# 2019 TPF Bonus Coverage - Thursday

**Source:** Special When Lit  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2019-03-22  
**Duration:** 18m 45s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://specialwhenlitpinballpodcast.com/2019-tpf-bonus-coverage-thursday

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## Analysis

Ken Cromwell and Bill Webb of Special When Lit podcast conduct a pre-event bonus coverage episode at the 2019 Texas Pinball Festival in Frisco, Texas, featuring interview with Jeff Patterson (Pinball News/Twippies Awards founder). The hosts discuss their arrival experience, impressions of Frisco as a destination, venue logistics at Hotel Indigo and Embassy Suites, and preview upcoming coverage. They praise the event location and surrounding infrastructure, noting the modern development and abundance of activities beyond pinball.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Texas Pinball Festival opens Friday at 5 p.m. — _Ken Cromwell states 'I think it's 5 o'clock' in response to question about TPF opening time_
- [HIGH] Twippies Awards ceremony will be held Saturday night at 8 p.m. Central / 9 p.m. Eastern — _Jeff Patterson confirms 'Saturday night. It's going to be at 8 p.m. Central, 9 p.m. Eastern'_
- [HIGH] Twippies Awards will stream on SDTM Pinball (Straight Down the Middle) Twitch channel — _Jeff Patterson: 'SDTM pinball. Yeah, that's the Twitch channel that you can view it on'_
- [HIGH] Hotel Indigo opened in November 2018 (approximately 4 months before this March 2019 event) — _Ken Cromwell states 'Opened in November of 18. I think our focus tomorrow is' and later 'This hotel that we're in here now is less than two years old. It's four months old'_
- [HIGH] Hotel Indigo is approximately a 7-minute walk from Texas Pinball Festival venue at Embassy Suites — _Ken Cromwell: 'it's like a seven minute walk to the actual texas pinball festival at the embassy suites'_
- [HIGH] Jeff Patterson runs TWIP (This Week in Pinball) and considers it 'arguably the biggest news media outlet in pinball' — _Ken Cromwell states 'you're at Costco buying the hand sanitizer. Yes, exactly. Which is fine. So as somebody that runs TWIP, which is arguably the biggest news media outlet in pinball'_
- [HIGH] Zach (Sharpe) and Greg from Straight Down the Middle are collaborating with Jeff Patterson on Twippies organization — _Jeff Patterson: 'Yeah, I'll let you know Saturday night at like 10.30 on how everything went. but it's yeah it's no it's zach and greg uh from straight down the middle um and myself'_
- [MEDIUM] Frisco, Texas is a newly developed area with most infrastructure less than 5 years old — _Jeff Patterson: 'I don't know that there's a lot that's been here longer than five years' and Ken notes 'It feels like everything is new here' and 'Everything's being erected around it'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Mainly just the germs... I go through gallons of hand sanitizer. That's just me."
> — **Jeff Patterson**, ~15:40
> _Character detail about Patterson's traveling habits; humorous moment establishing his personality_

> "I'm really just trying to have fun... The Networking stuff just happens, but it's more of just playing pinball and hanging out with people."
> — **Jeff Patterson**, ~22:00
> _Reveals Patterson's approach to attending major pinball festivals despite being a prominent media figure; emphasizes community and relaxation over business agenda_

> "It feels like the whole town is new... everything's being erected around it... I could not have been more pleased before this show opens."
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~48:00
> _Host's overall positive impression of Frisco as event venue; establishes high expectations for TPF experience_

> "If I've got a chipping wedge, I could probably hit it on a bounce, which is pretty unbelievable."
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~50:30
> _Illustrates proximity between Hotel Indigo and Embassy Suites venue using golf metaphor; emphasizes convenience_

> "Come for TPF come for the pinball but don't think that that's your only option because i mean there's so much more here it is an incredible time."
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~54:00
> _Direct recommendation to potential attendees about Frisco as full destination, not just pinball event location_

