PINBALL EXPO '92

                       (There - They Did It Again!)

 

                              by Russ Jensen

 

 

     For the 8th consecutive year "the best of them all" - Pinball Expo '92

- was held in Chicago, again at the Ramada O'Hare.  This year, however, the

show festivities started a little earlier, beginning with the annual

pinball plant tour at 1 PM on Thursday November 12.

 

     Even though this show had been originally touted as a "four day event"

I thought that this meant that the Exhibit Hall would be open on Thursday

evening.  It was not until I had already purchased my non-refundable

airline ticket that I discovered I would  have to miss the plant tour, my

flight not arriving in Chicago until 2 PM on Thursday.

 

     I didn't feel too bad, however, missing this year's plant tour as I

had visited the Premier facility at two past Expos.  Even if I had known

ahead of time I don't believe my travel plans would have been changed

because my flight was the earliest Thursday AM flight from L.A. (except for

the "I'll never do it again 'redeye'") which I could have taken.  Leaving

the previous evening would not have been financially practical due to the

high (and growing higher each year) cost of the hotel room (now over $75

per night).

 

PREMIER SOLID STATE SYSTEM

 

     Well, after arriving in Chicago that afternoon, traveling to the hotel

via their shuttle bus, and checking into my room, I proceeded to where the

tour wrap-up and solid-state system discussion session was to be held.  I

discovered that that session had not yet begun due to a mix up in busing

the last tour group back to the hotel.

 

     When the session finally began Expo host Rob Berk, after apologizing

for the delay, introduced Premier employee John Buras who asked for

questions from the audience.  No one seemed to have any at that time.

 

     John then proceeded to give us a brief history of the Gottlieb solid-

state game systems.  He told us that he had been with the company since

1973 and remembered their first solid-state game, CLEOPATRA, produced in

1978.

 

     Two years later, John went on, they introduced their electronic system

which they dubbed "System 80".  In 1985 he said they began using alpha-

numeric displays.  Then in 1989 he told of their new system which was first

used on LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION.  John told how they always listened to

operator's complaints about their games and tried to address these

concerns.

 

     John next discussed many technical details of their solid-state

system, including CMOS technology, board organization, and playfield

scanning schemes.  Concerning their latest system, John told of their

"Display Controller Board" (which can drive 96 lamps and 32 solenoids), a

"tournament switch" to change game characteristics for tournament play, and

their new "smart switches" which use piezo-electric film technology.

 

     At that point John again asked for questions.  When questioned about

price increases in their new games, John replied that there had been a

slight one but in return the operators got games which were more reliable.

He was then asked if the electronics changed for each new game and replied

that the basic circuit boards were the same.  When asked if their chips

were safeguarded against static, John answered that this was not a big

problem with the newer CMOS technology.

 

     John was next asked if they planned to use "electronic flippers" to

which he replied "no", but that several other options are being examined.

When asked if a printer could be connected to their games, he replied that

a "communications board" could be added to provide that capability.  When

then asked about their built-in diagnostics, John briefly described what

tests they now provided.

 

     John was also asked if they were considering the use of fiber-optic

cables in their games? He replied they had looked into it but that there

were manufacturability problems connected with such production.  He was

then asked if their was a possibility of diagnosing game problems

electronically via a telephone line and a modem?  John said that that could

be possible in the future, but that not all locations would be easily

adaptable to such a system.

 

     Finally, John was asked what type of processor their current games

employed?  He replied that they still used the "6502" which he called "the

workhorse of the industry".  John ended by offering us some 'goodies'

(small plastic parts, etc.) which he had brought from the factory.

 

"LEARN TO PLAY PINBALL" SCHOOL

 

     The last Thursday afternoon session was billed as "Learn to Play

Pinball - Hands-on workshop".  At the start everybody in the audience was

handed slips with numbers between 1 and 10 on them.  At that point Rob Berk

got up and introduced Richard Shapiro from Louisville Kentucky who came up

with the idea for this session.

 

     Richard told us that he had attended three Expos, the Arizona Pinball

shows, and one AMOA show and had decided that he wanted to take some

lessons from the experts who play in the tournaments.  He then introduced

the five players who volunteered to participate.  Each of them then got up

and introduced themselves and told of their pet techniques for successful

tournament play.

 

     Lyman Sheets was first and he began by saying that he "was not as good

as Rick and Dave" having played his first tournament at last year's Expo.

He then said he started practicing and then went to New York to play in the

PAPA tournament where he "did all right"".  After that he told us he won

the "doubles" at the IFPA tournament and came in second at the Arizona show

the past June.  He ended by telling us that he thinks that "trapping" the

ball is most important.

 

     Next up was Dave Hegge who had won at two Expos and the IFPA

'singles".  Dave next told of being invited to Australia to play (more

about that later).  He then told us that he thinks the main factor in good

pinball play is "good aim".

 

     Rick Stetta was next to speak.  He had won at PAPA, the first IFPA,

and the last two Expos.  He said he competes in all the major tournaments

and had won 4 out of the last 8 he had played in.  Rick told us he had been

playing pins since age 10 (he was now 31) and that he would continue "until

my hands fall off".  Rick then went into considerable detail about various

playing techniques.

 

     Following Rick was Julia Slayton who began by saying "don't play like

me - I do everything wrong".  She then told of winning the "women's

division" at the last Phoenix show and also at IFPA in Milwaukee and the

last Expo.  She then said that she had not been playing for too long

because as a girl she was not allowed to play pinball.  Julia ended by

saying that you have to learn a game ahead of time, and also put in hours

of practice.

 

     Last to speak was Premier designer Jon Norris (who incidentally

designed the game used in the qualifying rounds of the Expo tournament).

Jon had previously won the manufacturer's class trophies at the last Expo,

the first and second IFPA tournaments, and Expo '87,  Jon told us he had

been playing since the 1970's and then advised us not to practice

specifically for a tournament.

 

     Jon then told us that game designers have to put things in their games

that the players appreciate.  He then said that practicing playing

techniques was very, very important to become a good player, and that you

should own your own machine to avoid having to spend a lot of money at

arcades.

