# Episode 249: NYCPC 2020 cancellation **Source:** Pinball Profile **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2020-03-16 **Duration:** 19m 50s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballprofile.com/episode-249-nycpc-2020-cancellation/ --- ## Analysis Levy Naiman announces the cancellation of the 2020 New York City Pinball Championships scheduled for May due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns. The episode discusses the serious health implications of gathering large groups in the pinball community, the decision to refund all registrations including fees through Eventbrite, and the possibility of rescheduling in fall 2020 or 2021. Broader economic and social impacts of the pandemic are also discussed. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] New York City Pinball Championships scheduled for May 2020 is cancelled indefinitely — _Levy Naiman official announcement at start of interview_ - [HIGH] All registrations will be refunded in full including Eventbrite fees — _Levy Naiman: 'we're going to make sure everybody gets their money back...complete with fees'_ - [HIGH] NYCPC organizers have minimal financial obligations at time of cancellation, allowing flexible refund policy — _Levy Naiman: 'we do not at this time have a huge financial obligation'_ - [HIGH] Levy Naiman personally believes pinball events will not resume before fall 2020 — _Levy Naiman: 'I personally can't imagine anything happening before the fall'_ - [HIGH] TPF (Texas Pinball Festival) cancelled prior to NYCPC announcement — _Jeff Teolis: 'We saw TPF cancel, a Midwest gaming convention has canceled'_ - [MEDIUM] Pinball community is particularly vulnerable to virus spread due to crowded venues and shared equipment — _Levy Naiman opinion: 'I can't imagine a community more vulnerable to a virus spread'_ - [HIGH] NYCPC organizers recently formed a proper LLC structure — _Levy Naiman: 'we've just formed a proper LLC'_ - [HIGH] NYCPC has become an established calendar event attracting international attendance — _Levy Naiman: 'in just a couple years, become part of the calendar...Canadian long weekend in May'_ ### Notable Quotes > "I can't imagine a community more vulnerable to a virus spread of this type than pinball. I mean, when you really start to think about it, you know, we're all crowded together. We're all yelling at each other because we're in a loud bar. We're all playing pinball. We're all playing the same machines." > — **Levy Naiman**, ~22:00 > _Core rationale for cancellation decision; highlights structural vulnerability of pinball community to pandemic spread_ > "I think that was the moment when I realized there was not going to be a NYC PC this year...literally 10 minutes after the speech, like Tom Hanks has it and the entire NBA has it." > — **Levy Naiman**, ~26:30 > _Personal turning point in recognizing severity of pandemic; moment confidence in event viability collapsed_ > "I don't think it's chicken little stuff. I don't think it's overreacting...there's still people on pin side and social media saying this is just a, it's no worse than the flu." > — **Levy Naiman**, ~20:00 > _References community pushback against cancellations on Pinside forum; indicates some skepticism within pinball community_ > "It's cool to see something that you just kind of dreamed up at a bar actually happen. It's fun to just be in the booth and scream my head off for two days." > — **Levy Naiman**, ~48:00 > _Personal motivation for tournament organization; reflects grass-roots origin of NYCPC_ > "The cruise ships are going to be sailing again in April. Disney is going to be open again on March 28th. If somehow this miraculously comes to pass, perhaps we could reschedule it." > — **Levy Naiman**, ~44:00 > _Skepticism of official reopening timelines; conditional openness to fall rescheduling only_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Levy Naiman | person | Organizer/founder of New York City Pinball Championships; pinball collector with 15+ machines; based in NYC | | Jeff Teolis | person | Host of Pinball Profile podcast; also co-hosts Final Round Pinball Podcast with Marty Robbins and Ryan C | | New York City Pinball Championships | event | Annual competitive pinball tournament in NYC, established as recurring calendar event in May; attracts international competitors | | Texas Pinball Festival (TPF) | event | Major pinball event cancelled prior to NYCPC; organizers retained 2021 registrations rather than refunding | | Pinball Profile | organization | Interview podcast series hosted by Jeff Teolis; covers pinball community and industry | | Final Round Pinball Podcast | organization | Competitive pinball discussion podcast co-hosted by Jeff Teolis, Marty Robbins, and Ryan C | | IFPA | organization | International Federation of Pinball Associations; mentioned in context of WPPR rating system ('whopper points') | | Fabulous Funetarium | venue | Private venue where Levy Naiman stores 15+ pinball machines | | Eventbrite | company | Ticketing platform used for NYCPC registration; handling refund processing | | Pinside | organization | Online