It was a dark and stormy night. Welcome to the Spinner's Lit Pinball Podcast. I'm your host Spencer Klingon Tonight's episode, episode 17 Going solo on a dark and stormy night Tonight I'm all by myself Hence the title And it's a dark and stormy night It's January 6th, Sunday, 2018 And tonight we're just going to talk about All the cool stuff that's going to be happening this year 2019 Now that we've rang in the new year And have a lot of wonderful things to look forward to in life And in the world of pinball I'm here at the Kitchen Table Studios Well, I'm not completely solo My sidekick Bud who herded a tree hitting the house And again, it's raining and real windy Been real windy all day We lost power for a little bit But that's okay because we're wireless And Bud's on the job So, Bud, anyway, let's get started. We're going to start talking about all the upcoming shows that are happening this year around the country. It's not a complete list. Some of the shows that I know are going to be happening, there's no information on this year's show yet. So if you go to their website, it's still got information on last year's show. Bud, come here. Sit. Good boy. We're on the air, Bud. Sit down. Good boy. Good boy. Say hi, Bud. Bud's a shelter dog. He's the best dog I've ever had. And he's also a parent in the house. Anyway, so the first show we've got coming up is actually, well, it's a show and a tournament. It's Indisc. It's Bud Won't Stop Barking. It's Indisc. Or It Never Drains in Southern California, which is a major tournament held every year. This time of year This time of year is next weekend January 11th through 13th And that's at Banning, California At the big Banning facility Where they have about 500 pinball machines And who knows how many Classic arcade and video games And you don't have to go Participate in the tournament You can go there, as far as I know And just play games And have a real good time And if you can't make that event They've got another one coming up in March So and we'll get to that Shortly but that's In Bantam, California And that's a real major tournament So if you find yourself in Southern California Next weekend definitely I have not had the privilege of going Yet but I hear it's Definitely a fantastic place to play Pinball and classic arcade Games Up next February 16th In San Marcos Texas so for all you Texas folk Out there South Texas folk Especially The South Texas Arcade Games Expo And that's one day February 16th so I don't have a lot of information on that But if you're in South Texas Definitely worth checking out Because hey you know it's pinball and arcade games And how can you not love that Right We go on to March March 1st through 3rd is the Louisville Arcade Expo. And that's, of course, in Louisville, Kentucky. And that's PIMS and arcades and video games. It's at the Ramada Inn in Louisville, Kentucky. Another show I don't know a whole lot about, but you can look it up online. You folks can Google. You don't need me to do that for you. But that's, you know, another great show we got going on in another part of America. Oh, yes, March 15th through 17th. Arcade Expo 5.0 Banning California again And that's their big arcade expo They have every year And this will be the fifth year they're having it And from what I understand It just gets better every year One of the things I've been told by friends Guests and listeners On this show That have gone at least once Or more than once Is you have to go Because their collection Of pinball machines Is just astonishing You know, the number of classic games they have, you know, early 80s ballets and, you know, Gottlieb. I mean, just everything. Every game you can think of is there. So, you know, they have the newer stuff, too, which is awesome. But, you know, if you want to get your hands on a game you might not have been able to play a lot or haven't played for years or have just been dying to see one in person and play, you know, games like Fathom, Centaur, Skateball, Medusa. some of the ballet titles. You know, what's a Mars God of War, an old Gottlieb System 80, Gottlieb Spirit, games like that. Some other really rare and unique and interesting games. Pretty much they have them all, and they're always looking for help, so don't be shy about volunteering. If you can use a soldering iron, crank a wrench, and even put new flipper rubbers and clean a play field, They can always use the help From what I understand you can get free admission Or get other little benefits by helping out Down there so You can reach those guys on their website Arcade Expo I think it's arcadeexpo.org I didn't write any of this down again You guys have got Google you don't need me for that Take a drink of my evening coffee And they're like don't you have to get up early Yes I do but I just felt the need to stay up late Drink coffee and hang with all you listeners. I do this because I love it. It's not because it's my living. Anyway, oh, if only I could do this for a living. The next big, big, big one is going to be March 22nd through 24th, and that's the Texas Pinball Festival, or TPF. That's in Frisco, Texas at the Embassy Suites. Again, that's March 22nd through 24th and you know again look at their website you guys if you're listening to the show there's a pretty good bet you know about Texas Pinball Festival that one's definitely on my list my bucket list to go to at least once and then not to this in future down I'm going to make this year but definitely one down the road that's becoming the go to show you know throughout the United States and I think maybe even the world is Or one of the go-to shows It's definitely rivaling The original And the mother of them all The Pinball Expo in Chicago And a great industry show And a great place just to hang out And see old friends Meet new ones and play just a butt ton Of pinball A lot of game reveals are there So if you're in Texas or you can get to Texas In March man don't miss TPF And they always have really cool shirts over here too Well on to April and we have the Ohio Pinball and Arcade Show And that in Cuyahoga Park God, I can't read my own writing. Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. I was writing this at the coffee table earlier today, so forgive me, folks. But that's April 4th through 6th, Ohio Pinball and Arcade Show. So I'm going to guess it's pinball and arcade games. And I think they may even have other stuff like retro console games and things like that And then April 12th through 14th The Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin That's another show I'd love to get to someday Hear so many good things about it Mostly from the folks at Spooky Pinball That's their home area show And they have all kinds of cool stuff going on Of course, you know, they have pinball and arcade games Console games Even board games They have cosplay They have just a whole slew of really neat stuff going on So if you're in that area Either you know live or work in that area Or traveling to that area For business or pleasure In April April 12th through the 14th Check that show out Send me an email Send me some pics Post them on Facebook I always love to see other people's shows That I don't get to go to and just see all the cool things, you know, all the people having a good time playing games, man. And then, of course, May 2nd through 4th is the Allentown Pin Fest. Of course, that's in Allentown, Pennsylvania, at the Allentown Fairgrounds. Don't know a lot about that show either, but I do hear people talk about Allentown a lot. So it should be a not-miss show. Again, folks, this isn't a complete list, so if there's a show that I don't have on my list, that you know about, email me at thespinnerslit at gmail.com. Love to talk about it on the show. Hey, if you're an organizer or a volunteer at the show, again, send me an email. That's thespinnerslit at gmail.com. We have you on the show, and you can pitch your show yourself. Or if you don't have time for that or if you're just really shy, you can write me an email. Tell me what you want me to say, and we'll talk about it on the show before your pinball and or arcade show actually happens. Then the home show. It's getting closer and closer and closer. It's 131 days till the Golden State Pinball Festival. May 17th through 19th, the Golden State Pinball Festival at the Lodi Great Festival Fairgrounds in Lodi, California. Big news. Flash. Big news. Just a few days ago, the show artwork for this year's show, the 2019, and the second annual Golden State Pinball Festival. The poster t-shirt art, the show art was revealed. The beautiful artwork done by none other than the very famous, throughout the pinball community and rock and roll community as well, Dirty Donnie. I'm going to mess up his last name. I want to say Giles. I could be wrong on that. Don't hold a gun to my head on that one. Anyway, Dirty Donnie. You know who he is. He did the Metallica artwork on the Metallica game. He did the artwork on Aerosmith and the Pabst Can Crusher. I think he did the Primus artwork on that game. I'll have to double check. But you know who he is. Check out the art. GoldenStatePinball.org. Bud, for Pete's sake, it's the wind. Hey. And the coffee pot. Anyway, ignore the dog. He's a good boy. Bye. ColtonStatePinball.org And you can see that artwork You can see it on all the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram Does Twitter have photos? I don't know, I don't Twitter Right after that May 25th through 27th Is the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown In Denver, Colorado Pinball, I guess it's a pinball show And tournament, they have a tournament there So I'm assuming it's that No, it is Never been to that one either But I had a couple of friends My sometimes now co-host And producer slash Engineer Seth Who's been on a leaky hiatus But he'll be back again soon Love you Seth, can't wait to have you on the show again Anyway, he's been to that one Traveling for business He said it's a pretty great show A lot of rare games show up You don't see a lot of places here on the west coast So, kind of funny how Certain games you'll see all the time In one area of the country or tether And then you hardly ever see them somewhere else You go to another area of the country And there's games you hardly ever see out here But they show up all the time In the Midwest or East Coast or the South Or the Southeast or Southwest Or the Northeast or Northwest I don't know I feel like I'm playing Whirlwind here Did you get that? Anyway so That's the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown Denver, Colorado May 25th through 27th So if you're in the mile-high city thereabouts, you know, breathe deeply. The air is pretty thin up there. And go play some pinball and have a good time. Now we're on to the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show. That's Tacoma, Washington. This is another show I'd really like to attend. It's not too terrible far away, being only two states away up straight up north. That is May 31st Through June 2nd this year And some Tacoma, Washington Of course Interesting show I think it's pinball and arcade games Video games and other arcade games It's also another one of the great shows Like Pinnagogo And the Golden State Pinball Festival That all the proceeds go to Charitable events, if I recall correctly Talking with an organizer some time ago That They give out college scholarships So you know you can go play pinball Play arcade games See old friends make new ones And you know do something good To the local community And help some kids get some higher education So hey win How can you lose with that You can't So go out play pinball Play arcade games And support young people man Help them get a boost up Into the real world And you know You can feel good about what you're doing Let's see where we're at Going down my jagged notes My doctor's handwriting Pintastic June 27th through 30th In Sturbridge, Massachusetts Don't know a lot about that show Heard people talk about it You know mostly online on the forums So if you're going to be in the East Coast Or live in the East Coast Hey man you got a great sound and pinball show Coming up in End of June And then July 12th Or 14th Wow I didn't write this down I kind of suck Okay I'm going to have to do my homework on this one Wow I'm sucking hard tonight I kind of put this together this afternoon So you know again I don't charge money for this and I don't get paid So you get what you get We go back to that one August 1st through 4th is Replay FX in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania That also now the home to Pinburg The largest pinball tournament On planet pinball You guys all know this one If you listen to this show If you play pinball Y'all already know about Pinburg It used to be held at the Papa facility Outside of Pittsburgh It's now held at ReplayFX So Get out there man All you guys get ready to go All you hardcore Competitive pinball players Get ready to go and have a good time And you know Go for the gold And if you're looking just to play a lot of pinball And aren't competing that's okay too Because I know they're going to have a ton of games there Just to play for the people who aren't Going to be playing in the tournaments So have a good time Play pinball That's what it's all about, right? Okay, on to the original. Oh, before the original. I'm sorry. I was going to go right to Pinball Expo. But before the original, we have, hey, you know, the original Northern California Pinball Show, Pinnagogo, October 11th through 13th in Dixon, California. Pinnagogo is still going strong, folks. It's, you know, still maintaining that same down-home atmosphere. I unfortunately had to miss this last year's show. I was at a, uh, uh, a campery with my boys, trail life troop, having a good time, uh, shooting arrows at each other. Yes, we really did that. They had big marshmallow tips on them and we were wearing proper protective equipment, IE airsoft masks and, learning to build fires and learning, uh, higher levels of first aid and all that stuff that, you know, young boys learn when they're out camping in the woods and making s'mores and having a good time. I miss Pinnagogo this year, but hopefully if the stars line up, I'll be back there again next year and playing pinball at the old Dixon Diggs at the Dixon Mayfair Fairgrounds with all you crazy NorCal and Nevada and Oregon and from everywhere else that you show up to Pinnagogo. It's a fantastic show, and like we talked about with some of the other shows, all the proceeds go to help local kids' charities. I think this last year they gave The proceeds again to the Dixon Teen Center which is a great Organization so Pinagogo October You guys know where it is check it out Then we come to The Granddaddy the mother of all Pinball shows Pinball Expo October 16th through 20th Willing Illinois at the Westin Hotel same place It's been for years folks So, you know, what can we say about this one? It's the industry standards It's the original pinball show It's in Illinois, right out of Chicago It's in the backyard of where it all started And where the bulk of the pinball manufacturing still is in America And in the world You got the Stern Factory Tour You got the Pinball Life They have