> "This might be one of the hidden gems of the united states for like a sneak attack vacation."
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~56:30
> _Enthusiastic endorsement of Frisco as travel destination; suggests broader appeal beyond pinball community_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Ken Cromwell | person | Co-host of Special When Lit podcast; traveling to TPF 2019 from Chicago area (O'Hare); providing pre-event coverage |
| Jeff Patterson | person | Founder of Pinball News website; organizer of Twippies Awards; attending TPF 2019; interviewed as prominent pinball media figure |
| Bill Webb | person | Co-host of Special When Lit podcast; traveling to TPF 2019 with Ken Cromwell from Chicago; providing commentary on venue and experience |
| Steve Beattie | person | Third team member traveling with Ken and Bill to TPF 2019; previously attended Pinball Expo; first-time TPF attendee |
| Zach Sharpe | person | Co-organizer of Twippies Awards ceremony with Jeff Patterson and Greg; associated with Straight Down the Middle streaming platform |
| Greg | person | Co-organizer of Twippies Awards from Straight Down the Middle; collaborating with Jeff Patterson and Zach on Twippies event |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Major pinball industry trade show and tournament held March 21-24, 2019 in Frisco, Texas at Embassy Suites venue; opening Friday (March 22) at 5 p.m. |
| Pinball Expo | event | Previous major pinball festival in Chicago that Steve Beattie attended last year; used as comparison point for TPF venue quality and surrounding activities |
| Hotel Indigo | organization | Modern hotel in Frisco, Texas (opened November 2018) hosting Special When Lit podcast crew; approximately 7-minute walk to Embassy Suites TPF venue; offers shuttle service |
| Embassy Suites | organization | Venue hosting 2019 Texas Pinball Festival in Frisco, Texas |
| Straight Down the Middle | organization | Streaming platform/channel (SDTM Pinball on Twitch) hosting 2019 Twippies Awards ceremony on Saturday night |
| Pinball News | organization | Website run by Jeff Patterson; described as 'arguably the biggest news media outlet in pinball' |
| This Week in Pinball | organization | Pinball news media outlet run by Jeff Patterson; abbreviated as TWIP; produces weekly pinball industry coverage |
| Twippies Awards | event | Annual awards ceremony recognizing pinball content creators and industry contributions; organized by Jeff Patterson, Zach Sharpe, and Greg; held Saturday March 23, 2019 at 8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET at TPF |
| Special When Lit | organization | Pinball podcast hosted by Ken Cromwell and Bill Webb providing coverage of 2019 Texas Pinball Festival |
| Concrete Cowboy | organization | Restaurant/bar venue near Dallas Cowboys Practice Facility in Frisco where Ken Cromwell, Bill Webb, Steve Beattie, and Jeff Patterson socialized on evening before TPF |
| Frisco, Texas | organization | Host city for 2019 Texas Pinball Festival; modern development area with new infrastructure, shopping, dining, and attractions |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Texas Pinball Festival 2019 venue and logistics, Twippies Awards ceremony planning and broadcast, Frisco, Texas as destination city and travel experience
- **Secondary:** Pinball media and journalism (Pinball News, TWIP), Community gathering and networking at major pinball events, Comparison between Texas Pinball Festival and Pinball Expo
- **Mentioned:** Travel and accommodation logistics for content creators, Pinball content creation and industry coverage

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Hosts express consistent enthusiasm about Frisco as a venue, praising hotel accommodations, proximity to event, city amenities, and overall experience. Jeff Patterson shows appreciation for the community gathering aspect. Only minor negative notes are travel-related discomfort (Dallas traffic, airline germs). Overall tone is celebratory and optimistic about the upcoming event.

