Episode 197: CNEPC 2019…bigger and better!

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·21m 57s·analyzed·May 17, 2019

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

CNEPC 2019 expands into major event with 4 tournaments, $10k prize pool at Toronto's 140-year-old CNE.

Summary

Jeff Teelis interviews organizers of the Canadian National Exhibition Pinball Championship (CNEPC) 2019, a growing pinball tournament event hosted at Toronto's CNE. The event has expanded from a pilot project to hosting 60,000+ visitors across three days with four tournaments, $10,000 in prize pools, and integration with the broader CNE attractions. The CNE itself attracts 1.3-1.6 million visitors over 18 days and offers rides, food, music, esports, and retro gaming alongside pinball competition.

Key Claims

The CNE has been operating for 140 years and attracts 1.3-1.6 million visitors annually
high confidence · Michael Strathmore, CNE manager, stated directly that CNE is 140 years old and draws 1.3-1.6 million visitors depending on weather
CNEPC Gaming Garage attracted 50,000 visitors in year one and 60,000 in year two
high confidence · Michael Strathmore reported specific visitor numbers for the first two years of the event, indicating growth trajectory
The 2019 event will feature four tournaments: one main event, three classics events, and a women's event
high confidence · Eddie D'Orazio and Michael Strathmore confirmed the tournament structure during discussion
Player One is donating approximately 30 new pinball titles for display and tournament use
high confidence · Jerry Power from Player One stated 'about 30 new titles coming down there on display and certainly in tournament mode as well'
CNEPC 2019 will offer $10,000+ in total prize money across all tournaments
high confidence · Michael Strathmore stated 'upwards of $10,000 this year for the pinball tournaments' split across different events

Notable Quotes

“The CNE has been around for 140 years, so we are absolutely a tradition here in this community in Toronto and the greater Toronto area. We are essentially the big party at the end of summer.”
Michael Strathmore @ ~4:30 — Establishes the historical prestige and cultural role of the CNE as a major Toronto institution
“Last year I think it was about 1.3, if I'm not mistaken. We usually get about 1.3 to 1.6. We're talking million, folks, million.”
Michael Strathmore @ ~5:45 — Emphasizes the massive scale of the CNE as a platform for the pinball event
“What makes the C&E unique is that we offer this program, which we're calling the CME Gaming Garage. It's sort of a festival within the festival, if you will.”
Michael Strathmore @ ~12:45 — Defines the positioning of the pinball event as embedded within a larger entertainment ecosystem
“Last year Stern rushed us up the first dead pool to make sure we had it there in time for the CNEPC and I'm sure this year they will not disappoint.”
Jerry Power @ ~31:00 — Indicates manufacturers prioritize CNEPC for game debuts and advance shipments
“Whether you are a hardcore pinball player that's been doing it for years or whether you've never tried, we wanted to have as few barriers as possible so that anyone and everyone could find something to do.”
Michael Strathmore @ ~39:15 — States the core design philosophy: accessibility and inclusivity across skill levels and backgrounds

Entities

Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)eventCNEPC (Canadian National Exhibition Pinball Championship)eventJeff TeelispersonMichael StrathmorepersonEddie D'OraziopersonJerry PowerpersonPlayer OnecompanyDurham Pinball LeagueorganizationSteve MartinpersonAdam Beckerperson

