim Kitzrow), Pinball artwork and graphic design processes
- **Mentioned:** Tournament structure and competitive play

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Overwhelmingly positive coverage of show organization, game quality, industry enthusiasm, and community engagement. Seminars well-received, manufacturers presenting confidently. Only mild concern signal around Star Wars licensing challenges, presented diplomatically rather than critically.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** American Pinball established distribution network strategy: 12-15 distributors in US/Canada; actively seeking European and Australasian distributors (confidence: high) — Jolly Backer detailed distributor status and expansion plans during seminar
- **[community_signal]** Show featured comprehensive seminar program with designer/artist participation; seminars intended for live streaming and YouTube archival (confidence: high) — Article documents Friday and Saturday seminar schedule with technical, design, and retrospective sessions
- **[design_philosophy]** John Youssi artwork process for Dialed In! evolved from pencil sketches through black/white to color, adapting to match physical playfield toys; all editions had customized art variants (confidence: high) — John Youssi presented detailed artwork evolution and three edition art differences during Saturday seminar
- **[event_signal]** Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show marks 10th anniversary with 192 free-play machines, expanded manufacturer presence, and major industry seminars (confidence: high) — Article extensively documents show setup, game inventory, and seminar schedule with detailed photos and participant lists
- **[licensing_signal]** Stern's Star Wars pinball licensing negotiations with Lucasfilm involved artwork approval challenges; multiple design iterations required before approval (confidence: high) — Steve Ritchie and Greg Freres presented initial vs. approved artwork showing multiple submission rounds; Ritchie indicated 'difficulties' in approval process
- **[manufacturing_signal]** American Pinball outsourcing model: external playfield suppliers (US or European options), external game assembly/testing for some components, in-house production for two largest mechanisms (confidence: high) — Joe Balcer explained detailed manufacturing strategy and component sourcing approach during seminar
- **[market_signal]** Show attendance and game availability reflect strong market participation from multiple manufacturers (Stern, Jersey Jack, American Pinball, Heighway, Spooky) (confidence: high) — Extensive documentation of multiple manufacturer game displays and team attendance
- **[personnel_signal]** Jeremy Packer (ZombieYeti) confirmed as Stern Pinball artist responsible for Ghostbusters game artwork across all three cabinet models (confidence: high) — Greg Freres identified ZombieYeti as artist who created cabinet, playfield, and backglass art during Ghostbusters seminar
- **[personnel_signal]** Pat Lawlor continued partnership with Jersey Jack Pinball for Dialed In! after long collaboration history; artist John Youssi created all artwork since Whirlwind (1990) (confidence: high) — John Youssi seminar detailed 27-year partnership with Pat Lawlor; Jack Guarnieri discussed recruiting Lawlor for Jersey Jack
- **[announcement]** American Pinball announced Houdini game with aggressive production targets: 1,000 units North America + 1,000 units Europe/Asia-Pacific; factory in Streamwood, Illinois; external playfield suppliers (confidence: high) — Joe Balcer and Jolly Backer presented detailed production and distribution strategy during Saturday seminar
- **[product_strategy]** Star Wars pinball Pro model production to begin approximately one week after show date (mid-June 2017) (confidence: high) — Steve Ritchie stated during Saturday 5pm seminar: 'production of the Pro model would begin in about a week'
- **[rumor_hype]** Mark Ritchie publicly denied rumors of his involvement in Stern Pulp Fiction pinball game (confidence: high) — Article states Ritchie 'did confide to us that rumours of his involvement in a Pulp Fiction game being built by Stern were just that – rumours, with no truth behind them'

---

## Transcript

**Date:**
9th - 11th June, 2017

**Location:**
Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402, USA.

**This year marks the tenth holding of the Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show. After starting in central Seattle, it is now held at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center in downtown Tacoma.**

![The show poster designed by John Youssi](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/27-1.jpg)
*The show poster designed by John Youssi*

![The Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/1-5.jpg)
*The Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center*

The building sits on a hill, meaning there is a ground floor entrance at the front and a third floor entrance at the side.

![The side entrance](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/2-5.jpg)
*The side entrance*

**Thursday**

The show is held on the fifth floor which, thanks to the terrain, has a ground-level loading bay at the rear, from which an army of volunteers unloaded trucks as soon as they arrived. Games were initially unloaded onto the dock and then wheeled into the hall.

![Another truck is unloaded](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pintastic-2017/22-1.jpg)
*Another truck is unloaded*

![The loading dock](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/23-1.jpg)
*The loading dock*

![Games are wheeled into the hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pintastic-2017/21-1.jpg)
*Games are wheeled into the hall*

![Games in the hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/20-1.jpg)
*Games in the hall*

![Pinballs in the hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/9-3.jpg)
*Pinballs in the hall*

![Pinballs in the hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/10-3.jpg)
*Pinballs in the hall*

![Pinballs being set up](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/15-3.jpg)
*EM Pinballs being set up*

![Pinballs being set up](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pintastic-2017/16-2.jpg)
*Pinballs being set up*

Stern Pinball has an impressive line-up of current titles, including *Ghostbusters*, *Batman 66*, *Game of Thrones*, *AC/DC Remake* and *Aerosmith*.

![A line-up of new Stern Pinball games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/12-3.jpg)
*A line-up of new Stern Pinball games*

![Spider-Man VE and Batman Premium](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/11-3.jpg)
*Spider-Man VE and Batman Premium*

There are two Dialed In! games set up in the centre of the hall.

![Two Dialed In! games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/13-3.jpg)
*Two Dialed In! games*

Nitro Amusements had an *Alien Pinball* and a *Medieval Madness Remake* set up, with a *Houdini* also on its way.

![Alien and Attack from Mars Remake](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/8-3.jpg)
*Alien and Attack from Mars Remake*

![Spooky Pinball is also represented](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/14-3.jpg)
*Spooky Pinball is also represented*

As usual, the tournament area is found on the left side of the hall.

![Setting up tournament machines](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pintastic-2017/17-2.jpg)
*Setting up tournament machines*

![More tournament games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/18-2.jpg)
*More tournament games*

At the front of the hall, the prize desk was being constructed. This is where the regular hourly prize draws will be held, along with the daily grand prize draws.

![Building the prize desk](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/7-3.jpg)
*Building the prize desk*

The show is held in exhibition hall B, but registration takes place in the lobby along with the seminars and a kids play area.

![The entrance door to the show hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/5-4.jpg)
*The entrance door to the show hall*

![Setting up the registration desk and kids play area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/6-4.jpg)
*Setting up the registration desk and kids play area*

![Building the seminar technical area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/3-5.jpg)
 *Building the seminars technical area*

![The seminars area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/4-4.jpg)
 *The seminars area*

In the lobby just outside the show hall entrance were a few stands selling artwork, T-shirts and promoting comic books for kids.

![Stands in the lobby](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/119.jpg)
 *Stands in the lobby*

Artist [Hilma Josal](http://www.hilmajosal.com/) was exhibiting some of her artworks and there to talk about them and take private commissions.

[![Hilma Josal's stand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/57.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/57a-3.jpg)
 *Hilma Josal’s stand [![Click to expand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/expand2-2.gif "Click to expand")](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/57a-3.jpg)*

Next door, T-shirts promoting assorted pinball and arcade themes and locations could be purchased.

![Get your T-shirts here](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/58.jpg)
 *Get your T-shirts here*

Also in the lobby, [Comics4Kids](http://www.comics4kidsinc.org/) were giving away comic books as a part of their drive to improve literacy and foster imagination in kids.

