Episode 406: Rob Berk – Pinball Expo 40th anniversary

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·18m 46s·analyzed·Oct 5, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

Rob Burke previews 40th Pinball Expo with 4 factory tours, 1930s area, and Pat Lawlor's final appearance.

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Rob Burke at Yagpin about Pastimes Arcade and the upcoming 40th anniversary Pinball Expo in October. Rob discusses his newly opened 600-game arcade facility in Girard, Ohio, expansion plans for Expo including four factory tours, a 1930s-themed tournament area, expanded homebrew sections, and confirms Pat Lawlor's final appearance as a speaker. The expo is expanding to 100,000 sq ft and expects record international attendance.

Key Claims

Pastimes Arcade has over 600 games set for free play at $20, with approximately 150 arcade games and a staff of 5-6 technicians working Monday-Wednesday to maintain machines
high confidence · Rob Burke describing Pastimes operations
Pinball Expo 40th anniversary will tour four factories in one year, the first time this has happened
high confidence · Rob Burke announcing new Expo feature for 2024
Pat Lawlor will be attending Pinball Expo as a speaker, and this will be his last year doing so
high confidence · Rob Burke making direct statement about Lawlor's final appearance
Expo's main hotel sold out within the first three months of posting availability
high confidence · Rob Burke citing hotel booking metrics as indicator of show magnitude
Pastimes will feature approximately 80 games from Spain and Italy with unique titles and layouts not commonly found in America
high confidence · Rob Burke describing his personal collection focus
The 40th anniversary Expo vendor hall is expanding from 66,000 to 100,000 square feet
high confidence · Rob Burke announcing vendor hall expansion
Expo has more foreign attendees than ever before, with international visitors from Australia, England, Austria, Italy, Japan, Germany, Spain, and Brazil
medium confidence · Rob Burke discussing international attendance trends
A special homebrew game will be debuted at Expo by Bob Niles from Florida
medium confidence · Rob Burke mentioning Bob Niles will showcase a special homebrew for the first time

Notable Quotes

“I always knew I had a lot of games it was a dream of mine to find a place that put those games so several years ago uh i drove by this grocery store that had been empty for many years 30 000 square feet and thought to myself what if”
Rob Burke @ ~6:30 — Origin story of Pastimes Arcade concept, demonstrates long-term vision for the collection
“if I had a choice of going to Pastimes for the Pinball Hall of Fame, it's no brains. I'm going to a place where they take care of the games, where they give you the variety, where they care about the players and want to have people have fun.”
Jeff Teolis @ ~12:00 — Validation of Pastimes as superior alternative to traditional Hall of Fame concept
“this year we're touring four factories. All four factories in one year. I've lost my mind.”
Rob Burke @ ~33:00 — Humorous acknowledgment of unprecedented scope for 40th anniversary expo
“this is the last year Pat Lawler will be at Expo as a speaker. so if you want to see the living legend this is the year you've got to come to see him”
Rob Burke @ ~35:30 — Urgent call-to-action for community to see legendary designer at final appearance
“a lot of these guys aren't getting any younger, number one. And number two, as long as they're still around and able to communicate, you really should make the effort to see them”
Rob Burke @ ~41:00 — Philosophical statement about preserving access to industry pioneers while possible
“there's so much positive momentum going with this show, I hate to bow out because anyone out there that realizes, whether it be Expo or whatever, it's a labor of love for the promoters.”
Rob Burke @ ~44:00 — Explanation for continuing Expo despite 40-year tenure and age considerations
“the last two years, there's a magic in the air, like a love in the air or something. I don't know what it is. But everyone's happy and smiling and just so into everything.”
Jeff Teolis — Captures atmosphere and community spirit that defines modern Expo experience

Entities

Rob Burkeperson Jeff Teolisperson Pastimes Arcadeorganization Pinball Expoevent Pat LawlorpersonYagpineventDerek Thompsonperson

Signals

?
business_signal: Pastimes Arcade maintaining active purchasing of new games despite extensive vintage collection, indicating operator recognition of consumer demand for current releases alongside classic titles
medium · Rob Burke states: 'people still want the new games. So I'm still buying new games as well'
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business_signal: Pastimes Arcade operational scale: 600 games, 150 arcade machines, 5-6 full-time technicians, open Thursday-Sunday, main maintenance window Monday-Wednesday, $20 all-you-can-play pricing model
high · Rob Burke provides detailed operational description of Pastimes infrastructure and staffing
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event_signal: International pinball community participation at Expo strengthening with attendees from Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Australia, England; Brazilian market games being displayed exclusively at Expo
medium · Rob Burke notes 'more foreign attendees than we've ever had' and mentions Brazilian delegation bringing market-specific machines
?
event_signal: Yagpin in Edmonton drawing 240 players from multiple countries (Australia, England, Austria, Italy, and others) just two weeks after IFPA 19, demonstrating robust international competitive circuit activity
high · Jeff Teolis observes international attendees at Yagpin and notes high-ranked player density
~
sentiment_shift: Positive momentum building for Pinball Expo 40th anniversary with record international attendance, sold-out hotel within three months, and vendor hall expansion indicating strong market demand