 

     After the 'champs' had finished speaking, the people in the audience

holding numbers between 1 and 5 were asked to gather around five games set

up in the room, each group with a different champion instructor.  The

people holding numbers 6 through 10 were asked to go out of the room and

return in 30 minutes for their lessons.

 

     My group had Lyman Sheets as our tutor who gave us detailed

demonstrations of his ball trapping techniques.  The machines used for

this, by the way, had their top glasses removed so the teachers could

handle the ball.

 

     After our training the other group waiting outside were let in and

similar training conducted for them.  After that, I was told later, there

was a short question and answer session, but I had gone already in search

of dinner, I believe.

 

     At 6 PM that evening the Exhibit Hall was open for the first time, but

more about that later.

 

OPENING REMARKS

 

     The opening session on Friday morning was scheduled to be the "Opening

Remarks" which was to start at 8 AM.  After some delay Rob Berk got up on

stage and introduced a "special speaker", Steve Kordek, who he reminded us

now had a total of 50 years in the industry, who he referred to as "Mr.

Wonderful".

 

     Steve told us that he has been asked the question "where have we come

from, where we're going, and why?  He then told us that the longest "down

period" for the pinball industry was during World War II.  Steve said that

during that period seven or more companies 'revamped' older games to come

up with 'new' ones.

 

     Another down for games, Steve went on, was in the mid 1950's when the

bar game of "bumper pool" was quite popular.  He then told of another slump

in the mid 80's brought on by video games, but said Williams' 1984 pingame

SPACE MISSION started pin popularity on a rise again.

 

     When Rob told Steve he had two more minutes to talk, Steve praised his

present staff at Williams/Bally/Midway and their currently popular ADDAMS

FAMILY game.  Steve ended by telling us "I hope I'm here for awhile

longer".

 

     At that point Rob Berk came up and welcomed all of us to their 8th

Expo.  He said that this year they had started a little earlier, and would

probably continue that in the future.

 

     Rob next commented that 38 people had missed this year's plant tour,

then telling about the "Flip-Out" tournament with the finals this year

being held on Sunday.  After that Rob told of the spouses shopping tour

(which consisted of the hotel providing transportation to the subway), the

midnight movies (Tilt and Tommy), the art contest, autograph session, and

the raffle which would be held this year.

 

     Rob next introduced the author of the new pinball art book from

Germany, Heribert Eiden.  Heri (as he prefers to be called) told of the two

years of work he put into the book.  He said he sent letters to several

publishers before getting an acceptance.  The book (called simply "Pinball

Machines" in the English version) was originally published in German, then

translated into French, and finally into English, just in time for this

show.

 

     Finally Rob introduced his Expo partner Mike Pacak.  After welcoming

us, Mike said that the Exhibit Hall went well the previous evening and then

talked of the game auction scheduled for 10 AM Saturday.  He then told us

where the banquet would be held this year.

 

ALVIN G. & COMPANY - FROM THE BEGINNING

 

     Rob then introduced the presenters of the next session, Mike Gottlieb,

Ed Schmidt, and Jerry  Armstrong who were going to tell us all about their

new company, "Alvin G. and Company".

 

     Ed Schmidt started by telling us that those who attended the Expo were

"real diehards", and then quipped that we all must be "brain damaged" to be

involved with pins.  He then told us that he understands how we 'love'

pingames, and that it's always a pleasure for him to talk to us.

 

     Ed next told us that he had been in the industry since around 1962

when he started working for Chicago Coin.  After that, he said, he worked

for Bally for many years and now is with Alvin G., which he told us was

founded by Alvin Gottlieb, of course.  The company, he went on, started as

"A. Gottlieb and Co.", was changed to "A.G. and Co.", and then to it's

present name.

 

     Ed continued, saying their company was "making history" today and that

we will be talking about them for years to come.  He said that in a smaller

company it is easier to do things.  Ed then told us they started with a new

concept (Soccer and Football table style games) and that it's exciting to

see what's unfolding, including their foreign markets.

 

     He then said that he and Mike Gottlieb had recently traveled all over

the world and that it was amazing to see the excitement over games in

different cultures.  Ed then told a story about something which happened to

he and Mike during a recent trip to England.

 

     He said they were working 20 hours a day while they were there and

that one day while walking down a street Mike spied one of their SOCCER

BALL games in a location with a sign in the window advertising an upcoming

tournament.  Ed said they went in and introduced themselves to the

technician working on the game who didn't believe them.

 

     He said the guy wasn't treating the machine very nicely and that the

next day (Sunday) they came back and worked all day on that game, telling

us they "really had commitment".  At that point Ed introduced Mike

Gottlieb.

 

     Mike began with a brief history of the company which he said started

with his father, Alvin, getting his "smart flipper" patent and that they

started with three people.  Since then, he went on, they have increased to

125 people.  He then told how they originally planned to have Premier do

their manufacturing, but that when they became too busy to help Alvin G.

and Company had to set up their own manufacturing facilities.

 

     Mike then told of their latest game, WORLD TOUR, which was their first

conventional style pingame.  Again talking about their manufacturing

facility, he told us that it was 63,000 square feet and had the capability

of producing 100 games per day, although they were now producing about 30.

Mike then introduced the other panel member, Jerry Armstrong.

 

     Jerry began by saying that Ed and Mike were hard to follow, adding

that they were really good salesmen.  Jerry then told us that at the

company he "wears a lot of 'hats'".  He then also gave a brief history of

the company.

 

     Jerry told us when they started running out of space they discovered

that Gottlieb Memorial Hospital owned a large building (the ex Sloan Valve

plant) which the hospital would not be using for years, so they were able

to use it for their manufacturing facility.  He went on to tell about the

company needing distributors for it's games, so they started advertising

for some.  At that point the audience was asked for questions.

 

     Rob Berk first asked when WORLD TOUR would be available for viewing?

The answer given was "later that afternoon" (but in fact it was never shown

due to last minute problems with the game).  It was next asked if they

would support tournaments?  Mike answered saying that was a good question,

adding that he thought tournaments are a fantastic way to create public

interest in pins, then telling us that WORLD TOUR would be used for

tournaments after it is "doing well".

 

     When asked how many advance orders they got before starting to

manufacture a game, the answer given was approximately 400.  When asked if

they were using anything from Premier, the answer was "no, only proprietary

parts".  We were then told that they have their own 6502 processor

operating system which was similar to Premier's, but different.