pinball forum; referenced as platform where community debate occurs about pandemic response | ### Topics - **Primary:** COVID-19 pandemic impact on pinball events, Tournament cancellation logistics and refund policies, Community vulnerability to disease transmission in pinball venues - **Secondary:** NYCPC event history and establishment as calendar fixture, WPPR rating system impacts during event suspension, Federal government COVID-19 response and messaging, Economic impacts on small businesses and restaurants - **Mentioned:** Remote work and home isolation during pandemic ### Sentiment **Negative** (-0.75) — Tone is serious and concerned about pandemic severity, particularly vulnerability of pinball community. Mixed with some resignation and dark humor about isolation. Empathetic toward economic hardship. Critical of federal government response. Cautiously optimistic about eventual return to pinball events in fall 2020 or 2021. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** NYCPC organizers recently formed LLC structure, positioning organization for long-term sustainability despite 2020 cancellation (confidence: high) — Levy Naiman: 'we've just formed a proper LLC' - **[community_signal]** Structural vulnerability of pinball community to pandemic transmission identified: crowded venues, shared equipment, loud environment requiring close proximity, aging players (70+ years old) (confidence: high) — Levy Naiman: 'I can't imagine a community more vulnerable to a virus spread...we're all crowded together...we're all playing the same machines' - **[community_signal]** Pinball community debate on Pinside forum regarding pandemic response and whether tournaments should continue; some skeptics dismissing severity as 'no worse than flu' (confidence: medium) — Levy Naiman: 'there's still people on pin side and social media saying this is just a, it's no worse than the flu' - **[event_signal]** Multiple major pinball events cancelled or suspended due to COVID-19 (NYCPC, TPF confirmed; Midwest gaming convention mentioned) (confidence: high) — Jeff Teolis: 'We saw TPF cancel, a Midwest gaming convention has canceled' - **[event_signal]** NYCPC 2020 officially cancelled; May event suspended indefinitely with possible fall 2020/2021 rescheduling (confidence: high) — Levy Naiman: 'we have decided to cancel the New York City Pinball Championships scheduled for May' - **[sentiment_shift]** Rapid shift from cautious optimism about 2020 NYCPC (discussed with Marty Robbins 'a few weeks ago') to certainty of cancellation within one week (confidence: high) — Levy Naiman: 'if you asked me a week ago, I still thought there was a chance this would happen...just waiting now, I think it's pretty clear that it's time to to give up on it' --- ## Transcript it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teoles you can find our group on facebook we're also on twitter at pinball profile emails pinball profile at gmail.com please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher and check us out on instagram at pinball profile we're heading to New York right now and joining us, Levy Naiman. Hey, Levy, how are you? Hi, Jeff. I'm doing all right. I'm hunkered down in the bunker with nothing but TV dinners, some pasta, a smattering of fresh vegetables, and I do have my Argosy here, so I am playing a little pinball. How about you? I think we're in the same boat because I'm definitely staying in fort, if you will. And the one good thing, I don't mean to make light of this, but when I have people over for league, They usually put up high scores on my games, so I've really been tackling those, trying to get their stupid names off my games. Yeah, you've been doing very well in League, I suppose. Well, most Leagues, as you can imagine, are suspended, and rightfully so, as we all take precautions. And that has obviously turned into other things, too. We saw TPF cancel, a Midwest gaming convention has canceled, and you're here to announce something that's going on in your city. Well, I mean, yeah, it shouldn't be a surprise for anybody, but we have decided to cancel the New York City Pinball Championships scheduled for May. We are going to keep an open mind to it, you know, and keep abreast of developments and, you know, possibly with a mind of rescheduling it later in the summer or the fall. But I mean, that's you know, that's neither here nor there. At this time, we think it just makes sense to to suspend it indefinitely because, you know, we really don't know when all this stuff is going to start moving again. I mean, I'm not speaking for the Neverbeef guys, just myself. I personally can't imagine anything happening before the fall. I'm hoping we can get the NFL season started in October. But, you know, nobody really knows what's going to happen. I do think postponing it a month or two is just kicking the can down the aisle. And I just don't think people want to think about it right now. So we're going to make sure everybody gets their money back. That's going to be, I think, through Eventbrite. And that's complete with fees. This goes for the VIP stuff, too, and anything