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.056

0:00

it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teal so you can find everything on pinballprofile.com we're on twitter and instagram at pinball profile great facebook group as well you can email pinball profile at gmail.com and if you'd like to show your support on patreon Not necessary. The show will always be free, but if you'd like to say thanks, patreon.com slash pinball profile. And thanks to wonderful people like Lua W., GME Law, Albert A., Cliff A., Derek K., and others. Well, I'm here at Yagpin right now, and this is a massive event here in Canada, in Edmonton, Alberta. Great job by Derek Thompson and the whole Die Hard Pinball crew and people from all over here. It's only two weeks after IFPA 19, so we have people here from Australia, from England, from Austria, Italy. Daniel Iacari's here. And then I see this guy. I recognize him from Ohio. And talk about a big year in 2024 for him. It's Rob Burke getting ready for the 40th anniversary of Pinball Expo. How you doing, Rob? Great, man, Jeff. It's great to be here. And I can't believe seeing you here, man. Of all people, I've got to represent Canada, right? in my home country and this is the best event in Canada by far. Yeah, to see this many games here and the layout is great and the selection is great and I'm seeing some great players here too. Yeah, there's a lot. 240 players and again, very, very high ranked players but lots of divisions in A, B, and novice and then different tournaments. You've got women's, you've got classics and the pro card too but this is a facility with a lot of machines. It pales in comparison to what you have at pastimes i want to congratulate you you just had your one year anniversary i know roger sharp showed up for that and uh you've got a special diamond there at pastimes well you know it's really crazy because i always knew i had a lot of games it was a dream of mine to find a place that put those games so several years ago uh i drove by this grocery store that had been empty for many years 30 000 square feet and thought to myself what if so uh one thing led the other i We ended up buying it. And the worst part was the time it took to tear everything down and make it presentable. But we've done that, and we have over 600 games set for free play, $20. You play until you drop. And it's really quite amazing for anyone who's seen it. We've had guys come from coast to coast who have been to our place already and some guys from overseas. So it's really been a lot of fun. Oh, you definitely want to check it out for sure. Or my friend Jeff Jorgensen, who plays in my Hamilton League, he came back and he said, oh my God, you've got to check a past time. I'm like, I will. But, you know, the one good thing, yeah, the build-out might have been tough. But you had to be looking at, finally, I've got a place to put all my games. Well, that's for sure. And, you know, it made me realize what all I have because I knew I had a lot of games. But it's just exciting to see him finally on display so people can play him and enjoy him. and I'm realizing that as many games I have and as great as the selection is, people still want the new games. So I'm still buying new games as well. Really? See, now, I agree. There's a lot of fun in new games, but I like the novelty of the older games because you don't see them as often. So the new games, a lot of the occasion will have them, and sometimes that's all they'll have. So the fact you have the variety, and I know I was talking to John Delzoppo, you know, you had a big match play event there. So it's not only a great place to play for $20 all you can play, which is a bargain, but you've had some pretty interesting tournaments, and probably that's going to grow. Well, you know, the one thing, Jeff, that we're doing is for somehow I got hooked on these crazy games that came out of Spain and Italy. So I must have at least 80 games made from that country. And why, you ask? And the reason is they're titles and layouts that we don't have in America. So it's really quite fascinating to see them all. But not only do I have those games, I got one game from Sega Pinball out of Japan called Surfing. That is really bizarre. I got Mark Ritchie's game, Thunderball. I think they made like 10 of them. We have that on display. So all the games in there, and I try real hard to have the variety of all the manufacturers, including some of the offshoots and Allied Leisure and some of these guys, There Aftar from WICO and Bullseye 301 the one that was a very low production run So I mean you see everything at past times And we also have about 150 arcade games And this is all the vintage stuff the Pac the Donkey Kongs on and on and on So it's really being in a time machine to be there to see these games. And it's really something worth taking the time to visit. Were all these games in storage before this? A lot of them were in storage. Some of them were my personal collection in my home I took out of there. Most of them, I say, were in storage. And we just, the time it took. Imagine this. You got 600 games. Bring in 600. Put the legs on 600. Get them lined