![Comics4Kids' stand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/120.jpg)
 *Comics4Kids’ stand*

**Friday**

Before the opening, a large queue had built up to buy entry or to pick up pre-purchased tickets.

![The queue for registration](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/26-1.jpg)
 *The queue for registration*

![Collecting wristbands for show entry](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pintastic-2017/24-1.jpg)
 *Collecting wristbands for show entry*

To keep the younger guests entertained while they waited for the start of the show, there was the kids area with games on free play.

![The kids area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pintastic-2017/25-1.jpg)
 *The kids area*

The doors to the hall opened on schedule at midday.

![The first guests through the doors](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/33-1.jpg)
 *The first guests through the doors*

Inside the hall there had been some changes since Thursday night.

The *Houdini* game had arrived, along with Jolly Backer and Joe Balcer from American Pinball.

![Houdini from American Pinball](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/pintastic-2017/30-1.jpg)
 *Houdini from American Pinball*

![Jolly and Joe](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/32-1.jpg)
 *Jolly and Joe*

Also on the same stand, Heighway Pinball’s *Alien Pinball* was being checked out by the game’s sound designer and composer, David Thiel.

![David Thiel plays Alien Pinball](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/125.jpg)
 *David Thiel plays Alien Pinball*

Jersey Jack Pinball had their *The Wizard of Oz* and *The Hobbit* games, in addition to the two *Dialed In!* games in the centre of the room.

![Jack with one of the two Dialed In! machines](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/28-1.jpg)
 *Jack with one of the two Dialed In! machines*

The number of Stern Pinball games brought by Marco Specialties had also increased, with the display expanding to two rows.

![The many new Stern Pinball machines](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/29-1.jpg)
 *The many new Stern Pinball machines*

The prize desk at the front of the show was complete, exhibiting the many prizes on offer and the complete machines which would be given away to lucky ticket-holders.

![The prize desk](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/38.jpg)
 *The prize desk*

![The show's grand prize - a Batman 66 Premium](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/34.jpg)
 *The show’s grand prize – a Batman 66 Premium*

![Friday's grand prize - a Nintendo Switch](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/35.jpg)
 *Friday’s grand prize – a Nintendo Switch*

![Saturday's grand prize - a Stellar Wars](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/37.jpg)
 *Saturday’s grand prize – a Stellar Wars*

![Sunday's grand prize - a Mario Bros video](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/36.jpg)
 *Sunday’s grand prize – a Mario Bros video*

If you didn’t think you were lucky enough to win, you could always make a silent bid on a new *Ghostbusters* playfield, or just buy some of the show merchandise.

![The silent auction item](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/39.jpg)
 *The silent auction item*

![Swag available from the prize desk](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/40.jpg)
 *Swag available from the prize desk*

The first seminars of the show also took place on Friday. All the seminars were intended to be streamed live and also made available on YouTube after the show, Due to technical difficulties, they weren’t all streamed, but should all be available on the Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show’s [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/user/balliswild/videos?&ytbChannel=balliswild).

As is usual at the show, the seminars are kicked-off by Dave Okert and David Shoemaker who this time held three technical seminars – *NVRAM For Pins & Vids*, *Scan Line Generator For LCDs* and *Wizard Of Oz Pinball Troubleshooting & Repairs*.

![Dave Okert and David Shoemaker's The Wizard of Oz seminar](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/85-1.jpg)
 *Dave Okert and David Shoemaker’s The Wizard of Oz seminar*

You can watch their three seminars here:

Then at 5pm Stern Pinball game designer John Trudeau held a seminar to talk about his Ghostbusters game. He was joined by Stern’s Art Director, Greg Freres who described how the game’s artist, Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) a.k.a. ZombieYeti, created the cabinet, playfield and backglass art packages for the three models.

![John Trudeau and Greg Freres](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/41.jpg)
 *John Trudeau and Greg Freres*

John began by talking about his design ideas, things he really wanted to get into the game, the things which were taken out, and the various elements from the first and second movie incorporated into the game.

Greg then showed some initial sketch ideas for the backglass, all of which features a montage of the four Ghostbusters, but arranged in different post ions and poses. He also said how Bill Murray was not happy with the idea of a hand-drawn depiction, but was eventually brought around to the idea and Jeremy’s stylised treatment.

[![Early concept art for Ghostbusters](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/42.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/42a_1.png)
 *Early concept art for Ghostbusters [![Click to expand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/expand2-2.gif "Click to expand")](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/42a_1.png)*
 *(Click to expand)*

After John and Greg it was time for a seminar by Tim Tim Kitzrow.

Tim is a voice artist who has provided the commentary track for many sporting event along with arcade and console games. His pinball credits include *NBA Fastbreak*, *World Cup Soccer*, *Judge Dredd*, *Roadshow*, *Twilight Zone*, *Attack from Mars* and *The Shadow*.

His catchphrase is “Boom Shaka-Laka”, which he was promoting with special T-shirts and on [his MrBoomShakaLaka.com website](http://timkitzrow.com/).

![Tim Tim Kitzrow](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/86-1.jpg)
 *Tim Tim Kitzrow*

Here’s Tim’s seminar split into two parts:

**Saturday**

As anticipated, Saturday is the busiest day at the show. That meant most of the 192 free play pinball machines along with many of the video games were in use for most of the day, while the team of medics were fully occupied making repairs and sorting out stuck balls.

![Show visitors enjoying the games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/48.jpg)
 *Show visitors enjoying the games*

![Show visitors enjoying the games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/43.jpg)
 *Show visitors enjoying the games*

![Show visitors enjoying the games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/44.jpg)
 *Show visitors enjoying the games*

![Show visitors enjoying the games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/45.jpg)
 *Show visitors enjoying the games*

![Show visitors enjoying the games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/46.jpg)
 *Show visitors enjoying the games*

![Show visitors enjoying the games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/47.jpg)
 *Show visitors enjoying the games*

Here’s a full list of the pinballs available to play at the show.