 

     Rob Berk then asked who in the company does the designing, etc.?  Mike

answered by first saying that they all need to understand "all aspects of

the business".  He then said that Jerry, Alvin, and himself are the "design

team", but also do some 'grunt work'.  He then told us that he does a lot

of the "conceptual work" and that Jerry did the drawings for the designs.

 

     The last question asked was who did their artwork?  It was answered

that that was done by Don Hughes, Tim Elliot, and Andy Reynolds, Mike

remarking that everyone should be surprised by the WORLD TOUR artwork.  He

ended by telling us that they were also trying to get Dave Christensen.

 

PINBALL TOURNAMENT AND LEAGUE PLAY

 

     Rob Berk introduced the two speakers for the next presentation,

"Tournament and League Play".  They were Steve Epstein owner of the

Broadway Arcade in New York City and promoter of the PAPA ("Professional

and Amateur Pinball Association") leagues, and Doug Young the Executive

Director of AMOA's IFPA ("International Flipper Pinball Association").

Before they began speaking a short video was shown which was used to

promote PAPA activities in New York.

 

     Steve Epstein next welcomed us and then told how his PAPA leagues were

started 3 years earlier and now provided the largest money prize ever

offered.  He then told us how the operators were really supporting his

efforts this year, and that they were going to have "singles", "doubles",

and "everything you can do with pins".

 

     Doug Young next told us that it was nice to be there this year.  In

the last three years, he said, their IFPA tournaments have given away much

money to winners and have received great support from the game

manufacturers.  He then described the IFPA and how it was founded by the

AMOA to promote pinball leagues and sponsor tournaments.

 

     Doug went on to tell us that they had 80 machines in their first two

tournaments and that their next one in May should be quite exciting.  He

then told us that last year's winner in the "pinmaster division", Dave

Hegge, had subsequently been invited to play in Australia and then asked

Dave to tell us about it.

 

     Dave began by telling us that his invitation to Australia was quite a

surprise.  He said they first flew him to Sydney, and that he eventually

visited 5 capital cities, having a news conference in each of them held at

an arcade from the largest chain in the country, called "Time Zone".

 

     Dave also said that he participated in three live TV shows (which he

said were similar to "David Letterman") hosted by a fellow named Danny

Boniducci.  In addition, he said, he was interviewed on 10 taped TV

newscasts and 15 radio shows.  There were also, he went on, 15 newspaper

and magazine articles, adding that the enthusiasm for pinball there was

"unbelievable".

 

     After telling us that one of the highlights of the trip for him was to

see a live baby Koala bear on "Save the Koala Day", Dave said he also met

local movie  stars and was even photographed with a "Penthouse Pet".  He

then told of several things which surprised him during the trip.

 

     First, Dave said, was how many locals showed up at the interviews,

many asking for his autograph.  Secondly, he went on, was how popular

pinball was, with people lining up to play at a cost of $1 per game.  Dave

ended by saying he was treated "excellently" which made it all worthwhile,

adding that he never thought anything like that could ever happen to him as

a result of playing pinball.

 

     When Dave finished, Doug referred to him as "Hurricane Hegge".  Steve

then commented that he feels strongly that there will be a strong

international competitive area for pins.  A short video was then shown

consisting of various TV news clips regarding pinball tournaments.

 

     At that point the audience was asked for questions.  The panelists

were first asked if they had seen the "Entertainment Tonight" show with

Elvira which was shown after the previous Expo?  They answered they had

not, adding that they would try to get a copy.

 

     Steve then said that he wants to excite us to get into tournament

play, and to get us to tell our friends about it.  He then told of meeting

Aaron Benedit from Canada two years earlier and how Aaron went back to

Canada and started a league program in his home area, which started

spreading throughout his country.

 

     Steve then told us that 5 or 6 of his PAPA players were at the show,

suggesting that we talk to them about tournament play.  Finally he

commented that charity tie-ins are good for pinball tournaments because the

media "loves this" and it helps overcome negative comments which are often

made regarding pins.

 

     Doug was then asked where the next IFPA tournament would be held, to

which he answered May 21 through 23 in Milwaukee.  Steve was then asked if

PAPA would have "single flipper doubles" play (one person at each flipper

button)?  He answered that they would, calling that "Zen Pinball".  When

asked if they would have a "Youth Division" he said they would.

 

     When next asked to what they attribute their good media coverage to,

the answer given first was "the game".  We were then told that they send

out many news releases and use charity tie-in whenever possible.

 

     The final question regarded something referred to as "Flippin' for

Kids".  Steve said that was a charity event sponsored by Variety Clubs

International.  Two hundred locations were said to participate, with Subway

Sandwich Shops donating sandwiches, and Williams donating a GETAWAY pingame

as a prize.

 

"NAME THAT GAME" GAME

 

     At that point Rob Berk got up and introduced Canadian Aaron Benedit

for the next event which he called "Name That Game".  Aaron told us that he

first attended Pinball Expo '90 and later helped promote the PAPA

tournaments.  He then told us that this year's game was similar to the one

he conducted last year, except that we will be answering questions about

pinball features, etc., rather than identifying voices.  Aaron then asked

us 20 questions which we were to answer on forms provided to us.

 

     The prizes, Aaron told us, would be T-shirts, one for the

manufacturer's winner and another for the 'players' winner.  The results of

the game were to be announced at the banquet Saturday night, but more about

that later.

 

34 THINGS NOT TO DO TO A PINBALL MACHINE

 

     Rob next introduced Expo regular Tim Arnold, who he said "came from

'Planet X'", and has the world's largest pinball collection, consisting of

more than 800 machines.  Tim then gave out handouts covering the topic of

his talk which was billed as "34 Things Not To Do To a Pinball Machine"

(actually there turned out to be 39, and they were both "do's" and

"don't's").

 

     Tim began by warning us not to use metal tools on a solid-state game

with the power on.  Next he told us to not ignore the ball, always making

sure it was clean and smooth, and telling how to make it that way.  He next

said that "contact cleaner" is "evil", suggesting we use a fine file to

clean contacts on electro-mechanical games, but not on solid-state.