else anybody might have paid for. I would say just give us a little time to get that straight, but that's going to happen. Like some of the big shows that have canceled, we do not at this time have a huge financial obligation, which gives us the freedom to be a little more loose about it, I guess, or not as stressed out about it. But, you know, a time very soon was coming up where that was going to change. And this is, you know, I talked to you just a few weeks ago under better circumstances. It still hadn't really sunk in how serious this was. You know, a big part of that is the abysmal leadership and management by the United States government, you know, basically lying to us and obfuscating for the past several months, trying to convince everybody it's not a big deal. And, you know, even though you try to take this stuff seriously, you can't help but have some of that filter down. You know, when your public health officials are telling you it's not a big deal or your president's telling you it's not a big deal, that just kind of happens. So, you know, if you asked me a week ago, I still thought there was a chance this would happen. Yeah, that's right. You were on with Marty Robbins and I on Final Round Pinball Podcast, our competition pinball podcast. And we thought, OK, I guess there's a possibility, but how things have just changed so dramatically, so quickly. Well, we decided to take a wait and see attitude. And, you know, we were planning on waiting and seeing longer, you know, to see what happened with TPF and some other shows and the general environment. And, you know, just just waiting now, I think it's pretty clear that it's time to to give up on it. We waited, we saw, and then what we saw was not pretty, as I'm sure you and everybody else knows. We know of the travel ban right now with some European countries coming to the U.S., but that's only until, I guess, mid-April, but who knows how long that may last. Yeah, I think these arbitrary dates you're hearing are complete nonsense. Disney World's supposed to open up on the 28th of March. The NBA, I think, said they were going to come back in mid-April. I don't know. People are just inventing stuff to try to either come up with a timeline that maybe will appease people or for their own reasons. But I don't see any reason why it makes sense to kick the can a month or two when we have no idea. And even right now, officials are saying we haven't hit the peak of this thing. So I don't think it would really be responsible for us to pretend that there's a magic date sometime on the near horizon that's going to be amenable to a pinball tournament. And as you'd mentioned earlier, you've been a little bit lucky in the sense that not a lot of costs have gone out at this time, so now is a good time to do that. had you made purchases for merchandise or anything like that? No, we haven't done anything like that. We've made some obligations, but, you know, I think everybody's going to be a little flexible on some stuff like that right now. But you know we fortunate in that we always wanted to do a big show instead of just a kick pinball tournament But so far we have not been able to do that And really we just kind of lucky that we don have to deal with a lot of things that these big shows do And I really feel for those guys And I understand why they might try to reschedule instead of postpone. But just me personally, I don't think anything is going to happen until the fall, you know, being optimistic even. Yeah, you mentioned the empathy that we're all having right now for those people that are out these monies and the businesses alone. I mean, in New York right there, you've got all the concerts have been shut down, the sports, definitely Broadway, museums. I'm really feeling for the small businesses and the retails and even people's jobs, for crying out loud. I mean, if there are layoffs going to have to happen, it's going to be really tough for the economy in the next little while. I know there's going to be some bailouts and whatnot. But even when that happened in 2008, the economy took a dive. Yeah, yeah, it's a really unfortunate situation. I'm very interested in seeing the bill that they're, I guess, going to pass on Monday, hopefully. I'm hearing that there's things in there for paid sick leave and for working people. And, you know, hopefully there's something there. But, you know, the longer this goes on, the harder it's going to be for everybody. And I'd love to be out there right now patronizing the restaurants. I mean, I eat out three times a day. And these last two or three days, I've just been home cooking and making my own food. And, you know, we're really homesteading. Thank God Nancy's a decent cook. But it sucks. You know, I'd love to be out there. like I always am. You know, I don't think it's chicken little stuff. I don't think it's overreacting. You see it now, a lot of people, less and less every day, but there's still people on pin side and social media, you know, saying this is just a, it's no worse than the flu. Why is everybody making such a big deal out of it? Keep doing pinball