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Texas Pinball Festival 2019 venue details confirmed: Embassy Suites in Frisco with Friday 5 p.m. opening; Hotel Indigo serves as primary accommodation approximately 7-minute walk away (confidence: high) — Ken Cromwell confirms TPF opening and venue proximity; multiple references to Hotel Indigo shuttle service and walking distance
- **[event_signal]** Twippies Awards ceremony scheduled for Saturday March 23, 2019 at 8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET with streaming on SDTM Pinball Twitch channel (confidence: high) — Jeff Patterson official confirmation of date, time, and streaming platform
- **[content_signal]** Special When Lit providing multi-day bonus coverage of TPF 2019 with established media personalities (Ken Cromwell, Bill Webb) and guest interviews (confidence: high) — Episode structure and intro establish this as official coverage programming
- **[personnel_signal]** Jeff Patterson collaborating with Zach Sharpe and Greg from Straight Down the Middle on Twippies Awards organization and streaming (confidence: high) — Jeff Patterson states 'it's zach and greg uh from straight down the middle um and myself we've been working non-stop on it'
- **[community_signal]** Prominent pinball media figures converging at TPF 2019 for community gathering; Jeff Patterson emphasizes relaxation and socializing over business agendas (confidence: high) — Jeff Patterson: 'I'm really just trying to have fun... The Networking stuff just happens, but it's more of just playing pinball and hanging out with people'
- **[venue_signal]** Frisco, Texas emerging as high-quality pinball festival destination with modern amenities, diverse attractions, and strong infrastructure compared to Pinball Expo venue in Chicago (confidence: high) — Extensive discussion comparing Frisco favorably to Chicago; hosts note shopping, dining, entertainment, and new development throughout city
- **[sentiment_shift]** Hosts' initial uncertainty about Frisco location transforms to strong enthusiasm after arrival and exploration (confidence: high) — Ken describes arriving in flatlands with concern ('oh my gosh where did we go') but then praising the city as 'one of the hidden gems of the united states'