Signals

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business_signal: CNE recognizes pinball/gaming programming as profitable attraction with sustained growth; expanding from pilot (50k visitors) to established program (60k visitors) with year-over-year increases
high · Michael Strathmore: 'Year one was a pilot... huge hit... 50,000 people... Last year 60,000 people... Year three is going to be even bigger than the previous two years'
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community_signal: CNEPC positioning as multi-generational event with explicit mandate to reduce barriers for casual/family players alongside competitive tournament structure
high · Michael Strathmore and Jeff note appeal to kids, parents, and grandparents; Eddie mentions his family attending; Michael states mandate was 'offering something for everyone' with 'as few barriers as possible'
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community_signal: Ontario pinball league ecosystem coordinating collectively to support CNEPC; multiple leagues and operators (Durham, Bluff, etc.) pooling resources
high · Eddie D'Orazio: 'all the leagues in Ontario...have all come together and grouped together' to support the event
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event_signal: CNEPC positioning itself as a major regional pinball tournament filling calendar gap left by defunct Buffalo Pinball Summer Open
high · Jeff Teelis states: 'this is going to be a lot of fun. So let's talk about this... there's kind of been a void in the calendar with the Buffalo Pinball Summer Open now not here'
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market_signal: Cross-border appeal: American pinball players incentivized to travel to Canada due to favorable currency exchange (1 CAD = ~$0.74 USD, making event inexpensive)

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.066

0:00

Well, you can rock and you can roll it, you can fly it, you can stroll it at the X. Hey, you can flip it, you can dip it, you can punch it, you can sip it at the X.