tournaments. I just can't agree with that. I don't agree with it from the sense that I don't know. First of all, I'm not a doctor. Last time I checked and it's something that's new to everyone. And just seeing how exponentially it is spreading and causing the deaths. I know, you know, the flu is still something that I, every year, make sure I get my flu shot because as we get older, you just never know. And that only helps certain strands, but this is a whole new ballgame with this one. Yeah, for sure. I mean, I'm no spring chicken either. You know, I'm almost as old as you, Jeff Teels. You're 40? Back on the topic. I'm no spring chicken, but, you know, my parents certainly aren't. They're in their 70s, and everybody can relate, I think, to at least knowing some people. I mean, there are people in our community who are 70 years old and come out to these leagues every night, and it just doesn't seem prudent. I can't imagine a community more vulnerable to a virus spread of this type than pinball. I mean, when you really start to think about it, you know, we're all crowded together. We're all yelling at each other because we're in a loud bar. We're all playing pinball. We're all playing the same machines. And it just doesn't seem like now is the time right now. And I'm really glad I have some of my own machines to play, and I'm glad other people do too. But I just don't know that public pinball is something that people should be doing right now. And again, we've been conditioned for so many months now by the federal response that, oh, it's not a big deal. It's no worse than the flu, blah, blah, blah. You know, people really need to just take it seriously. And even still, I think that that message is having a little trouble sinking in. And I'd like to see that stop. Well, the schools are being closed. I mean, New York City is definitely not a quarantine by any means, but really in shutdown mode. And we're seeing that everywhere. You talked about things like the economy and how people are going to get through this. I know the Canadian government just recently put together some sort of stimulus package to help people with their rent and things like that. But then let's go further. I mean, you've probably been to a grocery store or a Costco or some sort of mass supermarket just to see basically a ghost town. That hoarding is nuts. Yeah, I've been able to escape a lot of that madness. I have not been to Trader Joe's. Apparently, Trader Joe's is just a war zone. But they are doing a good job from what I hear. They're stocking up. I have a lot of friends there in the pinball community, believe it or not, who work at Trader Joe's. Hold on. We've got a fire truck coming by. What am I, in France? You hear that? Yeah. It is a weird siren, isn't it? Yeah, well, come on. Give us a good American siren. Yeah, I've been pretty lucky. You know, my bodega right downstairs, that's basically, you know, your all-night store is fully stocked and has been the whole time. But, yeah, you know, people are, you know, I definitely, my fridge is usually empty. and now it's got a lot of crap in it. So, you know, we're all kind of reacting on our own self-preservation level to try to have some stuff, some supplies on hand. You're like me. I mean, we certainly enjoy playing pinball, and tournaments are really where we like to shine, and they're special. It's a vacation for a lot of people. It's a thrill to come to New York City, but New York City will be there after this is all done. You know, we're all going to get through this, and we talked about the restaurants and things like that, some of your favorite places. I'm the same as you. I'm in sales. I go out to dinners and lunches all the time. But I'm worried about some of these places too. So I saw some good suggestions about buying gift certificates if these are your favorite places That might help them in the interim If you know you going to go back there help them out now It not a bad suggestion And look I know I going to crack eventually It been two days now of cooking here at home and you know also eating some processed foods that are in cans and stuff. And a couple days I'm going to have to maybe check out the Indian restaurant or the Thai place. I think there's just a natural reaction now. You don't want to be in a crowd, and you want as few people handling your food as possible. So I don't know. maybe we'll go the takeout route. You know, people on one hand, people are like, oh, you got to live your life. And, you know, that's true. But I mean, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of caution. And we really have to pitch in because, again, I think people are just starting to realize how serious this is. You know, you know what really hit me? And I guess the entire Western world probably is, you know, on Wednesday, you know, the president gave that awful speech, contained a lot of nonsense, whatever. We're used to that. I remember he said in the speech, I still want to stress that everybody's at very low risk. You know, you're all very low risk. And it's like, OK. And then literally 10 minutes after the speech, like