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## Transcript

 Welcome to 2019 Texas Pinball Festival bonus coverage on the special when lit pinball podcast. Hey, what's going on pinball land? Welcome to Texas Pinball Festival bonus coverage 2019. My name is Ken Cromwell and I am Bill Webb and today with us we have special guest special guest of the program. I'm somebody that's been very, very prominent in pinball, pinball media, pinball coverage in general. Mr. Jeff Patterson. Jeff, welcome to the show. Something like that. Hello, guys. So this is what we're going to do, guys. Listen, this is not episodic coverage. This is just bonus coverage. So what I wanted to do is just take about five or ten minutes, and we'll send it off for tonight and talk about your exposure and your lead into TPF. Now, for myself and Bill, we went ahead and we flew out of O'Hare. We came into Dallas, Texas, and we arrived at Frisco. Jeff, how did you get here tonight? Is episodic a word, by the way? It is now. It's episodic, yeah. Yeah, I flew out of Indianapolis, delayed about 10 minutes, but still came in about five minutes early, apparently. What's the first thing you did when you got here? uh well i got an uber and uh uh came in and went to my hotel room and i put out uh no all right hey so so bill like when we came in the first go like what the hell happened we were pleasantly surprised pleasantly surprised because i think what we actually thought was going to happen in frisco was like we were going to come here we're going to be in like this kind of like cd underground hotel suppressed kind of uh area where nothing was going on right and then but when we landed and we got into the rental car and we were driving to our destination it was flatlands there was nothing happening like it was it was depressing i'm like oh my gosh where did we go so once we actually got 10 minutes out of the airport i mean dude it just got beautiful just absolutely incredible and uh you know the drive here was a little long because traffic kind of was rough you survived ken sir uh steve survived that was good and uh you know got to the hotel got a beautiful room and honestly went and had some drinks well a couple things that myself and steve noticed was on the way here when you're driving the rental car when you see brake lights in front of you you actually accelerate to change lanes so that actually was it was concerning for me as a passenger it's an intimidation factor you know when they hit the brakes you speed up to let them know that you ain't playing for the record i was very intimidated by that whole situation well yeah i mean you left uh grip marks in the the side of the door handle right i have i have like nerf type things under my fingernails from gripping the uh the seat in front of me all the way on on the way in now jeff did you have anything that was like really stressful coming in after you had onboarded your plane? Mainly just the germs. Oh, yeah. So, all right. So, let's get into this. So, like, you're not a guy that's into germs. Yeah. I'm not into germs. That's just... Is anybody into germs, though? I assume there are probably people that are into germs, but we try to avoid the germs. We smelled some people that had germs on the plane. Well, that was BL. That wasn't germs. That was just odor. Still bacteria. But back to Jeff. Yeah, I definitely smelled people on the plane, But yeah, no, mainly, and that's just flying anywhere is trying to, I go through gallons of hand sanitizer. That's just me. So you're at Costco buying the hand sanitizer. Yes, exactly. Which is fine. So as somebody that runs TWIP, which is arguably the biggest news media outlet in pinball, when you come to Texas Pinball Festival, you're in Frisco, Texas, you're live on the scene. is there an approach that you take as far as coverage for your website and for your media outlet or are you just kind of here to kind of take it in and then at that point decide what needs to happen as far as coverage honestly like coming in here um with with texas pinball festival or and i went to expo last year um i'm really just trying to have fun i'm not like i'll the Networking stuff just happens, but it's more of just playing pinball and hanging out with people. Yeah I don come in with a plan that I need to talk to this person or talk to that person or anything like that It interesting to me Bill because I mean again we talk about This Week in Pinball and we talk about it frequently on our podcast You've got somebody who is so connected within the pinball community. Very prominent. Very, very prominent, very well respected. Now, he's here not to get the story, but to celebrate and kind of relax and do pinball. Now, on the backside of this, Jeff, You've got the Twippies that you're arranging and that's running that's going to happen Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Frisco, Texas. So, I mean, that's got to take a toll on you a little bit. I mean, even if you're not here for coverage for pinball, running that Twippy event's got to be pretty huge. Yeah, I'll let you know Saturday night at like 10.30 on how everything went. but it's yeah it's no it's zach and greg uh from straight down the middle um and myself we've been working non-stop on it so and it's one of those things where we we don't have a ton of um we're all kind of control freaks and we don't have a ton of control on it so we're doing our best and And just kind of hoping it turns out well. We've put the time in and put the work in, so it should be a fun night. Well, I'd like to say thank you very much for all that you do, especially with this week at Pinball and especially with the Twippy Awards. Honestly, I could really see how not having control over a lot of those situations when you are definitely detail-orientated with everything that you do would be a little stressful. So thank you very much for everything that you've done and your contribution. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, especially we've always supported the Twippies. We've supported your just commitment to pinball in general. So we do appreciate that. Yeah, it should be a fun night. It should be a fun night. It should be a fun night. Regardless of what happens and as far as awards, who gets what, I mean, again, we talked about this on the podcast. Anybody that's recognized as being a runner-up for any of these awards, congratulations to you. Because, I mean, that's what it's all about. It's a celebration for pinball at the Twippie Awards. And really, anybody that is providing pinball content is, I mean, it's not like any of us are getting rich off of this stuff. So we're all doing this for the love of pinball. And so anybody that's providing pinball content is providing a huge thing for pinball. Agreed. Um, that's, and I mean, we would, we would like to go through every single person that every single podcast that, um, podcast and YouTube channel and everything else, um, that provides pinball content. But, uh, yeah, anybody that's, that's providing content is a, is a pretty much hero. So, well, I mean, and that's the thing. I mean, there, you can be a fan of pinball. You can collect pinball. you can buy, sell, and trade pinball. And that makes you part of the pinball community. To have somebody that is able to take the manufacturers, to take those that are offering outside pinball content, and put it into a situation where you can kind of recognize those individual efforts, I think that's where the twippies shine. And again, I mean, we appreciate the fact that you're doing that. And Jeff, being the first person we really legitimately talk to at TPF is exciting for us because we've got a lot of respect for your work, right? Absolutely. And we appreciate the fact that you're here and saying hello and talking about those Twippies. So again, when can we see those Twippies? It's Saturday night. Yeah, Saturday night. It's going to be at 8 p.m. Central, 9 p.m. Eastern. So, and you can... And where do we see it? Like straight down the middle stream? Yeah, straight down the middle stream. If you go to thisweekinpitball.com, you'll find a link to it. And if you are on Twitch, can you simply type in straight down the middle pinball and then link to the show? Yeah, SDTM pinball. SDTM pinball. Yeah, that's the Twitch channel that you can view it on. And let's do this, Bill. I mean, let's not make this ridiculously long because we've got a couple more days to kind of do coverage here. But I think we were both pleasantly surprised on what we saw when we arrived at Frisco because, honestly, we had not been to Frisco, Texas. We flew into Dallas And the first thing that we noticed With Steve Beattie by our side Like we had a rental car And we were driving out It's flatland It's just like Illinois It not anything that overly impressive Now we did see a lot of industrial things going on We saw buildings being erected but that doesn excite me as a person until we checked into the Hotel Indigo Now right now we are literally podcasting on Thursday night from the Hotel Indigo We are on the freaking bed of one of our queen-size beds. Now, we've got two queen-size beds. We've got a pull-out couch, so three guys with three places to sleep, just in case So, anybody's wondering. The rooms are outstanding. Shuttle bus service in and out of the Indigo. Incredible. Totally blew my mind. So, the place that we are at that most nobody is at is incredible for us. Right? And don't forget the concierge lady that was down front was unreal. I don't know her name, but she's going to be a rock star in our book before we leave. Oh, yeah. Texas Pinball Festival. Now, we went out. We had left. We were taken to a place called, what was it? Concrete Cowboy. Concrete Cowboy. which is right across the street from the Dallas Cowboys Practice Facility. So you're there. There's a whole 100-yard turf field that's sitting in front of us. We're on the second level, like a balcony, if you will, drinking some beers, some cocktails. Having some tacos. Having some tacos. Steve, what did you have? You had a cheeseburger, I think. A mac and cheeseburger. A mac and cheeseburger. And I just went with the liquid dinner that night. But we're looking down like we're overlooking a city in Frisco. And the first thing that drew me into this whole thing that made me think was like, I'm here for this pinball convention, which I'm excited about. Which I still am. But to be able to see, and Jeff, you were there. You had a couple beers with us. Yeah, beautiful. To be able to see the area of Frisco and the surrounding elements that goes back into this pinball show, it's unbelievable. Yeah, you almost need to add a couple of days just to see the town. I mean, just between the pinball stuff and how beautiful it is out here. Were you surprised? It feels like the whole town is new. Agreed, agreed, agreed. I mean, you're walking into something that's very elaborate, very... Well thought out. it's well thought out but it's it's amazing yeah and and it is brand new i mean this stuff hasn't been around for a while everything's being erected around it um i could not have been more pleased before this show opens texas pinball festival which is tomorrow which for those of you listening this podcast is going to be today because we're going to edit this up in the morning um but to realize that this pinball show is is pending for us but to be so satisfied in what we are experiencing in Frisco, Texas, I highly recommend for those that don't give it the credit, come down here and see what you're missing because it's unbelievable. I mean, it really is. You've got to experience it at least one time. And we're not getting residuals on the tourism of Frisco, Texas. I don't think Hotel Indigo is going to give us any discount on our bill either. No, no, no. But I'll say this for the Hotel Indigo, right? So we come in