0:11

Come to the exhibition, it's a great tradition, it's the X. It's time for another Pinball Profile. I'm your host, Jeff Teelis. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us, pinballprofile at gmail.com. And please subscribe on either iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Tickets on sale today for the CNEPC, this massive gaming garage at the Canadian National Exhibition, August 16th to 18th. What's it all about? Let's talk to the people that brought it together. Joining us today on Pinball Profile, Michael Strathmore from CNE. He is the manager of attractions and sports and the president of the Durham Pinball League and so much more, my good friend Eddie D'Orazio. Thanks, guys, for joining us. Thanks so much for having us, Jeff. Thanks, Jeff. So the big news is this wonderful event that's happened for the last two years is actually getting a lot bigger, and it's happening at the C&E August 16th to 18th. Now, the C&E goes much longer than that, but this pinball event is happening those dates, which is great because there's kind of been a void in the calendar with the Buffalo Pinball Summer Open now not here. So, boy, the other side of the lake right here in Toronto, this is going to be a lot of fun. So let's talk about this. First of all, Eddie, I remember talking to Steve Martin, who is a good friend of both of ours, when this kind of whole concept began a couple of years ago, and he contacted the C&E and decided, hey, we should have a big pinball tournament there. And boy, oh boy, has it ever grown. Oh, yes. It's grown dramatically, and there's a lot of interest in the events, and we're trying to expand as well and offering not just one event, but offering four events. and hopefully it will entice people to come out to the C&E this year. Well, you know I'll be there, but I do agree with you. I think there are going to be a lot of people, and I've been talking to some of my friends and colleagues south of the border as well. There's a lot of pinball tournaments that we all go to, and some are just pinball tournaments alone. And sometimes you're fortunate enough and you get to go to a great city and you can do some other things. Well, Michael, you've got a great pinball tournament, you've got a great city in Toronto, and this amazing event to do, the C&E, which has been going on for years and years and years, and it's so massive. So before we talk about the pinball tournaments, Michael, talk about what the CNE, the Canadian National Exhibition, is for those who don't know. Well, I'm glad you asked, and you're right. Years and years, you hit the nail on the head there. The CNE has been around for 140 years, so we are absolutely a tradition here in this community in Toronto and the greater Toronto area. We are essentially the big party at the end of summer. We are the place to be for friends and family to come on out, enjoy the waning days of summer before they head back to school, before they head back to work. Lots of attractions here. Something for everyone. Shopping, whether it's rides, whether it's food, whether it's shows, sporting events, you name it. We have something for everyone. Well, the food pavilion is certainly legendary at the C&E. Let the chubby guy talk about that. And the elephant ears. I can smell it already, all the great food at the C&E. It's remarkable. I have to stop myself every time we have one of these events. Again, we're a massive 18 days. we start August 16th, go right through to Labor Day and I have to stop myself each time, each year just to take it all in because you're right there's no shortage of sounds and sights and food to enjoy there's the food building alone we've got another festival called Food Truck Frenzy which will be back this year which is a couple dozen food trucks selling all kinds of wacky food for folks there's absolutely no shortage of fun to have You know what makes this a great pinball event and weekend is what's going on at the C&E. You have got a base for so many different people to go through there. How many people went through there last year? Last year, I think it was about 1.3, if I'm not mistaken. We usually get about 1.3 to 1.6. We're talking million, folks, million. That's right, yeah, 1.3, 1.6 million, absolutely. Some of that's a little dependent on the weather, of course, but there's lots of fun to have inside when it's a bit rainy, including this fantastic pinball event that we're planning. I can't overstate it. This is about 200 acres, this site. And, you know, from when we open the gates at, you know, 10 a.m. right through to when we close the midway at midnight, there's lots of things to enjoy throughout the park for sure. Well, Eddie, who's been spearheading this with all his volunteers, I mean, we've been in conference calls, myself, other people like Adam Becker that you would know, and other people from around Ontario leagues, trying to figure out how we can help Eddie and his staff bring together this amazing event. That's actually, here's what you've got. You've got a main event. You've got three classics events, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and a women's event too. Eddie, this is a big undertaking, but I think you've got it all managed. Yeah, with the help of all the leagues in Ontario, we finally have all come together and grouped together, and hopefully this year will be a great event. that we can build upon it and get many more years out of the C&E. Well, there's a lot of experience, too, that is assisting Eddie. I know Jerry Power from Player One they bringing a lot of games and they been a big supporter for many years and they will again here in 2019 in August Yeah you mentioned people We talked about Adam Becker Jack Tabin who a lot of people know he does a lot with his city pinball Ian Harrower and Walt Moroz, who does bluff. So people that have had experience on the big stage too, at big tournaments and running big tournaments too, because it was just a year ago that the IFPA 15 was at Adam Becker's, and there were a lot of preliminary tournaments, one at your place, one at Walt's, and also at Cabin Fever. So the experience is there. And, again, Michael, Eddie, the timing of this is perfect because, as Michael said, right before school begins, and for the Americans, they still are out of school, and this goes right up until Labor Day or Arbor Day, so a good reason to come to Toronto. But this pinball tournament, I mean, you guys have made it grown and grown. And for those that care, there may be some cash involved in this. And, Michael, maybe you want to talk about that. That's right. We're going to have upwards of $10,000 this year for the pinball tournaments taking place, so we're really excited about that. And those are split up across the different tournaments, so lots for folks to come out and enjoy for sure. So just to talk about the experience that there is to be had here, this event is utterly unique because, you know, I think we can all agree that there's these massive pinball events that take place throughout North America, and they're fantastic. But what makes the C&E unique is that we offer this program, which we're calling the CME Gaming Garage. It's sort of a festival within the festival, if you will. It's our opening three days. The main event, of course, for the CMEs runs 18 days, but the Gaming Garage itself is the opening three days. But, you know, while folks are here, there's so many things to enjoy. You know, for example, there's going to be the 50 greatest photographs of National Geographic that are going to be here this year. We've got a new program called the X-Race, which is this fantastic program. It's kind of an American Ninja Warrior-style obstacle course that people can literally sign up and try to tackle, if you will. We've got these Legends of the Silk Road Come to Light Lantern Festival, as we're calling it. There's these beautiful lanterns that, frankly, if you haven't seen them, you've got to come to our website to check them out because they're just stunning. Michael, what is the website so people can click on it while they're listening to this podcast? It's vx.com, so that's T-H-E-E-X dot com, vx.com. Okay. We'll give that out later as well, too, but TheX.com. One of the things, too, and I don't know how you feel about this, Eddie. I know your daughter has played some pinball, and I've seen a bunch of your family play pinball, but whenever I try to get my wife or family to come play pinball, I mean, sometimes it's good. It really helps when there's something else other than pinball. Well, TheX, as it's known, C&E, is definitely a place where you can see so much, and Michael just touched on some of those, but I mean, the rides. Even the gaming expo itself, I told my youngest son about it. I said, you should see the Fortnite setup that they had last year and the auditorium where people were going crazy watching this. He was like, okay, I'm in.