|  |
| --- |
| Free Play Pinballs (192) |
| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | |  | | --- | | 2001 | | 4 Square | | AC/DC Lucie | | AC/DC Vault Edition | | AC/DC Vault Edition | | AC/DC Vault Edition | | Addams Family, The | | Addams Family, The | | Addams Family, The | | Aerosmith Premium | | Aerosmith Pro | | Alien Pinball | | Attack from Mars Remake Special Edition | | Attack from Mars Remake Special Edition | | Aztec | | Batman 66 Premium | | Batman 66 Premium | | Batman 66 Premium | | Batman 66 Premium | | Batman Forever | | Baywatch | | Big Brave | | Big Hurt, Frank Thomas’s | | Black Hole | | Black Knight | | Black Knight 2000 | | Black Rose | | Breakshot | | Buccaneer | | Buckaroo | | Capersville | | Capt. Card | | Capt. Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy | | Captain Hook | | Caveman | | Centaur II | | Champion Pub, The | | Checkpoint | | Cleopatra | | Congo | | Cosmic Gunfight | | Countdown | | Crescendo | | Cross Town | | Demolition Man | | Dialed In! | | Dialed In! | | Doctor Who | | Doctor Who | | Dogies | | Dragon | | Earthshaker\* | | Egg Head\* | | Eight Ball | | Evel Knievel | | F-14 Tomcat | | Faces | | Faces | | Fire! | | Firepower | | Firepower 2 | | Fish Tales | | Flip a Card | | Flip Flop! | | Flying Carpet | | Freddy: A Nightmare on Elm Street | | Funhouse | | Galactic Girl | | Galaxy | | Game of Thrones Pro | | Game of Thrones Pro | | Game Show, The Bally | | Ghostbusters Premium | | Ghostbusters Premium | | Ghostbusters Premium | | Golden Arrow | | Grand Slam | | Grand Slam | | Grand Slam\* | | Guns N’ Roses | | Guys Dolls\* | | Harley Davidson (Bally) | | High Speed | | High Speed 2: The Getaway | | High Speed 2: The Getaway\* | | Hobbit Smaug Edition, The | | Hokus Pokus | | Houdini | | Humpty Dumpty | | Independence Day | | Jack in the Box | | Jacks Open | | Judge Dredd | | King Kool | | Kiss Pro | | |  | | --- | | Lady Luck |  |  | | --- | | Laser War | | Lethal Weapon 3 | | Lord of the Rings, The | | Lord of the Rings, The | | Lucky Hand | | Lucky Strike | | Magic Castle | | Metallica Premium | | Metallica Pro | | Meteor\* | | Miss-O | | Monster Bash | | Motordome\* | | Mousin’ Around | | Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man | | Mustang Premium | | NASCAR | | NBA Fastbreak | | Night Rider | | Nip-It | | No Good Gofers | | Old Chicago | | Party Zone, The | | Pinball Pool | | Playboy (Bally) | | Police Force | | Police Force | | Popeye Saves the Earth | | Popeye Saves the Earth | | Power Play, Bobby Orr | | Punchy the Clown | | Rescue 911 | | Ripley’s Believe it or Not! | | Roller Disco | | Rollergirlz | | Safecracker | | Safecracker | | Scared Stiff | | Seawitch | | Shadow, The | | Shrek | | Simpsons Pinball Party, The | | Sky Line | | Skylab | | Slick Chick | | Solar Ride | | Sopranos, The | | Space Invaders | | Space Odyssey | | Space Shuttle | | Space Shuttle | | Speakeasy | | Speakeasy | | Spider-Man Vault Edition | | Spin-a-Card | | Spot Pool | | Spring Break | | Star Trek: The Next Generation | | Star Trek: The Next Generation | | Star Wars (Data East) | | Steampunk Royale | | Stellar Wars | | Striker Xtreme | | Strikes and Spares | | Super Mario Bros.: Mushroom World | | Super Mario Bros.: Mushroom World | | Sure Shot | | Swords of Fury | | Swords of Fury | | Tales from the Crypt | | Tales from the Crypt | | Tales of the Arabian Nights | | Tattoo Mystique | | Taxi | | Teacher’s Pet | | Team One | | Terminator 2 | | Terminator 2 | | Theatre of Magic | | Tommy, The Who’s | | Top Card | | Truck Stop | | Twilight Zone | | USA Football\* | | Viper Night Drivin’ | | Volley | | Whirlwind | | Whirlwind | | Whitewater | | Whitewater | | Whitewater\* | | Wizard of Oz Emeral City Limited Edition, The | | Wizard of Oz Standard, The | | World Cup Soccer | | World Cup Soccer | | X-Men Magneto Limited Edition | | |
| \* denoted machine was out of action |

|  |
| --- |
| Pingolf Tournament Pinballs (10) |
| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | |  | | --- | | Black Hole | | Capt. Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy | | Joker Poker | | Mars Trek | | Mata Hari | | |  | | --- | | Nitro Groundshaker | | Paragon | | Trident | | Volley | | Vulcan | | | |

|  |
| --- |
| Match Play Tournament Pinballs (16) |
| |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | |  | | --- | | Congo | | Dracula, Bram Stoker’s | | Fish Tales | | Funhouse | | Grand Prix | | Hot Doggin’ | | Lord of the Rings, The | | Medieval Madness | | |  | | --- | | Monster Bash | | NBA | | Stargate | | Tron | | Walking Dead, The | | World Cup Soccer | | World Poker Tour | | WWF Royal Rumble | | |

Saturday’s seminars began at 11am with the team from American Pinball, led by Joe Balcer.

![The American Pinball Team](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/59.jpg)
 *The American Pinball Team:*
 *Dhaval Vasani, Jolly Backer and Joe Balcer*

The team was here to talk about their *Houdini* game which was on the show floor at the Nitro Amusements stand.

Joe did most of the talking, describing the history of the game, how it totally changed from the original concept, and how they rejected the pre-order sales model in favour of building the game first and then offering it for sale.

![Joe Balcer](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/61.jpg)
 *Joe Balcer*

He said they will build the game at the American Pinball factory in Streamwood, Illinois, with playfields coming from an external company. There are, he continued, a number of options available for playfield suppliers both in the US and in Europe. Similarly, some of the game assemblies will be built and tested externally, although the two largest mechanisms will be built in-house.

Joe said they were planning for an initial production run of 1,000 machines, with the intention of ultimately getting production up to 100 machines a week.

Jolly then talked about setting up the distribution network, saying they had no intention of selling machines direct to customers, along with all the pre- and after-sales support that results.

![The American Pinball Team](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/60.jpg)
 *The American Pinball Team*

Jolly also said that the 1,000 machine number quoted by Joe was only for North American sales. The company already had 12-15 distributors in the US and Canada but hadn’t yet appointed any European or Australasian distributors. However, Jolly expected an additional 1,000 machine sales from those areas.

Watch the American Pinball seminar here:

At 12:30, John Youssi took to the seminar stage.

![John Youssi](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/62.jpg)
 *John Youssi*

John is a renowned artist with many pinball game credits. He is especially well-know for his many collaborations with game designer Pat Lawlor, having created the artwork for all Pat’s games since *Whirlwind* in 1990.

John talked specifically about their latest collaboration – the Jersey Jack Pinball game, *Dialed In!*. He explained how the final artwork evolved from a series of pencil sketches – many of which were not ultimately used in the game – through to black and white artwork and then to full colour, often changing along the way to better match the physical playfield toys.

[![John's concept drawings for 'Betty'](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/63.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/dpm-2017/63a.jpg)
 *John’s inspirations and concept drawings for ‘Betty’ [![Click to expand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/expand2-2.gif "Click to expand")](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/dpm-2017/63a.jpg)*

[![Concept drawings for the Q.E.D. electric guy](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/64.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/dpm-2017/64a.jpg)
 *Concept drawings for the Q.E.D. electric guy [![Click to expand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/expand2-2.gif "Click to expand")](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/dpm-2017/64a.jpg)*

He also showed the different versions of cabinet, backbox, bottom arch and backglass art used in the Collector, Limited Edition and Standard Edition of the game. John also revealed how he was responsible for the exclamation mark at the end of the *Dialed In!* title. He put it in and, he said, nobody asked him to remove it.

After his seminar John talked to guests and signed translites, flyers and other items he designed.

![John talked to guests and signed their pinball items](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/65.jpg)
 *John talked to guests and signed their pinball items*

Here’s John’s seminar:

Then, continuing the theme of *Dialed In!*, Jack Guarnieri a.k.a. Jersey Jack was joined on stage by Butch Peel and David Thiel to talk about the conception and subsequent development of the game.