 

     The fourth item on his list was not to bundle game legs with tape, but

use wire instead.  After reminding us not to ship games with the balls

inside, Tim warned us not to use abrasive cleaners on playfields,

recommending creamy car wax.

 

     Tim continued with the 7th point, not to pry open coin doors, but to

drill out the locks instead.  He next told how to brace a score reel while

cleaning it and to check all solder joints on them.  Following this, he

told how to use solder to fix poorly contacting lamp sockets.  Tim next

warned of being careful using solder since it was made using lead which is

basically toxic.  He next advised us to buy only good 60/40 rosin core

solder.

 

     Point number 12 was involved with packing games for shipment,

suggesting that a board be strapped over the glass, using bicycle boxes for

packing, and using pallets.  Next we were advised to replace the thin

flange flipper bushings and to bolt them through the playfield.  He next

advised us to use new "feet" (leg levelers) on our games.

 

     Tim's next three suggestions ware to not buy cheap "super glue";

always use tempered glass; and to store games on pallets when not in use.

Next it was suggested that we replace poor glue used in many cabinet

joints.  We were then told to replace the 22 gauge wire normally used

between flipper coils and their "end-of-stroke switches" with heavier 18

gauge lamp cord wire.

 

     Tim's next two points concerned tightening coin door hinges and

letting a game warm up to room temperature before turning in on when

bringing it in from a cold area.  He then talked of some problems with the

newer Gottlieb solid-state power supplies.  After that Tim talked at length

regarding ways to improve the use of playfield screws.

 

     Item 25 was concerned with the difference between A.C. and D.C. game

components.  Next he advised removing batteries from solid-state games when

stored.  He then talked of the dangers of using playfield prop sticks,

followed by advice to "not make fun of Wayne Newton" (one of his Las Vegas

jokes).

 

     Tim next discussed the two types of pinball coils (solenoid and

magnet) and warned us not to operate a solenoid without it's plunger

inserted in it.  His next discussion centered around replacing nylon

flipper linkages.  Tim then talked about "equalizing grounds" in solid-

state games.

 

     Following some advice to use a toothbrush to clean playfield posts,

and to keep your games out of direct sunlight (believe me, it does fade

paint!), he talked about adjusting "knockers" to get the proper sound.  Tim

then told how to re-ink bumper caps whose lettering is fading.

 

     Tim's last three topics involved "beer sealing" playfield glasses;

oiling metal motor gears; and how to remove the game's "coin lockout

coils".  Tim then asked for questions from the audience.

 

     It was first asked if one should attempt to replace the small metal

contact points on the ends of switch blades?  Tim answered "no", saying

that you should replace the entire switch blade.  Steve Young then

commented from the audience that points were not too hard to replace if you

use long-nosed pliers to seat them.

 

     Finally, Tim was asked if backglasses could be sprayed with "Krylon"

to protect the paint from peeling?  Tim answered that he didn't think that

product was heavy enough, adding that Steve Young's product "Cover Your

Glass" was better.  When someone then commented that Krylon worked well on

slot machine glasses, Tim commented that better ink was used when making

them than used on pinball glasses.

 

PINBALL TODAY PANEL

 

     Rob Berk next introduced the panelists for the next event "Pinball

Today - Where It Is And Where It's Going".  Alvin Gottlieb, he said, was

the son of D. Gottlieb and Co. founder David Gottlieb, who was head of his

company for over 35 years.  Ed Cebula, he went on, has been in the industry

since the 1940's, working for such companies as Buckley, Jennings, Chicago

Coin, Game Plan, and now Data East Pinball.

 

     Rob then told us that Gil Pollack had worked for Gottlieb for 20 years

and eventually bought the pinball operation, calling it Premier Technology.

Finally, he said, Roger Sharpe was once "Mr. Gentleman's Quarterly" (having

once been an editor at that magazine), later designed several solid-state

games in the 1980's, and currently is Director of Marketing at

Williams/Bally/Midway.

 

     Roger began by asking "where are we going?"  He said he has heard a

lot of people complaining about today's more complex games, but that they

must produce "what the market demands".  He then remarked that "every game

is perfect for it's era", adding that everything in the world continues to

evolve.  Roger then told us to look at the changes in pins in the past two

years, saying that "we're now at the brink".  He ended by remarking that

the future for pingames is still viable and entertaining and that they now

have a whole new audience to satisfy.

 

     At that point Rob Berk posed the always controversial question of "one

dollar play".  Gil Pollack was first to comment saying play prices have to

increase, but that a dollar coin is needed.  He then said the increased

cost of the equipment and it's maintenance which the operator bears has to

be passed on to the player, adding that quarter play for pinball today is a

rarity.  Ed Cebula then commented "that's the way it has to go".

 

     Rob Berk next asked Ed what Data East was doing to decrease the

maintenance cost for their games?  Ed replied that they use comments from

operators in the field to determine what usually breaks down and try to

improve it by using better materials, etc..  Alvin Gottlieb then commented

that they could produce games which require very little service, but they

would probably have to be too high priced for operators to afford.

     Someone from the audience next asked about the possibility of

manufacturing games outside the country?  Gil replied that they had looked

into that in the past but decided not to because they need a short lead

time, and it's cheaper to maintain local facilities.

 

     Rob Berk then asked Roger about competition in game licensing?  Roger

answered that when licensing began in the 1970's and 1980's there was

"cross pollination of the entertainment arts", but that today licenses are

more selective.  He went on to say that people today like things connected

with recognizable people (celebrities, etc.).  Roger then remarked that

licensed pins have done well for Data East.  He then compared licensed pins

with "designer labels" on clothing.

 

     Finally Roger commented that hopefully the play theme of the game can

be involved with the licensed property, using their current ADDAMS FAMILY

license as an example.  He then added "good art gets the first quarter, but

a good game gets the rest".

 

     Alvin Gottlieb next remarked that in today's global economy, with the

world tied together by satellites, people in other countries recognize our

celebrities as well, telling about an incident involving this which

happened on a recent trip to Tahiti.

 

     Gil then commented that his company, Premier, hasn't gone to the full

extreme with licensing, believing that there still is room for non-licensed

games.  Ed Cebula then said that Data East was strong on licenses, telling

of some of their current ones: TALES OF THE CRYPT, BULLWINKLE, etc..  He

then added that side effects of licensing (toys, games, etc.) help get

young people into pins.