Tom Hanks has it and the entire NBA has it. And I think that was the moment when I realized there was not going to be a NYC PC this year. And I think a lot of other people probably, too. It's funny that something like that is what it takes to hit home. But you're right. I mean, different triggers for each person. And before people start emailing me and saying, you know, boy, Levy's really on a political stance. This program allows anybody to say their opinions. I'm a strong believer in freedom of speech. I am not endorsing anybody that's on this program or agreeing or disagreeing with anyone. But, Levy, you have your right to say anything you want to on this show. As you and I joked before, I had Ted Nugent on the show. It's true. It's true, Jeff Theolis. You know what I mean? I did lash out at Jeff Theolis when he had Ted Nugent on because I listened to the first 10 seconds of that interview. But you hated him anyway, right? I like some of his music, you know, Great White Buffalo, Stranglehold, Cat's Grasp. These are all great songs, but I just I couldn't believe the first 10 seconds of that interview. He's already going after us. That's the other there. I was I was wrong to lash out at you. Freedom of speech. It is true. You know, everyone's got their own opinion and you're just giving people a platform. And, you know, I'm not the most militant person. I'm just kind of. No, it's just not. You know, it's it's continues to I continue to see a lot of bad information out there. I continue to see people making excuses. And it's it's been such a horrible response to this thing. And yet all I hear is about it's fabulous, it's tremendous, everyone's doing a great job. Do you see how much ass I kicked on the stock market yesterday? It's just like enough already. Just tell it to us straight. Our president's a used car salesman. I'm tired of it. Run for president, Jeff Deolos. Where were you born? Kenya. Oh, well, then you can be president. Listen, I've already had a bunch of people try to vote for me for the president for the IFPA. I had to decline. I mean, it was a huge movement. We'll let Josh continue it. I will monitor. Yeah, yeah, for sure. But, you know, it's been interesting to see how everyone deals with it. I just, I can't wait till we're all playing pinball again. It'll happen. Just speaking for me, I really don't see that happening anytime soon. I'm hoping for the fall. On the other hand, you know, I guess all of our Whopper ratings are safe, right? Well. They're going to bleed out equally. Oh, I see your point. Yeah. Haven't even thought of that. But when you put it that way, unfortunately, and to each their own, I do know some people that are not willing to pull the trigger on postponing their leagues and whatnot. And I can't imagine the turnouts are the greatest. I also respect that timelines and commitments have been made. Okay, got it. Yeah, yeah, I understand. When you just said whopper points going down, who gives a shit? Yeah, the whoppers aren't temporary suspension along with everything else. You know, these smaller get-togethers, it's like, oh, I'm just having 20 people over at my house. And, you know, I have friends over at the Fabulous Funetarium where I keep all my games all the time. You know, just last Friday, not this last Friday, the week before, I had seven or eight people over late night. We were playing pinball. It was a lot of fun. But I just, you know, I don't think I'm comfortable promoting that kind of thing or getting together in groups like that right now. I might have a couple of people over. It gets so lonely in there with my 15 pinball machines. What's the need right now, though, really? I mean, there'll be a time and a place for all that, but especially if there's a, isn't it 14 days incubation period? So I guess this whole, in Canada, you know, we have a three-week school shutdown and a lot of businesses, mine, my wife's, have all been told to work from home. So that's kind of the self-isolation I guess we're going through right now for a three-week period. And hopefully that will curb this crazy exponential growth of the virus that's spreading. Yeah. Well, you know, why do you think I'm calling you? I'm starting to go nuts. It's only been two days. I also am working at home, which is going to take a little getting used to. But I'm pretty proud of myself. I actually got to work early on Friday. I was here in my Lazy Boy by 8 I never 15 minutes early at work so I was pretty proud proud of myself You know we been communicating with each other and we doing doing stuff and getting things done And it just people are going to have to you know get used to it And I think we going to find out that we can be productive. Yesterday, honestly, I just went for a walk around the block after this call. It's a beautiful day. I'm probably going to get outside, maybe take a ride on one of the city bikes. Of course, I'll sanitize my hands when I'm done riding, but might be nice to just get out there. It is eerily quiet for New York, but there's still people out there. And, you know, so far, people really aren't freaking out. They're just kind of treating it as, you know, something they have to deal with. And the city's leadership is the city and state leadership. Again, it's been good. It hasn't been great. They've made some decisions later than they should, but they're at least giving us good information and I think better information than we've been getting on a federal level for a long time. Well, I hope everyone is safe there in New York City, New York State, and we'll get through this. You know we will. At least everybody is aware of what's going on now and taking the precautions. Pinball will happen. It can wait for now. And you know we'll be back at the NYC PC for sure when it happens. It's such a fun, fun event. And I mean, you mentioned off the top the possibility of a fall. I know it's tough with timelines now. Would you really consider that? We consider anything. We keep our eyes open. You know, there's people telling us this is going to wrap up by April. You know, The Antonio Cruz ships are going to be sailing again in April. Disney is going to be open again on March 28th. If somehow this miraculously comes to pass, perhaps we could reschedule it, maybe downsize it a little. Everyone's so flexible. They just want to do these things. They just want to play. But my personal view is that, yeah, we'll keep our eyes open and see what happens. There's not much else you can do. For sure, we'd be open if things work out. You never know. But I certainly don't want to make any promises, and we certainly don't want to hold on to everybody's money until that time. And like I said, we have the freedom to do that. other people are going to have a lot more issues to deal with. And again, I empathize with them. I know with TPF, I'm glad that my money's going forward towards 2021. I'm glad they don't have to reimburse that. They're actually selling merchandise because those shirts and things were actually made in advance, as you can imagine. So I'm looking at them as collector's items. And really, the truth is I'm looking at them as supporting TPF so that it continues in 2021. any concerns that the New York City pinball championships will not happen in 2021? I mean, you guys were pretty solid about this year, and I know you only kind of look at what's immediately in front of you, but 2021, I would imagine, is pretty safe. Yeah, I mean, that's an interesting question. It's hard to think of now, but I would say, sure, we all love the tournament, and we all want to do it again. So, you know, if 2020 is out, then I guess 2021 is next. So, yeah, as far as we're concerned, we're, you know, we're actually, you know, we've just formed a proper LLC. In some ways, we've made some big steps forward this year, but obviously not doing the tournament will be a step backwards or at least a step in the same place. But everyone's dealing with this. I don't think long-term it's a huge obstacle for us moving forward. You know, as long as you guys want to come, you know, we're going to do it. So, you know, when this is all over or even during it, feel free to let us know what you think. Well, for sure, I'll be there. You know that. And that's one thing, too, about the events that we're used to. You kind of know Indisc's going to be that second week. You know when TPF's going to be. You know when the New York City Pinball Championship's going to be. So when people plan out their holidays, their schedules, knowing that, okay, I know that for Canada, the long weekend in May, that's my New York time. Yeah, you know, honestly, that's one of the things I'm kind of proud of, that we've kind of, in just a couple years, become part of the calendar. You know, some events have dropped off, like we haven't had a pop in a while. You know, we kind of stepped up, and people really embraced it. That's important to remember. You know, it is a lot of work doing these things. And in the end, you're kind of like, what do I get out of it? Well, you know, there's some satisfaction. It's just cool to see something that you just kind of dreamed up at a bar actually happen. It's fun to just be in the booth and scream my head off for two days. So, you know, we're certainly not selfless pinball angels. But we'll see what happens going forward. And hopefully sometime soon we can look forward to doing all the stuff that we love to do together. Sounds good, Lovey. Talk to you soon. Thanks very much for sharing on Pinball Profile. Sure, thanks. It's nice talking to you. So I just think it's important that, you know, it's something that we all kind of just start talking about because there have been announcements and stuff, but I haven't seen any conversations about it. And, you know, we're all thinking it, so let's talk about it. Let's all be there for each other. So thanks a lot, Jeff. No problem. We'll see each other soon. I know it. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us, pinballprofile at gmail.com. Please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher and check us out on Instagram at pinballprofile. I'm Jeff Teal. Bye. _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 1cb70b91-9a67-44eb-8a8d-41178542f0bc*