![Jack Guarnieri](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/68.jpg)
 *Jack Guarnieri*

Jack talked about how he first got Pat Lawlor to design a game for his company, and how he was sold on the original concept of a disaster-themed game, following on from Pat’s earlier *Whirlwind* and *Earthshaker!* titles.

He showed pictures from the factory showing the first production *Dialed In!* games on the line.

![Butch Peel and David Thiel](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/70.jpg)
 *Butch Peel and David Thiel*

Here’s the Jersey Jack Pinball seminar in full:

After a long day at the show, we took the opportunity to dive out for some lunch at a wonderful Japanese restaurant just up the street in Tacoma called [The Koi](https://www.thekoitacoma.com/).

Their happy hour began at 2pm when all shareable dishes are just $5, beers $2.50 and they have a couple of specials on sake. We especially recommend their Panko Oyster, Yummi Mini and Fancy Jalapeño. The 7 Seas Seven Ballz Deep IPA is also very tasty. They were so good this was our second consecutive lunchtime visit, having vowed to return after the first visit.

When we returned at 3.30pm, refreshed and relaxed, Mark Ritchie was just taking to the stage to talk about his life in pinball.

![Mark Ritchie](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/71.jpg)
 *Mark Ritchie*

Mark described how he got into the pinball business, first at Atari and then at Williams, initially as a technician and then as a game designer starting with Thunderball which was never manufactured beyond the ten prototype games. After that, he did Firepower II – the sequel to his brother’s game – and Pennant Fever, a pitch-and-bat baseball game which was, he said, Williams’ first solid-state pitch-and-bat game.

Mark then talked through all his games in chronological order, including such classics as Big Guns – one of his collaborations with Python Anghelo – Taxi, Diner, Fish Tales and Indiana Jones.

Mark certainly didn’t rule out a return to pinball, but did confide to us that rumours of his involvement in a Pulp Fiction game being built by Stern were just that – rumours, with no truth behind them.

You can watch Mark’s seminar here:

Mark’s brother Steve Ritchie was next to take to the stage with his 5pm seminar.

![Steve Ritchie](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/78-1.jpg)
 *Steve Ritchie*

Steve said he was recovering from some optical treatment and therefore had to avoid the kind of bright light shining through the multiple glass panels in the seminar area.

He then continued by thanking the many people at Stern Pinball who had contributed to his latest game *Star Wars* which is soon to be released. He said production of the Pro model would begin in about a week.

Although always diplomatic about the details, it was clear from Steve’s talk that his and Stern’s dealings with Lucasfilm on the *Star Wars* franchise had not been without some difficulties, especially in getting approval for their artwork ideas for the game.

Steve was then joined by Greg Freres who talked further about the artwork approval process.

![Steve and Greg](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/79-1.jpg)
 *Steve and Greg*

Greg showed pictures of the team’s initial ideas, working through the first licensor submissions to the final approved product.

[![Initial cabinet art ideas](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/80-2.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/80a.jpg)
 *Initial cabinet art ideas [![Click to expand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/expand2-2.gif "Click to expand")](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/80a.jpg)*

[![Initial backglass art ideas](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/81-2.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/81a.jpg)
 *Initial backglass art ideas [![Click to expand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/expand2-2.gif "Click to expand")](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/81a.jpg)*

[![Initial playfield art ideas](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/82-2.jpg)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/82a-2.jpg)
 *Initial playfield art ideas [![Click to expand](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/tpf-2017/expand2-2.gif "Click to expand")](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/82a-2.jpg)*

After showing a promo video from *Star Wars* Steve described the gameplay, saying at the start of the game you can choose one of four characters – Luke, Leia, Han or R2-D2. He said they had a lot of fun despite all the grief from the licensor, although they didn’t interfere with the design of the playfield.

Steve said there are nine multiball modes in the game, and when asked how Stern Pinball were able to secure the *Star Wars* licence said it was simply that they offered more money than anyone else.

Steve and Greg’s talk can be seen in this video of the seminar:

Meanwhile back in the show hall, here’s a look around the show using our aerial camera.

![The Stern Pinball corner](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/89-1.jpg)
 *The Stern Pinball corner*

![The Stern Pinball corner](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/99.jpg)
 *The Stern Pinball corner*

![The front of the show hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/90-1.jpg)
 *The front of the show hall*

![The modern pinball area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/91.jpg)
 *The modern pinball area*

![The tournament area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/92-1.jpg)
 *The tournament area*

![Video games at the back of the hall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/94-1.jpg)
 *Video games at the back of the hall*

![The queue to play the World's Largest Space Invaders](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/95.jpg)
 *The queue to play the World’s Largest Space Invaders*

![More video games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/96.jpg)
 *More video games and pinballs*

![Custom and EM pinballs](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/97.jpg)
 *Custom and EM pinballs*

![More EM pinballs](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/flipflipdingding/98.jpg)
 *More EM pinballs*

![Keeping the games up-and-running, the show medics' area](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/100.jpg)
 *Keeping the games up-and-running, the show medics’ area*

No show would be complete without its selection of vendors and the NWPAS didn’t disappoint here either.

![Rich Bro's Pinball and Arcade](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/101.jpg)
 *Rich Bro’s Pinball and Arcade*

![Rob Anthony's Pinball Classics](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/102.jpg)
 *Rob Anthony’s Pinball Classics*

![Pogs, trading cards, patches, decals and more](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/103.jpg)
 *Pogs, trading cards, patches, decals and more*

![Local arcade/bar Another Castle were promoting their two locations](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/104.jpg)
 *Local arcade/bar Another Castle were promoting their two locations*

![Red Floor Arcade's multi-game cabinets](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/105.jpg)
 *Red Floor Arcade’s multi-game cabinets*

![Starship Fantasy had their usual huge display of ramps, playfields and backglasses](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/106.jpg)
 *Starship Fantasy had their usual huge display of ramps, playfields and backglasses*

![Fast Pinball were showing thei pinball controller boardsets](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/115.jpg)
 *Fast Pinball were showing their pinball controller boardsets…*

![...plus a few project games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/116.jpg)
 *…plus a few project games*

![As seen earlier, Nitro Amusements had the latest games from three companies](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/107.jpg)
 *Nitro Amusements had the latest games from three companies*

![Alien, Attack from Mars remake and Houdini](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/110.jpg)
 *Alien, Attack from Mars remake and Houdini*

![In addition to Dialed In!, Jersey Jack Pinball had their first two titles to play](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/114.jpg)
 *In addition to Dialed In!, Jersey Jack Pinball had their first two titles to play*

![Pinball Bulbs had a large stand filled with LED choices](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/108.jpg)
 *Pinball Bulbs had a large stand filled with LED choices*

![There were three compact games from VPcabs](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/109.jpg)
 *There were three compact games from VPcabs*

![Console game players were not forgotten either](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/111.jpg)
 *Console game players were not forgotten either*

![While BuzzBuzz Games provided even more choice](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/112.jpg)
 *While BuzzBuzz Games provided even more choice*

![Handheld gamers had something for them too](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/113.jpg)
 *Handheld gamers had something for them too*

![Not forgetting to feed the body as well as the mind](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/117.jpg)
 *Not forgetting to feed the body as well as the mind*

Here’s our exclusive Twenty-Five Minute Tour video walk-around at the NWPAS 2017, showing you everything from the lobby, through the main hall and into the seminars.

As usual, several pinball tournaments were held at the Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show, with the largest being the Match Play tournament, entry to which cost $25. The tournaments were run by Dave Stewart and Germain Mariolle.