 

     Rob Berk then asked about the increased foreign market for pins?  Gil

responded by remarking that outside the U.S. the market for pins is "huge".

He then talked about the Italian Add-A-Balls in the past, then saying that

today the foreign market is more mature.  He ended by telling us that the

South American market is getting stronger, and that Australia and Taiwan

were also good markets for games, adding that the European market is

stronger for Premier than the U.S., providing a majority of their sales.

 

     Alvin Gottlieb next commented that the new "dot-matrix" displays, with

their 'flash' and crude video, which are now coming into vogue, are a sign

of what's coming, adding that they may even go to LED displays or something

with "tremendous flash".  He then told us that you have to give the public

what it wants (action, etc.), remarking that certain basic patterns will go

on forever.

 

     The panel was next asked about "redemption" games where tickets are

given to winners which are redeemable for small prizes.  Gil said that

Premier is also in that market.  The kid's pinball, MUSHROOM WORLD, which

was displayed in the Exhibit Hall was mentioned as an example of this idea.

 

     Rob Berk next inquired about possible changes in pinball cabinets?  Ed

Cebula first commented that you couldn't make much change due to budget

constraints. 

 

     Gil then told us that Gottlieb once tried a fiberglass cabinet in the

early 1980's, but they did not hold up like wood, adding that they also had

to make changes in their manufacturing process.  He then said there has

been some talk of experimenting with plastic playfields.  Alvin Gottlieb

then commented that they had tried Aluminum laminated over plywood, but

that produced "insurmountable problems".

 

     Someone from the audience next asked about competition among today's

pinball manufacturers?  Roger Sharpe answered "not at all", followed by a

chuckle.  Gil said he could see the possibility of getting into "bidding

wars" over licensing of a particular property.  Roger again spoke up saying

that competition was not as bad as it was in the Eighties, adding that

things were more friendly now.

 

     It was next asked what the manufacturers thought was the typical

service/revenue life of games today?  Gil said that as far as the "physical

life" of a machine was concerned the collectors should know that better

than he.  On location, he went on, a game can possibly be used for as long

as 10 to 15 years if kept up properly.  However, he added, an operator will

possibly operate a machine for 3 to 5 years before trading/selling it off.

He then commented that games are not built to fall apart.

 

     It was next asked if the panel thought the public was ready for

pinball play price increases?  Roger Sharpe began his answer by commenting

"I'm not ready to pay higher prices for many items", but said that

distributors/operators have to increase prices in order to stay in

business.

 

     Ed Cebula then commented that he thinks it is inevitable that play

pricing will increase in the future.  Someone then asked about the use of

"dollar bill acceptors" on games.  It was answered that they are available

now on special order by the distributor.

 

     An operator in the audience next made the comment that years ago you

could rotate a game around your route for up to 5 years, but today many

locations want only the latest games and will not accept older ones.  He

then added that he has no outlet for older machines.

 

     Gil then asked him if his routes were making more money today than in

the past?  The operator answered, "yes, but not three times as much".  This

precipitated a lengthy discussion of economic conditions, inflation, etc..

Following that, Gil commented that most distributors will take used

machines in trade because they now have good markets for them, especially

in South America.

 

     Alvin Gottlieb then commented that one reason why the latest games

were demanded by players more today than in the past was because kids get

around fasted today than they used to.  At that point other operators in

the audience got involved in the discussion.

 

     My friend Sam Harvey next brought up the controversial question of

whether higher play prices were justified on games which were not properly

maintained by operators?  Ed Cebula said that he agreed that this was a

problem.  At that point each of the panelists gave a closing comment.

 

     Alvin Gottlieb began by saying that he had lived through all stages of

game price increases.  He then commented that penny play began in the late

1920's on, for example, his father's Grip Testers.  He then told of his dad

once using a large coin slot which would accept any coin put into it. 

Alvin ended by telling us that in the future "one-dollar play" will be

vitally important to the industry.

 

     In this same vein Ed Cebula next commented that three years earlier

Steve Kordek had predicted "one-dollar play", and he thought it was

definitely coming.

 

     Gil Pollack then thanked the audience for their comments, saying that

our input is appreciated.  He then said that we may argue or disagree with

them, but our ideas will always be considered.  Roger Sharpe ended by

saying that "because of you, the best is yet to come".

 

     Next on the program was the seminar in which yours truly was to

participate: "The Data Collectors - Pinball's True Historians".  When I

started writing up this seminar I discovered that it would be almost as

long as one-fourth of this article or more.  For this reason I have decided

to describe this presentation next time, along with a brief explanation of

how I prepare these Expo articles, including the reason why this particular

write-up ended up being so long.  So you'll have to wait.

 

 

THE SEARCH FOR PACHINKO

 

     Next on the agenda was the annual talk by Dick Bueschel which this

year was billed as "The Search For Pachinko".  After Dick was introduced by

Rob Berk he began telling us about his recent involvement in a Japanese TV

production.

 

     Dick told us that one day he got a call from a representative of "NTV"

(Nippon Television) saying they heard he had a collection of early

bagatelle games and asking if he would help them with a TV show they were

doing on the origins of the popular Japanese game of Pachinko.

 

     A representative of NTV then came to visit Dick, we were told, to tell

him about the show and make the preliminary arrangements.  Dick told a

story of him getting roast beef sandwiches for he and his quest to eat

which at first the Japanese man (even though he was a student of Cultural

Anthropology) was afraid to try, but when he finally did he liked it.

 

     Dick said he was told that the show in question had been on Japanese

TV for four years and that each show consisted of a "search" for something

or other.  For example, one show featured a search for the origins of

catsup, and ended up in London.  The show's host was a popular Tokyo TV

personality who called himself Tanny Kaye, who Dick said was sort of the

"Johnny Carson of Japan".

 

     Dick's visitor told him that they were working on a show consisting of

a search for the origins of pachinko.  He was then told that the pachinko

industry in Japan was even bigger than their auto industry.  Dick was

informed that he would be visited by Tanny and his crew to interview him

and film his collection of bagatelle games.