their big party going on You got all the vendors You got the exhibitors You've got all the guest speakers and the seminars. You know, heck, the Stern Factory Tour alone has got to be worth the price of admission, right? You get to see a lot of the new games as they're being released. You get to see a lot of old games. And, of course, you know, you get to play a lot of pinball, see a lot of old friends, and maybe make some new ones. And that's really what pinball is all about. So, Pinball Expo, the big daddy of them all, October 16th through 20th. You guys know where it is. It's in Willing, Illinois. Okay, on to July. Take kind of a break between October and July. Oh, okay, I'm backtracking. Sorry, late notes. California Extreme. It's going to be in July of 2019. The website has no information on it yet on this year's upcoming show. But California Extreme is a great pinball show. It's put on by a great group of people. And it's both pinball And arcade games, video games And you know Pre-video Mechanical arcade games as well It's really something It's in a fantastic venue It's in Santa Clara, California Just you know, Google California Extreme Next few months they ought to be putting up All the information about The 2019 show but I'm pretty sure It'll be in July, it always is This one's a little different It's not really a pinball show per se never been to it either but i know a lot of people go um and they always talk speak very very highly of this show it's uh called grink fest and it's uh in october i don't have dates yet for this year's show just a couple three months back they had this year's show but uh they're most likely gonna have it again in october and it's in a place in eagle idaho and it's called Grinker's Grand Palace I guess it's what you call like a giant Barcade And they have a ton of classic video games But don't you know If you're not into the video games You're strictly a pinball person Don't fret they have a ton of pinballs too Wow I don't even know what that was But something got added on Anyway So yeah Grinker's Grand Palace They have a great Go on pinball map Pinballmap.com that will tell you everything And you need to know about the place They've got a really great selection of classic Pinballs from the late 70's through the 80's And a few of the 90's games as well I think they might have a couple of the newer Sterns but they've got You know a pretty good solid Line up of great pinball Games so if you're from Idaho and you've never been check it Out man email me send me some Photos let me know how it is eventually That's another one on my list of must-go-to shows just because it sounds like such a good time. I have a lot of friends that go to that show every year. With the exception of the one show, which I forgot to write the name down on, I'll get back to that later. We're on a later episode. That's the current list of shows I have. They're pretty much all shows in the U.S. If you're listening to this podcast and you're outside of the continental U.S. or if you're in Canada or anywhere else in the world, or even if you're an American, there's a show I haven't mentioned, please email me, thespinnerislit at gmail.com. I want to hear about your show. I want to pitch in on the show. You know, I want people to know about your pinball show or your arcade show. You know, we need to get the word, continue to get the word out, man. This is, you know, the internet, free advertising-ish. Anyway, so don't be shy, man. Shoot me a line and let me know. I'll say, hey, Spence, you forgot us. Well, I didn't forget. I just didn't know. Or maybe I did forget. I do that occasionally. All right. A couple of kind of things I want to mention, shout-outs, if you will, to Project Pinball. A lot of you probably know about Project Pinball and the work they do. And if you don't, even if you do, well, you can hear it again. But if you don't, Project Pinball, what they do is they wrap a lot of pinball machines, brand-new in-box machines, Mostly Sterns but they also do other Manufacturers as well And they take the money they make From those raffles And they invest it into other pinball machines And they put those Pinball machines in children hospitals All over the country That an amazing thing You know somewhere In a city near you or a town near you There's a sick kid In the hospital for who knows what reason But they've got something and They need something to cheer them up man Wow what can do that Better than a pinball machine you know Well I'm sure there's other things that could But you know if I was a sick kid in the hospital For hours and days at a time And I had nothing to do I'd sure love to have a pinball machine to bang on So that's Project Pinball Projectpinball.org Is their website And you can go on there and see what Raffles they currently have Currently they got a raffle $50 per ticket They limit that to 200 tickets So you got a 1 in 200 chance To win a Stern Pro Pinball Machine They also have for $75 a ticket They're raffling off a Stern Premium Pinball Machine Same kind of thing You picked a game that's currently in