# ARCADE ROAD TRIP: Cointaker Super Awesome Pinball Tailgate Party

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-09-26  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/arcade-road-trip-cointaker-super-awesome-pinball-tailgate-party

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## Analysis

The author attended Cointaker's annual Super Awesome Pinball Tailgate Party in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, a free admission event featuring extensive pinball machine access, food, drinks, and industry guests. The event showcased machines from multiple manufacturers including recent Stern and Jersey Jack releases, homebrews, and classics, while providing networking opportunities within the pinball community.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Cointaker hosts an annual Super Awesome Pinball Tailgate party in Sunbury, Pennsylvania — _Direct event attendance and description_
- [HIGH] The event features free admission for pre-registered attendees — _Author explicitly states 'Admission to the event was completely free for people who contacted them beforehand'_
- [HIGH] The event included every recent Stern Pinball and Jersey Jack machine, including newest Toy Story 4 — _Author attended and observed all machines on display_
- [HIGH] All new Stern machines were hooked up to Insider Connected for achievement hunting — _Direct observation at event_
- [HIGH] Cointaker offers event space rental for parties and private events — _Author explicitly mentions rental availability and encourages potential clients to contact them_

### Notable Quotes

> "Every Fall, my Arcade Road Trip partner in crime, Rob, and myself travel to a part of the country and hit up as many pinball locations in an extended weekend as humanly possible while sustaining ourselves on Combos and beer."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Opening paragraph
> _Establishes the author's travel tradition and context for industry events_

> "Man oh man, do Cointaker's owners, Chris and Melissa Marquette, know how to throw a party."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Early event description
> _High praise for event hosts and organization_

> "All in one place I was able to play Haggis Pinball's new Fathom Revisited Mermaid Edition, Pinball Brothers Alien LV, Dutch Pinball's Big Lebowski, Pedretti Funhouse 2.0, Chicago Gaming Company Cactus Canyon Remake, every single recent Stern Pinball machine, every recent Jersey Jack pinball machine - including the newest Toy Story 4, and a TON of classic machines."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Machine inventory section
> _Comprehensive list of machines available at event, showcasing breadth of collection_

> "Of course, the best part of big events like this is getting to hang out with so many people who you talk to one the Internet all year or for years. It's great to put a face with a name."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Community impact section
> _Highlights community value of in-person pinball events_

> "So much fun. Cointaker rents their event space out for parties, and Chris and Melissa are amazing hosts, so if you're reading this and are looking to throw an event you have to check it out."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Event space promotion
> _Explicit business recommendation and endorsement_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Cointaker | company | Major pinball distributor and event host; owners Chris and Melissa Marquette; hosts annual Super Awesome Pinball Tailgate Party and offers event space rental |
| Super Awesome Pinball Show | organization | Podcast/event organization that co-hosted the Tailgate Party with Cointaker |
| Chris Marquette | person | Co-owner of Cointaker, event host |
| Melissa Marquette | person | Co-owner of Cointaker, event host |
| Rob | person | Author's Arcade Road Trip partner and designated driver for the event |
| Eric Munier | person | Jersey Jack Pinball representative in attendance |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Pinball industry figure in attendance (JJP affiliation) |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Artist in attendance, described as 'artist extraordinaire' |
| John Borg | person | Stern Pinball designer in attendance |
| Pinball Brothers | company | Pinball manufacturer; two representatives in attendance; machines featured at event (Alien LV) |
| Christian Line | person | Super Awesome Pinball Show contributor in attendance |
| Mrs. Pin | person | Super Awesome Pinball Show contributor in attendance |
| Cliff Albert | person | Community member in attendance; competitive pinball player |
| Jared Guynes | person | Community/industry figure in attendance |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer with recent machines featured at event |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Major manufacturer with recent machines featured at event, including Toy Story 4 |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Homebrew/small manufacturer; Fathom Revisited Mermaid Edition featured at event |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Manufacturer; Big Lebowski machine featured at event |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Manufacturer; Cactus Canyon Remake featured at event |
| Pedretti | company | Manufacturer; Funhouse 2.0 machine featured at event |
| Toy Story 4 | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game, described as 'newest' JJP machine at event |
| Insider Connected | product | Stern Pinball achievement tracking system used at event |
| Sunbury, Pennsylvania | event | Location of Cointaker facility and Tailgate Party |
| Knapp Arcade | person | Content creator and author of this article; runs Arcade Road Trip series |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Community events and gatherings, Pinball distributor operations and business, Pinball community networking
- **Secondary:** New machine releases and availability, Event space rental and hospitality, Arcade road trips and travel content