 

     Dick then told us that when the crew finally came they first set up

their cameras in the street in front of his house and started filming

squirrels.  When Dick asked about that they said they thought the squirrels

to be "very American".  When Dick then asked if they didn't have squirrels

in their country they replied "no, they were all eaten years ago".

 

     When they finally came into Dick's house, Tanny carrying a large

leather bag, Dick was introduced to Tanny.  Dick told us that he

demonstrated and explained his Bagatelle games to Tanny while the TV crew

photographed many of the games.  The Director of the show then asked Dick

if they could come back the next day to film his entire collection for

display in the Tokyo Cultural Museum.  Dick told them that they could.

 

     Before they left Dick said he asked the Director if the TV audience in

Japan would understand what he had said since it was in English.  He was

told there would be no problem because when the show was finally aired he

would be speaking fluent Japanese.

 

     Dick then showed the half-hour video of the final show which they sent

to him, making comments throughout the showing since the audio was all in

Japanese.  In addition to Dick's interview (they were right - he spoke

fluent Japanese), they showed a visit to well-known English coin machine

collector Nick Costa and his impressive collection, and to another

collector in France.  It would have been nice to have heard the narration

in English as I am sure it would have been quite interesting, although

several Japanese visitors to the Expo had no trouble with that at all.

 

     After the showing, Dick commented that coin machines are really a

"multi-cultural thing".  He then told us that he thinks the game of

Pachinko will become more popular in the U.S. in the future.  Finally, Dick

told us that he had been collecting Bagatelles since 1965 and that "every

one has a story"

 

DESIGNING A PINBALL MACHINE

 

     The final seminar scheduled for this year's Expo was "Designing a

Pinball Machine", a feature of the show for the past several years in which

the audience participates in a game design led by a current pinball

designer.  Our host designer this year was Pat Lawlor of

Williams/Bally/Midway who was introduced by Rob Berk.

 

     Pat began by saying that this year's session was going to be different

from those in the past.  At that point we were given questionnaires to

answer which were to be used during the design session.

 

     Pat then said that before starting our design he was going to talk a

little about their current hit pingame, ADDAMS FAMILY.  He began by telling

us that the project was initiated over a year earlier during a luncheon

with Roger Sharpe during which their game FUN HOUSE was being discussed.

After mentioning the Addams Family movie, Pat asked Roger if he could

acquire a license to do a game around it, which Roger eventually did.

 

     Licensing, Pat went on, is a "risky business", saying that if you

license a future movie, for instance, that movie when released could be bad

and hurt the game.  In the case of ADDAMS FAMILY, however, he said that

even if the movie was bad the old TV show connection should still aid the

game's popularity.  He then said that 96 percent of the people once

interviewed (10 years old or older) knew what the Addams Family was.

 

     Pat next told of going to Roger and asking if he could get a copy of

the movie script, which he was finally able to do.  He said they also got a

drawing of the house, Pat believing the game should look as much like the

movie as possible.  He said they also got the "press kit" which included

production photos.

 

     Pat then said he had an idea to use one of the picture's stars to

record some speech for the game.  When Roger first asked about that he got

a negative reply.  But finally one of the stars consented and in return the

company gave his kids a special ADDAMS FAMILY machine which included

personal "Happy Birthday" messages.

 

     We were next told that in the early design stages they had quite a few

problems, especially with "Thing".  After 6 whitewoods, Pat said, they

finally got the game to work, he then commented "the rest is history",

telling of the game being honored at the AMOA shows for two years running.

 

     After collecting the questionnaires we were previously handed, Pat

introduced artist John Youssi, who did the artwork for ADDAMS FAMILY, and

who was now going to draw our design on a large sheet of paper.  Pat then

began the design phase of the seminar by remarking that in the "real world"

cost and time are important considerations in any game design.

 

     Pat next told us that we must first choose a theme for our game.

Suggestions from the audience included such themes as: Tsunami, Monopoly,

The Pit and The Pendulum, Mouse Trap, Titanic, Dracula, 20 Thousand Leagues

Under the Sea, Corvettes, Dinosaurs, and The Chicago Flood.

 

     Pat then commented that those were some good ideas, adding that you

must, however, consider the "target audience" for a game.  Remarking that

the majority of games produced end up in "street locations" (bars, etc.),

he commented that Dinosaurs might only appeal to young kids, adding that

Chicago Flood might not be understood in the foreign markets.  The themes

were then voted on by us, Monopoly ending up the winner.

 

     Pat next told us that when he began a design he starts by drawing the

bottom area, which he said was important because that's were the continuity

starts.  At that point he randomly drew a questionnaire, an answer on which

suggested that the bottom should contain "a weird arrangement of slingshots

and lanes which nobody had seen before".  He then asked the person who had

given that answer to describe what he wanted, John drawing it on his

layout.

 

     Pat next said the shooter for our game must be chosen.  Another

questionnaire was drawn and a "standard shooter" was added to the sketch.

We were next told we needed a major playfield component, or "toy" as Pat

called it.  For our game of MONOPOLY several suggestions were made,

including: a jail, railroads, dice, the Monopoly Man ("Uncle Pennybags"), a

hotel, a money clip, and several others.

 

     When a vote was taken the jail was chosen, it being decided to be used

as a "multi-ball" release device.  It was also decided to simulate

railroads using wire forms, and to add a simulated Monopoly board in the

center of the playfield.  Those items were then added to our drawing.

 

     Pat then told us that the technique known as "brainstorming" was often

used by pinball design teams to help them develop good games, adding that

some ideas have to be redone several times to improve them.  He then talked

of the high cost of incorporating some features into a game, saying that

for example, it took $50,000 in tooling to create the "bookcase" on ADDAMS

FAMILY.

 

     At that point a question was asked - should our game respect the real

rules of Monopoly?  Pat answered that was not necessary since "you have

'artistic license' in a 'pinball world'".  He then added "you get to make

the rules".

     We were next asked to vote for how many flippers and Jet Bumpers the

game should have, coming up with 4 and 3 respectively.  It was decided to

make the Jet Bumpers represent the "Electric Company" in Monopoly.  it was

then decided to place the bumpers at the top right-hand area of the

playfield so that a "skill shot" could be used to get into them.  Pat next

made the comment that a good design "should balance out between the expert

and average player".