![Trophies for the many tournaments](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/123.jpg)
 *Trophies for the many tournaments*

![Amy from Congo awaits the winner of the Match Play Tournament](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/124.jpg)
 *Amy from Congo awaits the winner of the Match Play Tournament*

This had five three-hour qualifying sessions, starting at 1:30pm on Friday with the final session at 8pm on Saturday evening. Each session saw players put into 3- or 4-player groups to play a single game on a specified machine. Points were then awarded for positions, with bonus points awarded according to how large the gap was between players’ scores.

After the first game, new groups were made and a second machine played in the same way as the first. This continued until five machines had been played, when the seven players with the most points had qualified. The top qualifier received a bye through the next round, while the remaining six played in the first round of play-offs on Sunday morning. Those who didn’t qualify could try again in up to two more sessions.

![Qualifying in the Match Play Tournament](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/118.jpg)
 *Qualifying in the Match Play Tournament*

Sixteen machines were used in the Match Play area. They were:

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| |  | | --- | | Congo | | Dracula, Bram Stoker’s | | Fish Tales | | Funhouse | | Grand Prix | | Hot Doggin’ | | Lord of the Rings, The | | Medieval Madness | | |  | | --- | | Monster Bash | | NBA | | Stargate | | Tron | | Walking Dead, The | | World Cup Soccer | | World Poker Tour | | WWF Royal Rumble | |

Meanwhile, the Pingolf Tournament was played on ten machines on the other side of the tournament area.

![Play in the Pingolf Tournament](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/84-1.jpg)
 *Play in the Pingolf Tournament*

Entry to this was also $25, which got you one game on each of the ten machines. Each machine had a score target to achieve using the fewest balls possible. All the machines were set to five ball play, and the number of balls used to reach the target was your score for that machine. If the target wasn’t reached with the five balls, a sliding scale gave you a score from six to ten, depending on how close you got.

The ten machines used were:

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| |  | | --- | | Black Hole | | Capt. Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy | | Joker Poker | | Mars Trek | | Mata Hari | | |  | | --- | | Nitro Groundshaker | | Paragon | | Trident | | Volley | | Vulcan | |

The 27 players with the lowest scores qualified for the play-off round which took place at 5pm on Saturday.

![The Pingolf Tournament play-offs](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/101.jpg)
 *The Pingolf Tournament play-offs*

In addition to these two, there was also a Rookie Tournament for players with an IFPA ranking of 2,000th or lower, or if they are unranked, a Women’s Championship where the top prize was a restored *Ali* pinball supplied by sponsors Nitro Amusements, and a Kids Tournament held on Shrek out in the lobby.

The main Match Play Tournament was the last to finish and came down to a three-way final between Eden Stamm, Jesse Mullene and Jesse Labbe.

Time is always very tight for the tournaments at the NWPAS, with the show closing at 3pm and no tournaments allowed to continue past that time. As a consequence, the final of the Match Play Tournament is played as three concurrent three-player games with players moving from machine to machine as their turn comes up.

The three machines chosen were *WWF Royal Rumble*, *World Cup Soccer* and *NBA*.

![Eden, Jesse and Jesse in the Match Play Tournament final](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/126.jpg)
 *Eden, Jesse and Jesse in the Match Play Tournament final*

After winning on *World Cup Soccer* by 728,720,800 to 674,773,190 and 350,062,980, and also on *NBA* by 14,485,210 to 5,456,350 and 1,219,210, Eden looked unassailable with only *WWF Royal Rumble* to complete.

![Eden on WWF Royal Rumble](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/127.jpg)
 *Eden on WWF Royal Rumble*

The shot shown above gave him the win on WWF as well, with Jesse Mullene in second place and Jesse Labbe in third. Prizes and cash awards of $1,000 for first, $700 for second and $500 for third were presented by Tournament Director, Dave Stewart.

![Tournament Director Dave Stewart announces the results](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/128.jpg)
 *Tournament Director Dave Stewart announces the results*

![Winner of the Match Play Tournament, Eden Stamm](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/129.jpg)
 *Winner of the Match Play Tournament, Eden Stamm*

![Second place, Jesse Mullene](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/130.jpg)
 *Second place, Jesse Mullene*

![Third place, Jesse Labbe](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/131.jpg)
 *Third place, Jesse Labbe*

There was also a B Division in the Match Play Tournament for the quarter-finalists who finished in 8th-21st places.

These B Division players played alongside the A Division players shown above, with their final taking place on *The Walking Dead*, *The Lord of the Rings* and *Congo*.

Josh Chris Bartlett won on the first two and came second on Congo to win the final.

Dwayne Smith was second on the first two and third on Congo to tie on points with Nic Crowson who was third on the first two but won on the third, but Nic won the play-off to take second.

![Winner of the B Division in the Match Play Tournament, Josh Chris Bartlett](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/139.jpg)
 *Winner of the B Division in the Match Play Tournament, Josh Chris Bartlett*

![Second place, Nic Crowson](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/138.jpg)
 *Second place, Nic Crowson*

![Third place, Dwayne Smith](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/137.jpg)
 *Third place, Dwayne Smith*