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.95) — Extremely positive review of event, hosts, and community experience. Author expresses enthusiasm for the event, praises organizers extensively, and recommends the venue for future events. No criticisms mentioned.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Cointaker (major pinball distributor) expanding into event venue rental and experiential marketing beyond distribution (confidence: high) — Event space rental now offered; company opens full facilities (showroom, warehouse, event space) for community events
- **[event_signal]** Annual Super Awesome Pinball Tailgate Party demonstrates strong demand for free-admission community pinball events with industry participation and networking opportunities (confidence: high) — Event attendance included industry figures (JJP executives, Stern designers, artists), extensive machine inventory, and strong community turnout
- **[community_signal]** Industry leadership actively participating in grassroots community events and distributor partnerships, reinforcing ecosystem engagement (confidence: high) — Multiple manufacturer representatives (JJP execs, Stern designer) and artists attended free community event
- **[personnel_signal]** Christopher Franchi (artist) confirmed independent of Stern, appearing at industry events in broader community capacity (confidence: medium) — Franchi listed as separate industry guest alongside Stern and JJP representatives, described as 'artist extraordinaire'
- **[announcement]** Toy Story 4 confirmed as newest Jersey Jack Pinball machine available and in distribution (confidence: high) — Author played 'newest Toy Story 4' at event with JJP executives present
- **[technology_signal]** Stern Pinball actively promoting Insider Connected integration with new machines for achievement tracking and engagement (confidence: high) — All new Stern machines at event 'hooked up to Insider Connected for achievement hunting'

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## Transcript

Every Fall, my Arcade Road Trip partner in crime, Rob, and myself travel to a part of the country and hit up as many pinball locations in an extended weekend as humanly possible while sustaining ourselves on Combos and beer. The 2022 trip is coming up in a couple of weeks, but we have a special bonus trip to share with everyone first. 

Last weekend, the major pinball distributor Cointaker and the fine folks from the Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast hosted their annual Super Awesome Pinball Tailgate party in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. Man oh man, do Cointaker's owners, Chris and Melissa Marquette, know how to throw a party. 

Admission to the event was completely free for people who contacted them beforehand and requested a ticket. And this event was unbelievable, from the fantastic food, free drinks, special guests, amazing prizes and pinball...oh was there pinball. All in one place I was able to play Haggis Pinball's new Fathom Revisited Mermaid Edition, Pinball Brothers Alien LV, Dutch Pinball's Big Lebowski, Pedretti Funhouse 2.0, Chicago Gaming Company Cactus Canyon Remake, every single recent Stern Pinball machine, every recent Jersey Jack pinball machine - including the newest Toy Story 4, and a TON of classic machines. All of the new Sterns were hooked up to Insider Conmected for achievement hunting. 

Cointaker opened up its whole facilities for the party, the showroom, warehouse and it's amazing new event space. The event space was HUGE and it had a sweet bar serving White Russian and Apple Pie Moonshine slushies! After starting off at 11 AM with a few of those I realized that I had better downshift or I was going to have a tough time making it the rest of the day LOL. Thanks again to Rob for agreeing to be the designated driver because otherwise I would have been sleeping somewhere in the woods of rural Pennsylvania. 

Of course, the best part of big events like this is getting to hang out with so many people who you talk to one the Internet all year or for years. I had a chance to chill with so many online friends who I speak with on my pages all the time. It's great to put a face with a name. There was so much pinball royalty there as well from JJP's Eric Meunier and Steve Ritchie, to artist extraordinaire Christopher Franchi, Stern's John Borg, two of the Pinball Brothers, all of the folks from the Super Awesome Pinball Show - Chris, Christian Line (who always makes me feel good about my pinball skills by being is slightly worse than myself) Mrs. Pin, Cliff Albert (who I somehow managed to break even with on $5 games), Jared Guynes and on and on. So many cool people...and absolutely no drama whatsoever. So much fun. 

Cointaker rents their event space out for parties, and Chris and Melissa are amazing hosts, so if you're reading this and are looking to throw an event you have to check it out. I hear that they're already planning next year's Tailgate Party :). Anyone who wants to contact Cointaker about renting out their space or a game can do so via their website: https://cointaker.com/ 

This trip also marks the maiden voyage for my new iPhone 14 Pro, in all its 48 Megapixel glory. Below are a bunch of pictures of the event and some super rare games. Enjoy!

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: e1e39bab-eccd-475e-b21d-6cfe8e2289ce*