 

     Next the extra flippers were placed, and a ramp added to direct the

ball towards the "jail".  It was decided to use a "maga-save" device as a

diverter from this ramp which would either direct the ball to the jail or

into the flippers.  The fourth flipper was placed to aim at four drop

targets (representing "houses") which if all four were hit would award the

player one "hotel".  A "kickback" device was then added to feed the fourth

flipper.

 

     At that point Pat talked briefly about licensing.  He said you have to

make some sort of "deal" with the other party; for example, so much money

plus so much additional per game produced.  In most cases, he went on, the

game's artwork (and often speech) have to be approved by the licensor.  Pat

ended by commenting that a license gives "instant recognition of your

product".

 

     The drawing of our game was then finished by adding the wire form

"railroads".  Pat then commented that a video display could be used with

our MONOPOLY for "Chance" or "Community Chest".  At that point Pat asked

for any "wild ideas" anyone might have.

 

     The first such idea given was "a 10 second countdown for 'negative

points'".  Pat commented that on the "pro" side the idea was inventive and

different.  On the other side, he said, is that the average player wouldn't

like it because a game is not supposed to take something away from him.

Pat then commented "I won't put anything on my games which either takes

something away or gives you nothing".

 

     The other wild idea given was to have a pair of dice which pops up and

produces a score using "pattern recognition".  On that idea Pat commented

"I like it; put it on our game!".

 

     The session ended with random drawings for 4 ADDAMS FAMILY coffee

cups, followed by a brief question and answer period.  That ended the Expo

seminars.

 

THE AUCTION

 

     On Saturday morning a coin machine auction was scheduled, put on by

U.S. Amusement Auctions, who also produced an auction at last year's show.

Since the auction was held during the Exhibit Hall hours, and I personally

had no interest in buying any games, I only attended a small part of it, so

will only make a few brief comments.

 

     Prior to the start of the auction I looked at the games to be sold

just to see how many older games were there.  There were only a few made

before 1960, most in bad shape, except for a Chicago Coin KILROY (which I

have in my collection) and a Bally ROCKET, both from 1947 and in pretty

good condition.

 

     During the part of the actual auction I did attend (about 45 minutes,

or so) I recorded the prices for the pre-1970 games which I saw auctioned

off.  These included:  The KILROY I mentioned earlier - $450; the ROCKET -

$170; Gottlieb's 1961 BIG CASINO - $195; Williams' 1962 FRIENDSHIP 7  -

$195; Williams' 1962 FOUR ROSES - $325; and Gottlieb's 1968 ROYAL GUARD -

$185.

 

     That should give you some idea of the prices some of the older games

went for - or does it?  At the time of the auction I was quite surprised

that KILROY went for over $400, but I later found out why.  It seems it was

a "buy back", the owner bidding on it himself (and keeping it) because he

thought the prices bid by legitimate bidders were not high enough for his

machine.

 

     Personally, I think auction "buy backs" are unfair and should not be

allowed.  If a seller wants to have a minimum bid on his merchandise, all

right, but no secret buy backs with the owner bidding up his own

merchandise.  Most auctions do let bidders know if buy backs are allowed

(and this one probably did - I don't know for sure as I did not read the

auction rules), but I still think it takes all the fun out of an auction.

 

     Incidentally, besides the many pingames sold at the auction, there

were other types of coin machines offered for sale.  These included juke

boxes and slot machines and assorted other coin-ops.

 

THE BANQUET

 

     Saturday night, as has been the tradition, was the annual banquet.

After a one hour cocktail hour, where we mingled and talked, we found

places at one of the tables.  After visiting with the others at the table,

the talk of course centering around pinball, the meal was eventually

served.  This year, in my opinion, the food wasn't quite as good as served

at past banquets, but it wasn't bad either.

 

     After we finished eating, the banquet program began.  Expo host Rob

Berk introduced the featured speaker of the evening, Gil Pollack, President

of Premier Technology, the modern producer of Gottlieb pingames.

 

     Gil began by thanking Rob Berk and Mike Pacak for putting on such a

fine show.  He then praised the people behind the scenes at his company,

telling of one fellow who had been a tool and die maker at Gottlieb since

1940.  When Gil asked the fellow to stand up he drew a round of applause.

Gil then began a slide presentation which he called "Changing Times at

Gottlieb".

 

     Gil told us that D. Gottlieb and Co. was originally a family owned

company.  He said that when he came to the company in 1972 from the steel

forging industry he hardly knew what a pinball machine was.

 

     He went on to say that the game they were producing when he started

was ORBIT, and at that time the company was producing approximately 12 new

models a year, compared to the 4 or 5 they now produce.  He said, however,

that all 12 were not entirely different since they often had 2 and 4 player

models of a game, and sometimes Italian Add-A-Ball models as well.

 

     Gil next told us that business was booming in 1976 when they were

producing their bi-centennial games SPIRIT OF '76 and PIONEER.  He then

told of Columbia Pictures buying Gottlieb that same year.  Gil said at that

time they were involved with tournaments and game promotions in France

using a game called CANADA DRY which was a version of their current game

TARGET ALPHA.

 

     By 1978, Gil told us, the company was "behind the 8-ball", when other

pin manufacturers began producing solid-state games.  He said that they

finally "caught up" with the introduction of their first solid state pin

CLEOPATRA.  He said that most of their engineers were used to electro-

mechanical games, with no solid-state experience, but they teamed up with

Rockwell to develop their first solid-state game system.

 

     Gil next pointed out that at that time the French were one of their

best markets and they still wanted electro-mechanical games.  So for

awhile, he told us, they produced both electro-mechanical and solid-state

models of their games.

 

     The year 1979, Gil continued, was the beginning of a "new era" with

the introduction of wide body games, their first being GENIE.  Gil then

told of working with long-time Gottlieb designer Wayne Neyens who he

described as his mentor and friend.  When Wayne finally retired Gil told us

that he was put in charge of design engineering.

 

     Gil then told of a great designer they had at that time who is still

with them, a fellow named John Buras.  He then told of several of their hit

games of that period including MARS - GOD OF WAR (whose production run was

longer than expected), BLACK HOLE, and HAUNTED HOUSE which had a 3 level

playfield.