|  |
| --- |
| Match Play Tournament |
| |  |  | | --- | --- | | Pos | Name | | **1** | **Eden Stamm** | | 2 | Jesse Mullene | | 3 | Jesse Labbe | | 4 | Jordan Semrow | | 4 | Robert Gagno | | 6 | Chad Bruhaug | | 6 | Raymond Davidson | | 8 | Joshua Chris Bartlett | | 9 | Mika Rollin | | 9 | Todd Rafacz | | 11 | Chris Perlot | | 12 | Sergey Posrednikov | | 13 | Craig R Jones | | 13 | Dave Grant | | 13 | Dwayne Smith | | 13 | Nic Crowson | | 17 | Robbie Finnigan | | 17 | Todd Larsen | | 19 | Dave Stewart | | 20 | Colin Urban | | 20 | Sean Lind | | 22 | Daniel Rone | | 22 | Mathew Peterson | | 24 | Brooke Lukens | | 24 | Germain Mariolle | | 26 | Alex Tada | | 26 | Jared Baldridge | | 26 | Xavier Marin | | 29 | Thomas Urban | | 30 | John Cambareri | | 30 | Simon Stocker | | 32 | Alan Wiley | | 33 | Jon Salzman | | 34 | Trevor McDonald | | 35 | Chris Chinn | | 36 | Brandon Tibbetts | | 36 | William Scott Jordan | | 36 | Zach Amador | | 39 | Andrew McCann | | 39 | Flash Haze | | 39 | Kevin Birrell | | 39 | Maka Honig | | 39 | Mike Pantoliano | | 44 | Bre Lloyd | | 44 | Brooke Borcherding | | 44 | Bryan Eastman | | 44 | Derek Price | | 44 | Eric Wagensonner | | 44 | Erin Harting | | 44 | James Daniels | | 44 | Julie Gray | | 44 | Lonnie Langford | | 44 | Louise Wagensonner | | 44 | Mark Lindbergh | | 44 | Michael Tibbetts | | 44 | Patrick Carlson | | 44 | Peter Schatzer | | 44 | Sean Shypula | | 44 | Tracy Lindbergh | | 44 | Travis Maisch | | 61 | Claire Burke | | 61 | Dwayne Collins | | 61 | Fabian Benabente | | 61 | Josh Bellinghausen | | 61 | Nick Cline | | 61 | Sam Atlas | | 61 | Sean Leary | | 61 | Zoe Vrabel | | 69 | Aaron Garberding | | 70 | Allison McClure | | 70 | Cameron Staley | | 70 | John Robinson WA | | 70 | Joseph Salender | | 70 | Justin Hugeback | | 70 | Katie Janis | | 70 | Lou Nemphos | | 70 | Mike Corbett WA | | 70 | Miles Grant | | 70 | Sean McDonald | | 70 | Timm Shere | | 81 | Anthony Welters | | 81 | Robert Blakeman Hurdle | | 81 | Dan Griffin | | 81 | Darin Lange | | 81 | Eric Morales | | 81 | Greg Poverelli | | 81 | Heather Loudon | | 81 | Jarrett Gaddy | | 81 | Kay Kay | | 81 | Matt Anderson | | 81 | Nick Pernisco | | 81 | Ramsey Sierra | | 81 | Rob Moller | | 81 | Thomas Stepp | | 81 | Tim McCool | | 96 | Anthony McCammant | | 96 | Cody McPike | | 96 | Jack Slovacek | | 96 | Jeff Anderson WA | | 96 | Kayla Greet | | 96 | Luke Camarda | | 96 | Matt Galbraith | | 96 | Matt Slater | | 96 | Ronnie Vanwormer | | 96 | Ryan Newstrum | | 96 | Stephen Rakonza | | 107 | Brandon Bras | | 107 | Collin Topolski | | 107 | Corbin Sheffels | | 107 | Heather Thompson | | 107 | James Southern | | 107 | James Stubbington | | 107 | Jeff Gagnon | | 107 | Jonathan Hawthorne | | 107 | Mike Magruder | | 107 | Neil Kubath | | 107 | Ryan Hess | | 107 | Todd MacCulloch | | 107 | Zac Ashley Peterson | | 120 | Aviana Smith | | 120 | Bo Kellogg | | 120 | Brett Wolfe | | 120 | Chelsey Oedewaldt | | 120 | Christel Macabeo | | 120 | Corey Roberson | | 120 | Emmalyn Smith | | 120 | Gilbert Sandejas | | 120 | Jason Dowell | | 120 | Jessica DeNardo | | 120 | Karri Kuoppamaki | | 120 | Nigel Pierce Colbert | | 120 | Nycole Hyatt | | 120 | Philip Joupperi | | 120 | Rob Dancu | | 120 | Tressa Points | | 136 | Alex Bowen | | 136 | Jaakko Kuoppamaki | | 136 | Kylie Waibel | | 136 | Marcus Schmick | | 136 | Neil Oney | | 141 | Altwin Hawksford | | 141 | Brian Chesbrough | | 141 | Darren Hensley | | 141 | David Rauschenberg | | 141 | Jeff Sawyer | | 141 | Mike Arena | | 141 | Rachel Helm | | 141 | Robin Moore | | 141 | Sara Urban | | 150 | Matt Wolfe | | 150 | Theresa Martin | | 152 | Bob Klossner | | 152 | Matt Ewan | | 152 | Matt Golden | | 152 | Matt Sarnoff | | 152 | Max Stewart | | 152 | Simon Hearsey | | 152 | Tyler Beard | | 159 | Alex Skinner | | 159 | Amber Marie Simon | | 159 | Dan Danger | | 159 | Kathy Gagno | | 163 | Brock Herriges | | 163 | Jackie O’Malley | | 163 | Michael Warfield | | 163 | Nickie Dowell | | 163 | Sean Morrow | | 168 | Joe Slovacek | | 169 | James Beard | |

The Rookie Tournament was played in a three-strikes-and-you’re-out format, with head-to-head matches between the 97 players who entered. This meant players continued playing in rounds of single two-player games until they had lost three games at which point they were out of the tournament.

Time constraints meant the tournament had to be drawn to a close with a bunch of players still on two strikes, two on one strike and one player undefeated.

The twelve players on two strikes were all given $20 prizes for joint fourth place, while Thomas Stepp who had no strikes yet played in a three-man final with Vincent Sperrazza and Rob Files who both had one strike.

![Germain explains the rules to finalists Rob, Thomas and Vincent](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/132.jpg)
 *Germain explains the rules to finalists Rob, Thomas and Vincent*

The format for the sudden-death final on *Hot Doggin’* gave just one ball to Rob and Vincent, with Thomas having two balls to play due to him having one fewer strike against him.

![Thomas in the final of the Rookie Tournament](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/133.jpg)
 *Thomas in the final of the Rookie Tournament*

As it transpired, after one ball each Thomas was already in the lead and so didn’t need to play his second ball. Rob was second and Vincent third.

![Winner of the Rookie Tournament, Thomas Stepp](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/136.jpg)
 *Winner of the Rookie Tournament, Thomas Stepp*

![Second place, Rob Files](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/135.jpg)
 *Second place, Rob Files*

![Third place, Vincent Sperrazza](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/pinballz-lake-creek/134.jpg)
 *Third place, Vincent Sperrazza*

|  |
| --- |
| Rookie Tournament |
| |  |  | | --- | --- | | Pos | Name | | **1** | **Thomas Stepp** | | 2 | Rob Files | | 2 | Vincent Sperrazza | | 9 | Chris Wolf | | 9 | Matt Ewan | | 9 | Andrew Dale | | 9 | Umboon Moore | | 9 | Jack Slovacek | | 9 | Ramsey Sierra | | 9 | Aviana Smith | | 9 | Andrew McCann | | 9 | Claire Burke | | 9 | Nick Pernisco | | 9 | Allison McClure | | 9 | Tim McCool | | 19 | Torrey Whiting | | 19 | Max Stewart | | 19 | Peter Schatzer | | 19 | Fabian Benabente | | 19 | Maureen Hendrix | | 19 | Stephen Rakonza | | 19 | Heather Thompson | | 19 | Altwin Hawksford | | 29 | Evan Adkins | | 29 | Sandy Magallanes | | 29 | Chelsea Rakonza | | 29 | Eric Einke | | 29 | Sarah Oberender | | 29 | Dwayne Collins | | 29 | Philip Joupperi | | 29 | Keith Foster | | 29 | Angie Mortimore | | 29 | Cody McPike | | 29 | Rita Perez | | 29 | Sean McDonald | | 43 | Luke Camarda | | 43 | Kellan Kirkland | | 43 | Debbie Smith | | 43 | Jamey Harting | | 43 | Stuart McPherran | | 43 | Derek Price | | 43 | Will Kirkland | | 43 | Jason Dowell | | 43 | Paul Borth | | 43 | Mary Weeks | | 43 | Gilbert Sandejas | | 43 | Michael Williams | | 43 | Michael Blue | | 43 | Scott Mortimore | | 43 | Tressa Points | | 59 | Brett Pulliam | | 59 | Nickie Dowell | | 59 | Cameron Lessing | | 59 | Casey Jones | | 59 | Blaise Ritchie | | 59 | Brandon Mortimore | | 59 | Tyler Dellinger | | 59 | Jon Whiting | | 59 | Alex Skinner | | 59 | Cameron Staley | | 59 | Natay Hendershot | | 59 | Meg Griffin | | 59 | Jake Hei | | 59 | Theresa Martin | | 59 | Sean Shypula | | 59 | Neil Oney | | 59 | Adam Kurth | | 76 | Jeannette Marin | | 76 | John McConnell | | 76 | Robin Moore | | 76 | Mike Mortimore | | 76 | James Stubbington | | 76 | Josh Bellinghausen | | 76 | Joe Slovacek | | 76 | Scott Loveless | | 76 | Sarra Jones | | 76 | Neil Derksen | | 76 | Mike Witschen | | 76 | Todd Mulvahill | | 76 | Mike Hendershot | | 76 | Amber Marie Simon | | 76 | Ken Sieker | | 76 | Sara Urban | | 76 | Brad Smelser | | 76 | Kelsie Sherman Hall | | 91 | Alex Bowen | | 91 | James Poblete | | 91 | Bryan Eastman | | 91 | Sarah Ledray | | 91 | Bryn Bomar | | 91 | Timm Shere | | 91 | Jessica Van Wagner | | 91 | Kim Green | | 91 | Cindy Pealstrom | | 91 | Anthony McCammant | | 91 | Chelsey Oedewaldt | |

The final rounds of both the Women’s Tournament and the Pingolf Tournament were held on Saturday night when a prior dinner engagement prevented us being in attendance.