up at 600. Get them balanced at 600. Putting the heads on 600. Getting them together by manufacturer, 600. I mean, the number of times these games were moved and moved and removed. But we're finally there where it's presentable and it's something really fun to see. What a great legacy. I mean, first of all, you've got another legacy we're going to talk about in a second, celebrating its 40th anniversary. But to have this, and I don't want to take a shot, but if I had a choice of going to Pastimes for the Pinball Hall of Fame, it's no brains. I'm going to a place where they take care of the games, where they give you the variety, where they care about the players and want to have people have fun. And that's what Pastimes is. You know, Jeff, I'll tell you, the other thing is we have got five, six techs working every day, keeping those games running. So we're open only four days, Thursday through Sunday. Starting Monday morning, the techs come in. And they're there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. By closing, for the most part, everything is all up and running. But it takes a big staff, man, I'll tell you. And you just don't realize some of the stuff. And you think after a while these games would fix themselves after being repaired over and over again. But somebody's game just don't cooperate and they keep breaking down. But it's a labor of love. But I think when people come to see him, they'll leave with a smile on their face. So this is Girard, Ohio. And is it kind of in between Cleveland and Pittsburgh? Well, it's closer to Pittsburgh. It's next to Youngstown, Ohio. Okay. Now, you've got this little event in October that's not so little, celebrating its 40th anniversary. It's amazing you kept it going, even during a pandemic, for crying out loud. I was part of the virtual time, and we had a good time doing that. But congratulations, 40 years for Pinball Expo. Yeah, it's been great. And, you know, when I first did it, who would have known it would go this many years? I mean, for me, it was just supposed to be one and done. We recognized the designers and the artists, and we're done. but it didn't quite work out quite that way, and we're still doing it, and I'm still enjoying doing it. And I will say this, this year we have more foreign attendees than we've ever had, all over the world. It's really kind of cool because people that meet these foreign attendees, next thing you know they become their friends, and they're out eating dinner together or lunch, and it really is building the pinball community more and more. I've been to the last five or six, and I've noticed with each one, It just gets better. You take the feedback and you've made changes because of that. That's true. And I try to always add a new dimension to the show because that's true. Any show can get old after a while. The one thing I'm doing, I mean, there's going to be so many surprises, but the one thing is I'm kind of following the 1930s games more and more. And I've got two or three guys that have worked together with me. And we're going to have maybe a 30-foot by 30-foot area with the decor of the 1930s, the old leather couch and the Persian rug and the old 1930s radio. And it'll just set the theme of a 30s tournament. We're going to have probably about 20 to 30 1930s games there. Wood rails. Wood rails, pre-flipper, you know, from the 1930s. so we're going to have a 1930s tournament so that should be a lot of fun you know what, I went to Expo last year and I'm a tournament player and it was the first time I purposely didn't play in the main tournament I never had more fun at Expo than doing everything else because the homebrew section blew me away and just seeing what people do whether it's re-theme, whether it's a whole new creation that's just one small aspect of Expo that's true, and this year we have more Homebrew's coming And I know Bob Niles Out of Florida Has got a special homebrew He bringing this year to the Expo He be showing it for the first time I seen bits and pieces of it and I already put my order in already Let me just say that. But the homebrew is really growing, and there'll be one special homebrew game there that I can tell you. If you see me, say, hey, where is the special homebrew game? I'm not sure if I'm going to cover it up or not before the show so no one sees it, But there's going to be so much happening, guys, that I would just tell your better half that you're going to be staying up late. And you'll be getting up late because you're going to be so tired. But there's going to be so much happening, all in good fun. And people like Jeff who typically go in the tournaments, like you suggested, Jeff, and you're right, there's so much to see in the vendor hall. I missed a lot of it when I was in the tournament. You missed a whole lot of it. So, you know, we have a whole group of people that come for the tournament only, but they really miss a lot of the aspect of the expo, whether it be the educational part, the seminars, the meet and greet. The list goes on and on. The seminars. What a treat, because you've got a great catalog of people that are going to be presenting and giving presentations.