 

     In the early 1980's, Gil told us, video games were coming in strong

and the market for pins was beginning to weaken.  Because of this he said

the company tried something different, the introduction of the combination

pin and video game CAVEMAN which he said did "OK".  

 

     In January 1982, Gil told us, the company was taken over by Coca Cola.

Coke, he went on, thought videos were the thing, and also for some reason

changed the company's name at that time to Mylstar Electronics.

 

     Gil commented that they made several video games, the best known being

Q-BERT, which he said was a pretty good video.  But he said that their

company was really a pinball, not a video game, company.  When the new

laser-disc videos started he said they made the second one to come out

which was called MACH 3, but that the video discs just did not hold up.

 

     In the Spring of 1984, Gil then told us, Coke decided to get out of

the game business and close down Mylstar.  Gil said that he thought the

company had a lot of good people and it was a shame to lose this talent.

He therefore went to New York and talked one of their biggest customers, a

distributor specializing in the European market, to go into partnership

with him and buy the company, which on October 24, 1984 became known as

Premier Technology.

 

     The first game produced by Premier Gil told us was TOUCHDOWN.  He then

said that at the time he was bothered by losing the name Gottlieb.  Gil

told of in 1986 getting with their lawyers and eventually getting the

Gottlieb family to agree that they could use the name on their games as a

registered trade mark, but could not use it as their company name.

Premier's first game using the Gottlieb name Gil told us was GENESIS.

 

     Gil went on to tell us that the year of 1988 was "soft" for the

pingame industry, and 1989 was simply "terrible".  In 1990, he told us,

things picked up for the company when they released their baseball theme

pin SILVER SLUGGER.  Gil told us that this game was made along simpler,

more traditional, lines and was cheaper to make and therefore could be sold

to operators at a lower price.

 

     After that, Gil continued, they made a few more simpler "single level"

games, but they seemed not to be what the players of the day really wanted,

adding that the company always tried to put out games that the players

would like.  So, in 1991, he told us they decided to go back to a "full

fledged" game, coming out with CACTUS JACK'S.

 

     At his point Gil started telling us how that game came about.  He said

that over the years people outside the industry would ask him what they had

to do to submit a design for a new game?  Gil told us that anyone could

sketch a game on a piece of paper, so to keep from being flooded with

amateur designs his stock answer to that question would be "you must submit

a working prototype".  This, he told us, usually discouraged 99 percent of

wood-be game designers.

 

     This, however, Gil told us did not discourage Southern Californian

Rheinhardt (Reiny) Bangeter who produced a working prototype of his game

idea using Data East parts.  Gil told us that Reiny had put a lot of work

into his game and it was eventually brought to Chicago for him to see.

 

     Gil said that when he saw the prototype he thought the geometry and

game concept were good, but some changes were needed.  He said that since

Jon Norris was a good friend of Reiny he didn't think that he would mind

too much if Jon made a few changes to his design.  Gil then remarked that

since the release of CACTUS JACK'S Premier's games have been more

competitive.

 

     Gil ended his talk by saying that their current game, CUE BALL WIZARD,

which was designed by Jon Norris, was one of the strongest games they have

ever produced.  He then said he wanted to take his hat off to his people

responsible for producing that game - especially Jon Norris.  That drew a

big round of applause.  At that point the slides were over and Gil said so

was his talk.

 

     After Gil had completed his presentation, Rob Berk again got up and

tried a gimmick which he has been doing for the past several Expos.  He

first asked us all to stand up.  He then asked all the "first timers" to

sit down, then the "second timers", etc., until only those of us who had

attended all eight Expos were left standing.  There were quite a few of us.

 

     After that, Rob announced the winners of the "Name That Game" contest

conducted the first morning by Canadian Aaron Benedit which I described

earlier.  In the "players" category the winner was a fellow named Rob

Rosenhouse, scoring 17 correct answers to the 20 questions.  For the

"manufacturers" category the winner was Premier designer Jon Morris,

scoring a whooping 19 correct answers.

 

     At that point Rob introduced a representative from the English

"Pinball Owner's Association", John Whyatt, to make a special presentation.

He began by telling us that their organization had been in existence for 16

years.

 

     John then told us that they had recently formed an 8 man committee to

select a game to be given an award for the best pingame to come out since

the last Expo.  He said they hoped to do this annually, commenting that

they wanted to "give something back to the hobby".

 

     We were then told that they voted in September and chose Williams'

ADDAMS FAMILY to receive the award, which they thought was "outstanding".

At that point Williams designers Pat Lawlor and Larry DeMar, and Director

of Marketing Roger Sharpe, came up on stage to accept the award, Pat making

the comment that they had never been given an award from so far away.

 

     Next on the program was the selection of this year's inductees into

our "Pinball Hall of Fame", which was established at last year's show.  The

two Hall of Famer's selected this year were Genco designer and frequent

Expo guest Harvey Heiss, and old-time designer, and inventor of the

flipper, Harry Mabs.

 

     After that Rob announced the winners of the Expo art contest, in which

there were only five entries.  The "Best of Show" award was given to Henk

DeJager from Holland who had, we were told, designed an entire game "from

scratch", including a schematic diagram as well as the artwork.

 

     Next the winner of the "Best Exhibit" trophy was announced.  Again the

first place winner was Steve and Laura Engle's "Pinball Supermarket".

Second place this year was said to be a tie and went to Jim Tolbert and

Judy McCrory's "For Amusement Only" booth and the "Pinball Wizard" booth of

Chance and Elaine Tess.

 

     Rob Berk next gave special thanks to Gil Pollack of Premier Technology

for letting the Expo visitors tour their pinball plant.  He presented Gil

with a plaque.  Following that Rob presented another plaque to Richard

Shapiro for his idea for the "Learn to Play Pinball" school.

 

     After thanking his helper, Lou Marciella, Rob said that everybody

(including myself) who participated in the Expo seminars would be given

certificates which we could pick up after the banquet was over.  Rob then

gave an award to his co-producer Mike Pacak for his fine coordination of

the Exhibit Hall.

 

     Following that, Rob announced that Roger Sharpe and his wife Ellen

were celebrating their anniversary.  He then presented each of them with a

glass of champagne.

 

     The next event was the raffle in which two brand new pingames, