# GOLDEN STATE PINBALL FESTIVAL 2018 - SUNDAY **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2018-05-29 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2018/05/29/golden-state-pinball-festival-2018-4-old --- ## Analysis Coverage of the final day (Sunday, May 20, 2018) of the Golden State Pinball Festival 2018 held in Lodi, California. The day featured three Pin-U educational talks: Spooky Pinball discussing their company history and Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle, David Volansky on electromechanical pinball schematics, and Chris Kuntz on Stern's Spike control system. The day concluded with pin-golf tournament results, machine raffles (Sorcerer won by Michael Bender), and general raffle drawings. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Spooky Pinball team made their first visit to California to attend GSPF 2018 — _The team from Spooky Pinball were making their first visit to California and came to GSPF to talk about the history of the company_ - [HIGH] Per Schwarzenberger won the pin-golf tournament at GSPF 2018, with Nick Fitzpatrick second, Brian O'Neill third, and Nic Stein fourth — _In the pin-golf tournament, the winner was Per Schwarzenberger who finished ahead of second place Nick Fitzpatrick. Brian O'Neill was third and Nic Stein fourth._ - [HIGH] Michael Bender won the Sorcerer pinball machine in the Sunday raffle drawing — _The winning ticket was bought by Michael Bender. [showing Sorcerer as prize]_ - [HIGH] Cliff Rinear received the inaugural Steve Charland Spirit Award at GSPF 2018 — _Cliffy Rinear received the Steve Charland Spirit Award... Cliffy's is the inaugural name on the list of Steve Charland Spirit Award recipients_ - [HIGH] Saturday's machine raffle winner chose Lethal Weapon 3, leaving Sorcerer for Sunday's draw — _Saturday's winner chose the Lethal Weapon 3, leaving the Sorcerer for Sunday's winner to take home._ ### Notable Quotes > "The team from Spooky Pinball were making their first visit to California and came to GSPF to talk about the history of the company, the games they have built, and to explain how their latest title Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle works." > — **Article author** > _Indicates Spooky Pinball's first California appearance and their role in festival programming_ > "I have the power..oh wait, no I don't" > — **Article author**, 5pm conclusion > _Humorous caption marking the end of festival operations when machines were powered down_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Golden State Pinball Festival 2018 | event | Major pinball convention held May 18-20, 2018 in Lodi, California featuring educational talks, tournaments, and machine raffles | | Spooky Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer presenting at GSPF 2018 for first California visit; discussed company history and Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle game | | Charlie Emery | person | Spooky Pinball representative who narrated presentation about game development and working with Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper | | Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle | game | Spooky Pinball's latest title at time of festival; demonstrated at Pin-U talk with rules and features explained | | David Volansky | person | Presenter at GSPF 2018 who led Pin-U talk on reading and using electromechanical pinball schematics | | Chris Kuntz | person | Pinball repairer, restorer, operator, and seller who presented Pin-U talk on Stern Spike control system | | Stern Star Wars | game | Machine used by Chris Kuntz as demonstration unit for Spike control system presentation | | Stern Spike | product | Stern Pinball control system discussed in detail; compared SAM system to Spike generation 1 and 2 with color LCD capabilities | | Per Schwarzenberger | person | Winner of GSPF 2018 pin-golf tournament | | Nick Fitzpatrick | person | Second place finisher in GSPF 2018 pin-golf tournament | | Michael Bender | person | Winner of Sorcerer pinball machine in Sunday raffle at GSPF 2018 | | Cliff Rinear | person | Recipient of inaugural Steve Charland Spirit Award at GSPF 2018 | | Steve Charland Spirit Award | product | New award created for GSPF 2018; Cliff Rinear was inaugural recipient | | Sorcerer | game | Classic/vintage pinball machine raffled as Sunday grand prize at GSPF 2018; won by Michael Bender | | Lethal Weapon 3 | game | Pinball machine raffled Saturday at GSPF 2018; selected by Saturday raffle winner | | Lodi Grape Festival Fairgrounds | event | Venue location for GSPF 2018 at 413 E. Lockeford Street, Lodi, California | ### Topics - **Primary:** Pinball community events and conventions, Spooky Pinball company and products, Pinball technical education and repair - **Secondary:** Stern Spike control system technology, Tournament and competition results, Pinball machine raffles and giveaways - **Mentioned:** Community awards and recognition ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.82) — Article maintains enthusiastic, event-coverage tone throughout. Positive coverage of educational content, manufacturer participation, and community activities. Gentle humor used (author didn't win raffle). No critical commentary or negative sentiment detected. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Educational focus of Pin-U program indicates strong community commitment to technical education across EM/electromechanical, modern Spike systems, and game design (confidence: high) — Three distinct technical talks covering schematics, control systems, and modern game design with planned audio/video distribution - **[event_signal]** Golden State Pinball Festival 2018 represents successful multi-day event with strong manufacturer participation (Spooky Pinball first California visit) and educational programming (confidence: high) — Full day of Pin-U talks, machine raffles, pin-golf tournament, and ceremonial award presentation --- ## Transcript Date: 18th-20th May, 2018 Location: Lodi Grape Festival Fairgrounds, 413 E. Lockeford Street, Lodi, California 95240, USA The final day of GSPF 2018 began at 9am but it’s a shorter day with the doors closing at 5pm. As usual, I headed straight to the Jackson Hall to prepare for the first of the day’s three Pin-U talks. The team from Spooky Pinball were making their first visit to California and came to GSPF to talk about the history of the company, the games they have built, and to explain how their latest title Alice Cooper’s Nighmare Castle works. ![The Spooky Pinball team](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/139-gspf-2018.jpg) The Spooky Pinball team Charlie Emery narrated a picture and video slideshow looking at how their games are made and some of the personalities involved such as Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper. ![Charlie talks about working with Alice Cooper](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/138-gspf-2018.jpg) Charlie talks about working with Alice Cooper Charlie then moved to the Alice Cooper game to demonstrate the shots, and show how the features and rules work. Audio of this talk will be coming soon. At 1pm David Volansky took to the stage to explain how to read and use electromechanical games’ schematics. ![David Volansky](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/140-gspf-2018.jpg) David Volansky After examining a number of case studies where faults were diagnosed by using the schematics, David explained how an electromechanical pinball’s electrical system works and broke it down into the key sub-systems such as the score motor and the score reels. The final Pin-U talk was by pinball repairer, restorer, operator and seller, Chris Kuntz. The subject of Chris’s talk was Stern Pinball’s Spike control system and to help describe it he brought along a Stern Star Wars machine. ![Chris Kuntz](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/141-gspf-2018.jpg) Chris Kuntz He described the differences between the previous generation of control boards – the SAM system – and then how the first generation of Spike compares to the current second generation which can drive colour LCD monitors. Chris then moved on to the different types of node boards used in a game, from the core and cabinet boards to the satellite boards under the playfield or mounted elsewhere depending on the model. Audio of this talk will be coming soon. One problem with working at Pin-U is missing some of the other events and there are quite a few including the pin-golf tournament and the machine raffle drawings and the Flippin’ Friday Kick-Off Party at which Cliff Rinear was presented with the new Steve Charland Spirit Award. ![The Flippin’ Friday Kick-Off Party](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/151-gspf-2018.jpg) The Flippin’ Friday Kick-Off Party (picture: Art Perez) ![Cliffy Rinear received the Steve Charland Spirit Award](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/152-gspf-2018.jpg) Cliffy Rinear received the Steve Charland Spirit Award (picture: Art Perez) ![Cliffy's is the inaugural name on the list of Steve Charland Spirit Award recipients](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/142-gspf-2018.jpg) Cliffy’s recipients In the pin-golf tournament, the winner was Per Schwarzenberger who finished ahead of second place Nick Fitzpatrick. Brian O’Neill was third and Nic Stein fourth. Full results are available at: gspf.tomlogic.com. While I might have been busy at Pin-U during Saturday’s draw for the first of two pinball machines, the stage and equipment had been torn down and packed away by the time Sunday’s draw took place. Saturday’s winner chose the Lethal Weapon 3, leaving the Sorcerer for Sunday’s winner to take home. ![Sunday's prize draw machine](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/143-gspf-2018.jpg) Sunday’s prize draw machine The draw took place at 4:30pm. ![The winning ticket is chosen](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/144-gspf-2018.jpg) The winning ticket is chosen The winning ticket was bought by Michael Bender. ![Michael and his prize](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/145-gspf-2018.jpg) Michael and his prize Following the pinball machine draw, the regular raffle was drawn. This consisted of multiple prizes from which entrants could choose. Tickets for the raffle cost $1 each or six tickets for $5. Tickets could be applied to any of the prizes, and when the raffle ended at 4:30pm, a winning ticket was drawn for each prize. ![The crowd waiting for the winning ticket numbers to be announced](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/146-gspf-2018.jpg) The announced ![Another winning ticket is drawn](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/147-gspf-2018.jpg) Another winning ticket is drawn By the time all the prizes had been awarded (no, I didn’t win anything) it was just about 5pm which meant the end of the show and the turning off of power to all the machines. ![I have the power..oh wait, no I don't](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/148-gspf-2018.jpg) I have the power..oh wait, no I don’t The packing away of stands and machines then began in earnest. ![Show's over](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/149-gspf-2018.jpg) Show’s over As a memento of their contribution to the show, all machine donors received this commemorative fob for their keys. ![The GSPF 2018 key fob for all machine donors (picture: Brad Grant)](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/shows/gspf-2018/150-gspf-2018.jpg) The Grant) All of which brings my Golden State Pinball Festival 2018 coverage to an end. I’ll be adding the remaining audio from the Pinball University talks over the next few days and there will ultimately be videos of the talks available on the GSPF’s planned YouTube channel. I hope you have enjoyed my coverage. I’ll be back with my closing thoughts, but that’s all for now. _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 75162e88-ff3d-4fbb-aabf-f615b2ed4086*