10:35

You've got a bunch of people that are going to be maybe showing new games or getting into the nitty gritty on how some of these machines are made. those are fascinating and i know you've got martin ab from pinball news uh who's a wonderful news reporter and has been for many many years really the the og if you will uh he does a great job covering those that's big and you know i was just at stern and i saw dwight sullivan and he said make sure people know about my let's make a deal uh end of the uh expo seminar because it's a lot of fun it is a lot of fun you know uh something else we're doing new this year guys is uh typically we tour one factory, sometimes two. This year we're touring four factories. All four factories in one year. I've lost my mind. So if you're ever going to come to any show, this is the year to come. And based on the fact that the hotel sold out after the first three months of posting it, just gives me an idea of the magnitude of the show this year. And I don't know where to start. There's so much in the back of my mind I want to tell you about, but I can't. I don't want to kill the surprise. but it's going to be massive in every aspect of it. So if you're ever going to come at least one year, this is the year to come, and we're going to blow your socks off. And don't be discouraged by the main hotel being sold out because there are a lot of hotels in that area, very, very close, very walkable. You don't even need to rent a car, so don't be discouraged. Just look around. Go to Hotels.com or wherever you get your hotels. You'll be able to find a great place, and you'll want to check out. which has expanded the number of days this year. Yeah, well, the extra days for touring the factories. But I will say this. Pat Lawler, who was the dream designer for so many of us, I've got him to come again this year. Out of retirement. But this, he has told me, and I'm telling you out there on radio and TV land, this is the last year Pat Lawler will be at Expo as a speaker. so if you want to see the living legend this is the year you've got to come to see him because he has brought so many great years of talks to the expo the Pat Lawler show we used to call it and he just has done so much for the industry as we all know he's loved by all and it'll be great to see him he's going to give a talk with a panel including Larry DeMora and others of 40 years of pinball. So to commemorate the 40 years of pinball expo, 40 years of pinball that he's been involved with, Laird DeMar, Roger Sharp, and other notables. So they'll be on the panel. It'll probably be at least a two-hour seminar. It'll be on Friday night. But you'll want to see that because Pat Lawler always gives great talks. May I ask? Because I've been to many of those seminars. I know when Elton John was presented last year, it was standing room only and even and then some. You might have a lot of these seminars that are just really jam-packed. Yeah, well, listen, like I said, this is the year to come, and the old expression, shoulda, woulda, coulda. You know, you can always put off and say maybe next year, maybe next year, but I'm just telling you, everyone out there, a lot of these guys aren't getting any younger, number one. And number two, as long as they're still around and able to communicate, you really should make the effort to see them because pinball is a great way of connecting with the dots with people all over the world And you see people from Japan and Germany Italy Spain Brazil We've got a guy coming down from Brazil. I'm not going to say too much more than that. Huge pinball community. Yeah, he's going to be coming down. we have some games coming in this year from Brazil that were made exclusively and specifically for the Brazilian market so those will be on display at the show I don't want to say too much more because then I'm going to start blurbing out more secrets but all I can say is just be ready for so much fun things doing we're going to have also an area for the kids where they can build their own pinball machine of course on a much smaller scale but there'll be parts there, pinball parts where they can glue them together on a like a cardboard sheet or whatever with a crayon maybe to lay on a play field but there'll be some stuff exclusive for the kids so we're trying to incorporate the kids get them indoctrinated to the hobby and by the way for those that remember last year or two years ago we introduced Flippy our little mascot well Flippy's sister will be back, Flippette and several of the family members including the first time we're going to introduce Ant Tilt. I like it. Those mascots were cute. That only happened a few years ago. I was like, that's brilliant. That's good. A lot of photo opportunities for sure. Now, you talked about Pat Lawler doing this. This will be his last time. You've been doing this for 40 years. Mask, it's not going to be 40 more years for you. It's going to be, you know, how many more? Like, this is a big, big undertaking for you. Yeah, it's a great question because even my wife says, are you down one? She asked me to ask you. Yeah. It's not so much one and done, but are you done with this? I guess my thinking is at this time, there's so much positive momentum going with this show, I hate to bow out because anyone out there that realizes, whether it be Expo or whatever, it's a labor of love for the promoters. And I don't care what show you go to, but if a certain promoter steps away from that event, it won't be quite the same. They'll be missing something. In my case, there's so much passion involved in the industry and in doing the shows that I can't imagine anyone having the same level of enthusiasm and passion in running Pinball Expo the way I have. It shows for sure. And like I say, in each of the last six times I've gone, it's just gotten better and better. It can only be elite this year for the 40th anniversary in October. I look forward to it. And I want to thank you, Rob, personally, because whether it was the Pinball Profile World Tour, whether it was the Pinball Profile Played in America Tour, even the Beast August at Pocket Your Billiards, you have been a wonderful supporter of this podcast and the endeavors that I take on. And I want to thank you very much for your support. And that's why I'm glad to do this, to share the word. I mean, everyone knows about Expo, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded, yeah, you want to go to this in October. Well, Jeff, I appreciate it. And it's always great to see you. And you've been a very kind supporter of Expo, which I always appreciate. And, you know, you can't get enough positive press about Expo. And I don't know how to emphasize for some people that never come there. Just, guys, just try it one time. Believe me when I tell you. You'll love it. There's not too many people that say, well, this is a waste of my time. You know, I remember the last two years, there's a magic in the air, like a love in the air or something. I don't know what it is. But everyone's happy and smiling and just so into everything. And by the way, this year we're expanding the vendor hall. We were at 66,000 square feet. We're going up to 100,000. So just for those that want to see a little bit of everything, you won't be disappointed.