here. We've got unbelievable facilities. they've been very accommodating we were getting free shuttle service to and from places that are within like a few miles of the hotel awesome recommendations and and it's it's like a seven minute walk to the actual uh texas pinball festival at the embassy suites i mean so it does not get any better um i i guess what i'm trying to say is i i didn't come here expecting the worst i i wasn't sure what to expect but i've been pleasantly surprised on all aspects of Frisco, Texas, and I cannot wait to get into Texas Pinball Festival tomorrow. No. And seven-minute walk, meaning basically across the street. You're right, Jeff. That seven-minute walk is three and a half minutes out of my parking lot and another three and a half minutes into the other parking lot to get into the hotel. So if I've got a chipping wedge, I could probably hit it on a bounce, which is pretty unbelievable. So, Jeff, what are you looking forward to? I'm not going to say what are you most looking forward to because I mean that's a really loaded question but as we get into Texas Pinball Festival tomorrow is there anything that you're going to be putting yourself out there as far as covering or covering a lot of it is just like you talk to these people you talk to these people online and things like that all year you say these people who are those people everybody the the pinball people um you guys for instance like you we talk via text message and and via facebook and um and it just the fact of like hanging out with these people talking to people um being in the vendor hall um and then of course this week the uh the twippies will be uh um it should be a fun night so agree yeah absolutely what are you thinking bill so when we wake up tomorrow we're going to edit this up right we're going to upload it I assume we're going to grab some breakfast. Hopefully. What do we do from there? Or lunch, whatever time we wake up. Do you know, what time does TPF open on Friday? I think it's 5 o'clock. So in the evening. So we still have time to be a little bit squirrely beforehand. Adventurous. Adventurous. Looking forward to it, man. Bill's like, yeah, I'm looking forward to it, man. That's all I can say. Steve, come here, man. So Steve, who's been, he was on the last podcast. Steve, what are you looking forward to tomorrow? Now, you were with us tonight, and you're with us, you're partnering crime in this whole Texas Pinball Festival. Now, after getting your feet wet here for four hours, you obviously know exactly what you want to do, right? So what's happening with a Steve Beattie tonight? I don't know exactly what I want to do. I mean, I'd like to check out Frisco a little bit more, you know, before 5 o'clock. This place is cool. It is. But yeah, I'm looking forward to TPF, man. Expo was my first pinball festival last year, so this is going to be great. I couldn't agree more. I mean, Expo is what we've been, for the lack of a better term, exposed to. And so TPF has been highly touted. We come here to kind of not just get a comparison, but to experience TPF because everybody that we've spoken to says you've got to go. Now, on the flip side of this, I want to talk to people real quick, and we're going to sign this off in like a minute. If you're on the fence for Texas Pinball Festival because you're not sure you want to come to Texas for a pinball festival, that's fine. But I will say this, our first impressions of Frisco as the neighboring or hosting community is unbelievable. There's a lot to do outside of the actual pinball expo. So, I mean, if it's a situation where you want to bring somebody else with you, whether it's a husband or a wife or maybe even the kids, this is not a bad place to be outside of the pinball prowess of things. pinball being what might be your focus there's a lot to do here i think it's all encompassing as an area um and right now arguably more so than i think that that expo is in chicago because there's not as much going on surrounding no that actual expo really makes sense where they threw tpf it really really does it is it is awesome when it's not going down you can go do anything and when you say anything i mean literally literally anything yeah so some shopping you want some food you want some drinks you want shopping you want to go bowling you want you want to get a manicure yeah you want to go to a mall and chill a lincoln navigator right you want to buy a lincoln navigator i mean it's right outside um so i would say this i mean come come for tpf come for the pinball but don't think that that's your only uh option because i mean there's so much more here it is an incredible time and it really really is and i think i told you this bill i mean this might be one of the hidden gems of the united states for like like a like a sneak attack vacation i don't uh jeff i i agree i agree yeah i feel bad like i said it feels like everything is new here so and legitimately i think everything is pretty new here yeah i don't know that there's a lot that's been here longer than five years. Even driving in on the highways. All those look new. Right. This hotel that we're in here now is less than two years old. It's four months old. Is it four months old? Four months old. Opened in November of 18. I think our focus tomorrow is get into pinball. We're here for pinball. Tonight was just kind of an introductory to Texas Pinball Festival and the Outline community since the show hasn't officially started. Completely impressed. Jeff, thank you so much for joining us On the bonus coverage for TPL Good to be here And we're going to be excited to report What happens tomorrow For Bill Webb, I am Ken Cromwell Everybody have a good morning, good afternoon, good evening And don't forget to take some time out of your day Play some pinball and join us in 24 hours So long everybody

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: b48809f7-d396-401e-a30f-601dc9838c9c*