8:28

Well, Jeff, my kids, as you know, enjoy playing pinball, and they always attend. And my youngest daughter, Sabrina, always partakes in the women's event, and she loves playing the classic pinball games. but she also enjoys the C&E itself and going on the midway rides and experiencing the rest of the park and having that flexibility of not just playing in the pinball event, but also having the ability to walk around the park and enjoy everything the C&E has to offer and have quite the experience. I mean, keeping in mind that the park opens at 10 o'clock in the morning and it goes right up to 10 o'clock in the evening, and it gives you quite a bit of time to enjoy yourself and get familiarized with the park and experience the food, again, with the mid-wave rides, all the vendors that are there. Music, I should add, as well. Music is a huge part of what we do. We've got about seven stages throughout the grounds, the largest of which is the bandshell. And in fact, for folks who didn't notice, this year is the 50th anniversary for Woodstock. So we're going to have, during our opening weekend, a lot of tribute bands playing a lot of great music for folks to enjoy as well. So that's a special treat for the family. If I could just jump in too, Eddie, if you don't mind. That's one of the things that I loved watching about the gaming garage last year, particularly Bimble to start. You know, we have lots of generations of folks that come on out, right? And yes, the gaming garage does have things other than pinball. We've got video games, esports, various tabletop experiences to be had and tournaments to be played. But I found pinball was great in that, you know, we had kids walking around trying to, you know, desperately get the attention of their parents, trying to show them a video game that they are absolutely in love with. But it was really fun to see the parents and grandparents, too, show their kids what they used to play on and what they still play on today, which is pinball, which I'm sure we can appreciate, new for some of the younger folks to try out. So it was such a delight to see dads and moms and granddads and grandmoms being able to show off what they used to do, so to speak. And the kids having an opportunity to go up and play with their parents and grandparents used to play on It such a treat It transcends generations if you will But to answer your question Jeff yes there other e tournaments so we're going to be having a few titles, one per day, dedicated to that. We're going to have, as I said, Dungeons & Dragons. We're going to have tabletop card naming. There's a good chance some of those pinball players will partake in some of the extracurricular activities that may have happened at Woodstock. I don't know what that could possibly be here in the country that has certain things legal. Anyway, that aside, the gaming garage is spectacular, but there is so much more. Okay, let's talk Turkey now. We've got this great event. We've got the main event. We've got three classics and a women's tournament. I'm in. I'm already interested, but how much am I going to have to fork over? How much does this cost to go to this wonderful CNE pinball event? Yeah, that's great. So if you just want to participate and watch, tickets start at a is $16. And that gets you access not only to the CME Gaming Garage, but the entire park as well. And one thing I didn't mention, all of the shows that we put on, whether it's the Lantern Festival, as I alluded to, or whether it's the Woodstock Weekend, which is, again, the 50th anniversary tribute, all of these programs are free with your admission. So it really represents a great value for families. But folks who are looking to participate in tournaments, the daily classics which are $25 each. And if you purchase in advance, that includes your admission as well. And then the main tournament is $75, and that includes your admission for three days, the first three days of the park as well, and the gaming garage. So we've also new this year implemented three-day passes as well. This is for folks that are really looking to get the most out of the C&E Gaming Garage and the park at large. And so they range from $42 to $90. and depending upon which package you choose, you get additional swag, if you will. So, for example, the three-day event pass includes three days of the C&E Gaming Garage and the park at large and that includes an exclusive lanyard and again, that's $42. For folks who are looking for a little bit more of an experience, there's the three-day deluxe pass and again, that's three days of the C&E Gaming Garage and the park at large and that includes the lanyard that we mentioned, plus you get a limited edition t-shirt and you'll get a $10 