However, the final of the Women’s Tournament was a series of four games played by the four finalists who were Julie Gray, Alexa Philbeck, Sara Urban and Maureen Hendrix. The machines chosen were the same as the A Division of the Match Play Tournament – *WWF Royal Rumble*, *World Cup Soccer* and *NBA* – with the addition of *Stargate*.

Alexa won the first game on *WWF* and continued her success on both *World Cup Soccer* and *NBA* to give her an unassailable lead. Maureen was third on the first three but won on *Stargate* to take second place. Sara and Julie both had two second places and two fourth places but it was Sara who took third place overall with Julie fourth.

|  |
| --- |
| Women’s Tournament |
| |  |  | | --- | --- | | Pos | Name | | **1** | **Alexa Philbeck** | | 2 | Maureen Hendrix | | 3 | Sara Urban | | 4 | Julie Gray | | 5 | Tracy Lindbergh | | 6 | Brooke Borcherding | | 7 | Jessica DeNardo | | 8 | Amber Marie Simon | | 9 | Rachel Helm | | 9 | Chelsea Rakonza | | 11 | Meg Griffin | | 11 | Mika Rollin | | 13 | Heather Loudon | | 14 | Lauren Aquino | | 15 | Bre Lloyd | | 16 | Chelsey Oedewaldt | | 16 | Louise Wagensonner | | 20 | Allison McClure | | 20 | Heather Willott | | 20 | Lainey Welters | | 20 | Robin Brown | | 20 | Sarra Jones | | 23 | Courtney Klossner | | 27 | Aviana Smith | | 27 | Cameron Herpiges | | 27 | Christel Macabeo | | 27 | Emily Beirne | | 27 | Jeanna Beard | | 27 | Kelsie Sherman Hall | | 27 | Sandy Magallanes | | 32 | Brooke Lukens | | 32 | Claire Burke | | 32 | Erin Harting | | 32 | Tressa Points | | 37 | Kayla Greet | | 37 | Nycole Hyatt | | 37 | Sarah Ledray | | 37 | Theresa Martin | | 37 | Zoe Vrabel | | 41 | Heather Thompson | | 41 | Kim Green | | 41 | Natay Hendershot | | 44 | Cindy Pealstrom | | 44 | Emmalyn Smith | | 44 | Max Stewart | | 44 | Umboon Moore | | 48 | Ashley Weaver | | 48 | Katie Janis | | 48 | Mary Lopez | | 51 | Julia McDonald | | 51 | Kathy Gagno | | 51 | Nickie Dowell | | 51 | Sarah Hager | | 55 | Kierra McDonald | | 55 | Rita Perez | | 55 | Tessa Hewlett | | 57 | Alex Bowen | | 57 | Angie McIntyre | | 59 | Megan Beard | | 60 | Karla Rivers | | 61 | Sunshine Beard | |

The Pingolf Tournament play-offs were contested by the top 27 qualifiers who played in nine groups of three in a three-strikes format where the player or players reaching the target with the fewest balls win, and the other player(s) receive a strike.

It took eight rounds before the final two were revealed as Lou Nemphos and Robert Gagno.

Robert had two strikes from loses on *Capt. Fantastic* and *Volley*, while Lou had one from *Joker Poker*. However, in round nine Robert won on *Mata Hari* to level the number of strikes, and repeated the feat on *Vulcan* to win the Pingolf Tournament.

Zoe Vrabel was third, with Joshua Chris Bartlett and Thomas Urban tied for fourth.

|  |
| --- |
| Pingolf Tournament |
| |  |  | | --- | --- | | 1 | Robert Gagno | | 2 | Lou Nemphos | | 3 | Zoe Vrabel | | 4 | Joshua Chris Bartlett | | 4 | Thomas Urban | | 6 | Chris Chinn | | 6 | Matt Sarnoff | | 6 | Todd Rafacz | | 6 | Jeffrey Neumann | | 10 | Tracy Lindbergh | | 10 | jesse labbe | | 10 | Raymond Davidson | | 10 | Dave Stewart | | 10 | Colin Urban | | 15 | Pat Patton | | 15 | Sam Atlas | | 15 | Peter Schatzer | | 15 | Sergey Posrednikov | | 15 | Kathy Gagno | | 20 | Derek Price | | 20 | Andrew Nunes | | 20 | Zac Ashley Peterson | | 20 | Eric Wagensonner | | 20 | Maureen Hendrix | | 25 | Jack Slovacek | | 25 | Matt Anderson | | 25 | Kevin Birrell | | 25 | James Southern | | 29 | Bryan Eastman | | 30 | Casey Jones | | 31 | Lonnie Langford | | 32 | Erin Harting | | 33 | Germain Mariolle | | 34 | Matt Bollinger | | 35 | Julie Gray | | 36 | Joseph Salender | | 37 | Mathew Peterson | | 38 | Patrick Carlson | | 39 | Todd Macculloch | | 40 | Stephen Rakonza | | 41 | Eden Stamm | | 42 | Kayla Greet | | 43 | Jarrett Gaddy | | 44 | Chris Perlot | | 45 | Robert Blakeman Hurdle | | 46 | Nigel Pierce Colbert | | 47 | Kelsie Sherman Hall | | 48 | Gilbert Sandejas | | 49 | Mark Lindbergh | | 50 | Maka Honig | | 51 | Aaron Garberding | | 52 | Todd Larsen | | 53 | Dave Grant | | 54 | Michael B Bailey | | 55 | Jamey Harting | | 56 | Jonathan Hawthorne | | 57 | Anthony Welters | | 58 | Miles Grant | | 59 | Craig R Jones | | 60 | Dwayne Smith | | 61 | Sean Shypula | | 62 | Alan Wiley | | 63 | Rob Dancu | | 64 | John McConnell | | 65 | Altwin Hawksford | | 66 | John Robinson | | 67 | Jessica Denardo | | 68 | James Daniels | | 69 | Nina Ricciardi | | 70 | Philip Joupperi | | 71 | Daniel Rone | | 72 | Sean Lind | | 73 | Collin Topolski | | 74 | Matt Ewan | | 75 | Zach Amador | | 76 | Heather Loudon | | 77 | Amanda Kotchon | | 78 | Darin Lange | | 79 | James Stubbington | | 80 | Theresa Martin | | 81 | Katie Janis | | 82 | Jordan Semrow | | 83 | Karri Kuoppamaki | | 84 | Jared Baldridge | | 85 | Christel Macabeo | | 86 | Ryan Hess | | 87 | Greg Harting | | 88 | Rob Moller | | 89 | Simon Hearsey | | 90 | Josh Bellinghausen | | 91 | Geoff Simons | | 92 | Aviana Smith | | 93 | David Rauschenberg | | 94 | Trevor McDonald | | 95 | Darren Ensley | | 96 | Matt Golden | | 97 | Jeff Sawyer | | 98 | Luke Camarda | | 99 | Mike Pantoliano | | 100 | Nick Cline | | 101 | Alex Skinner | | 102 | Chris Wolf | | 103 | Brooke Borcherding | | 104 | Greg Poverelli | | 105 | Lainey Welters | | 106 | Fabian Benabente | | 107 | Neil Kubath | | 108 | William Scott Jordan | | 109 | Claire Burke | | 110 | Meg Griffin | | 111 | Eric Morales | | 112 | Jacob Wallraff | | 113 | Mike Corbett WA | | 114 | Cameron Staley | | 115 | Louise Wagensonner | | 116 | Daniel Campbell | | 117 | Matt Wolfe | | 118 | Cody McPike | | 119 | Lauren Aquino | | 120 | Andrew Dale | | 121 | Chad Bruhaug | | 122 | Jim Gray | | 123 | Timm Shere | | 124 | Alex Tada | | 125 | Sean Mcdonald | | 126 | Mike Witschen | | 127 | Jesse Mullene | | 128 | Marcus Schmick | | 129 | Nick Pernisco | | 130 | Michael Warfield | | 131 | Brooke Lukens | | 132 | Ron Goltz | | 133 | Robbie Finnigan | | 134 | Emmalyn Smith | | 135 | Rita Perez | | 136 | Jason Dowell | | 137 | Brian Chesbrough | | 138 | Sara Urban | | 139 | Alex Bowen | | 140 | Brock Herriges | | 141 | Dan Griffin | | 142 | Bob Klossner | | 143 | Bruce Reed | | 144 | Morihiro Ryu | | 145 | Jaakko Kuoppamaki | | 146 | Chelsea Rakonza | | 147 | Joe Slovacek | | 148 | Neil Oney | | 149 | Anthony Mccammant | | 150 | Corbin Sheffels | | 151 | Michael Tibbetts | | 152 | Tressa Points | | 153 | Stephen Battey | | 154 | Jeff Anderson WA | | 155 | Tyler Dellinger | | 156 | Cameron Herriges | | 157 | Jackie O’Malley | | 158 | Karla Rivers | | 159 | Umboon Moore | |