production Should you win And that's $75 a ticket All the proceeds go and help out sick kids Put a smile on their face So it's a win-win either way And you can even donate without buying a raffle ticket If you feel so inclined They've also got another $75 per ticket raffle right now for a Beatles gold pinball machine. So if you're wanting to maybe get a chance to win a Beatles gold pinball machine, $75 and you're helping out kids, man. How can you lose? So it's projectpinball.org. Up next, pinball map, man. You know I was checking out My family and I have been discussing Possibly moving From the great state of California In the not too distant future That will be a while So it will be a distant future But we're going to Take a look around some places We might find suitable And Idaho being one of them So I was looking on pinball map In the Boise area A lot of good places to play pinball A lot of good games No matter where you are Including Tokyo, Japan Because it's on the Pinball Map Pinballmap.com If you're traveling Or just whatever town you live in And if you find a game On location And it's not on pinballmap.com It's user friendly You can add that game You can even upload pictures of the game Isn't that cool? And it don't cost nothing Anyway, so check out pinballmap.com Support Pinball Map However you can And support Project Pinball So they're two great things They're two great for the hobby And help out folks in different ways Big shout out to Alex Lambert Alex will come on the show sometimes And do trip reports for us Alex yesterday Won the CCPL Capital Corridor Pinball League Interleague Year End Championships So he's the 2018 CCPL Interleague champion congratulations Alex Job well done sir Bravo bravo Bravo Bravo Good job buddy You did great we're proud of you You're a hell of a good player I know because he's beat me A lot Alex is just a really good dude He's a righteous dude we love him And we're real happy that you won this year But look out next year man Because, you know, I'm going to give you some stiff competition. I say that now. I'm going to fold like a cheap suit. Anyway, congrats to Alex. Can't wait. The new season for Lodi starts this coming Thursday. Yay! After like a five-week hiatus, dying to play some competitive pinball. Well, man, that's about the shortest show I've ever done. Got one more shout-out. Last episode I gave some shout outs To some old Navy buddies And there's one I've talked to recently And communicated on Facebook And somehow it just slipped my mind So to Paul, PJ Hawkins If you're listening brother Up in Washington I miss you and I love you brother So man just keep being The funniest human being I've ever had The privilege of knowing And sharing the bill with And being either drunk Or really hung over and going to find the ugliest pair of sunglasses in the Hawaiian Islands. So, PJ, remarkable. He'll know what that means. All right, folks, this is a short one, under 30 minutes. I think that's about all I have for tonight. Just wanted to get a quick episode out there and talk about upcoming shows. And for the love of God, Bud, will you stop? And, you know, just a reminder, everybody, man, it's 2019. There's a whole lot of cool stuff going on This year There's all kinds of pinball shows And tournaments And leagues If you're not involved in any of it And you want to be Look online Find a local club Or organization You know Ask how you can get involved Bud for Pete's sake it's the win Oh good gravy Anyway You're a handful You know Go out and play pinball on location If you've got a couple of games Invite some people over It's the easiest way to get started It's just by Stepping out of your comfort zone Holding out your hand and saying Hi I'm Eskidinichi You like pinball? Hey so do I Hey there's a great place down the street that has pinball Let's grab a burger and a brew and go play pinball Hey come to my house and play pinball Hey, you know what? My buddies and I are starting up a league Or, hey, we're going to start an informal group Just get together and play a couple times a month Whatever, man But just keep passing the torch along Pay it forward Make 2019 the best year for pinball ever Oh, yeah, one more announcement-ish Most of you already know about this by now And if you don't, well, I'll tell you about it The CES, the Consumer Electronics Show Starts tomorrow And they should be, should be, supposed to be Rumor anyway Most likely going to be unveiling the new Stern game the monsters So look online for that I'm very excited hey it's new pinball I'm always excited for new pinball So I'm going to leave you with that folks And we're going to cue the intro Music want to say Thanks for listening thanks for your support You know how to find us you can find us on iTunes of course You can find us on Acast And our home where we Mainly broadcast the show into and shoot it out to the interwebs all over the universe on Planet Pinball. What the hell is it called again? Oh, yeah, SoundCloud. Anyway, everybody have a good week. And you guys know the words. Play pinball. Keep America strong. Thank you.