food voucher. That's across the grounds for you to try some of that delicious food, and that's $60. And for folks who are looking for the most premium experience you can have, we have an aptly titled three-day premium pass. This includes three days of access to the CME Gaming Garage plus the park at large. It includes the lanyard that we mentioned, the limited edition T-shirt, the $10 food voucher, and you also get a ride-all-day pass as well, and that's for $90. And for folks who purchase one of those three-day passes, be that the event pass, the Lux pass, or premium pass, you can add on tournaments for $10. So you can add on those classics for a mere $10 if you're a pass holder. And you can add on the main tournament for $50 if you're one of those pass holders as well. So there's lots of different packages depending upon what an individual's needs are and wants are. There's lots of value there. So, Eddie, as you and I both know, I mean, you were just in Pennsylvania at Allentown. The one thing that Americans will love coming to Canada and coming to Toronto for the C&E is their great American dollar. So all those prices were Canadian, which is chump change for Americans, right? You got it. I mean, if I remember correctly, it's $1.35, $1.40 for one of our dollars. Yeah. So, again, a great time to come to Toronto. But if you've never been, again, I've talked to some Americans that are like, okay, we're coming. We were going to Buffalo anyway. Now we'll just make it around the lake and come and see the X. Because with so much going on at the X, 200 acres of action, music, food, rides, and these great packages where you can go on, oh, boy, the rides all day. You know, you've got to kind of pick and choose the pinball. And what I liked about the prices that you talked about, Michael, is that that's it. It's not like a pump and dump. Here's my one-time fee. That's it. I mean, you're going to spend on other things too, food and stuff, although you do get a food voucher. So this is great value, the American dollar and, again, this price package. What did the C&E think after they've done the first and second year? Because the C&E's really stepped it up this year. Absolutely, yeah. The first year was, as you can expect, it was a bit of a pilot project for us. We were curious. I'd always had a hunch that our customers would enjoy this kind of content. And powers that be, let me run the program. and sure enough, it was a huge hit for us. We had about 50,000 people coming through the Gaming Garage Hall itself. And last year we had 60,000 people coming through. So it's a huge hit for us, and we continue to see this growth for the years to come. So you hit it right on the head there, Jeff. Year three is going to be even bigger than the previous two years. To make the Gaming Garage possible, it takes a lot of games. Now I know a bunch of people from Ontario are donating games, and we talked about them earlier. And he just joined us right now, Jerry Power from Player One. who is one of Canada's biggest distributors and certainly a staple there in the GTA, the Greater Toronto Area. Jerry, how are you, buddy? Fantastic this afternoon. How are you, Jeff? Good, and you have been wonderful as far as donating your great games that we see in your showroom to the CNEPC. So we appreciate that and obviously the people in the free play area do as well It a very worthwhile cause Last year I remember Deadpool the first time first time I ever played it was the CNE PC because you brought that game there so I mean there so many new games coming out this year I assume it be the same with player one And most definitely last year Stern rushed us up the first dead pool to make sure we had it there in time for the CNE and I'm sure this year they will not disappoint. I think we've got about 30 new titles coming down there on display and certainly in tournament mode as well. So, Jerry, tell us what Stern and all the other companies are going to be releasing in the next few months, if you wouldn't mind. No one's listening. You can just let everybody know. Go ahead. Well, actually, as a matter of fact, nobody else is to know about this, but apparently they're coming out with... And then I've got... And then don't forget all... Nobody will know this, but... And then after that, then certainly everybody else has got the regular stuff. Darn phone connection, these cell phones. If we were on a landline, we would have got all those titles. Oh, well, I know your heart was in the right place, Jerry. Thanks. But, again, we do appreciate you bringing out all these games. And, actually, we're probably looking for a few more games. Wouldn't that be safe to say, Eddie? Yes. We're trying to get people to donate some games for the event.