You can see all the results from the tournaments as well as a break-down of the individual rounds on the NWPAS [tournaments website](http://nwpas.wapinball.net/).

Although the show continues until 3pm on Sunday, around 1pm the official end-of-show ceremony is held in the seminars area out in the lobby. It is presented by President of the board of the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show, Byron Raynes.

![Byron Raynes hosts the end-of-show ceremony on Sunday afternoon](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/204.jpg)
 *Byron Raynes hosts the end-of-show ceremony on Sunday afternoon*

Events began with the presentation of prizes and the main trophy to the top players in the Kids Tournament which was held on the Shrek machine. In third place was JJ who was third in 2016 as well. Second place went to Katarina who wasn’t at the presentation, while the winner was Jack.

![Winner of the Kids Tournament, Jack](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/206.jpg)
 *Winner of the Kids Tournament, Jack*

![Third place, JJ](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/205.jpg)
 *Third place, JJ*

All three won some cool prizes including solar-powered robot kits.

Next came the announcements of monetary awards to good causes supported by the show. To help with this, Byron was joined by other members of the NWPAS board.

![Members of the NWPAS board: Chris Walsh, Dave Okert, Toby Udman, Mike Lorrain & Lou Perazzoli ](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/207.jpg)
 *Members of the NWPAS board:*
 *Chris Walsh, Dave Okert, Toby Udman, Mike Lorrain & Lou Perazzoli*

The NWPAS is a nonprofit, so all proceeds go to good causes. The first of these is the [Make-A-Wish Foundation](http://wish.org/), to which the money raised from the silent raffle of a Ghostbusters playfield and other merchandise sales was donated.

Then a cheque for $500 was presented to the [Pinball Outreach Project](http://pinballoutreach.org/) to aid their work teaching children the history and excitement of pinball by bringing pinball machines to children’s hospitals as well as setting up summer camps and creating their own family-friendly arcade in Portland.

![A $500 donation to the Pinball Outreach Project](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/208.jpg)
 *A $500 donation to the Pinball Outreach Project*

The next donation went to the [Beads of Courage](http://www.beadsofcourage.org/) organisation. This is a programme where children with serious illnesses can mark milestones in their treatment and recovery through the collecting of special beads. There are numerous different types of beads and collecting them not only shows the many stages each child has undergone, but gives them goals and provides a way for others to give them support.

![A $500 donation to Beads of Courage](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/209-3.jpg)
 *A $500 donation to Beads of Courage*

The final presentation was the NWPAS scholarship award which goes to support the further education of a selected individual in their pinball or gaming-related studies.

This year’s winner of the $5,000 scholarship was Rawuda Jemal.

![NWPAS 2017 scholarship recipient, Rawuda Jemal](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/141-3.jpg)
 *NWPAS 2017 scholarship recipient, Rawuda Jemal*

Rawuda was joined by Michella who was an earlier recipient of the scholarship and who spoke about how the money was used to help in her studies through college.

![Rawuda and Michella](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/143-3.jpg)
 *Rawuda and Michella*

![Rawuda collects her $5,000 scholarship cheque](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/142-3.jpg)
 *Rawuda collects her $5,000 scholarship cheque*

Finally, the draws took place for the Sunday raffle prize of the *Mario Bros.* arcade cabinet, and the grand prize raffle for the *Batman 66* pinball.

The *Mario Bros.* game was drawn first.

![The winning ticket for the video game is drawn](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/144-3.jpg)
 *The winning ticket for the video game is drawn*

![The lucky winner claims their prize](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/145-3.jpg)
 *The lucky winner claims their prize*

Then the draw for the *Batman 66 Premium* pinball was made. This raffle ran through the three days of the show with tickets costing $20 each.

![The draw for the winner of the Batman 66 game](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/146-3.jpg)
 *The draw for the winner of the Batman 66 game*

The winner was show volunteer Richard Godwin who thanked the drawer of his ticket.

![Winner of the Batman 66 prize draw, Richard Godwin](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/nwpas-2017/147-3.jpg)
 *Winner of the Batman 66 prize draw, Richard Godwin*

And with that we bring our coverage from the Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show 2017 to a close. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed being there and reporting on the events in Tacoma.

There’s a huge team of volunteers who make the show happen, from the early planning stages, through to the unloading crews, the medics, the registration, raffle and information desk staff, the seminar crew and the tournaments team. That’s before we get to the machine bringers, parts and machine vendors, the seminar speakers and the sponsors. The nonprofit nature of the show, and the fact it supports a number of worthy causes adds a extra feel-good factor to events.

The NWPAS is now firmly established as one of the big shows in the pinball calendar, with a great selection of machines and seminar speakers while winning and keeping the support of the many pinball businesses, collectors and fans in the Pacific northwest.

This was the tenth NWPAS. We’ll already making plans to be at number eleven.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 179778d4-3aa6-498a-932b-c8f4d1796feb*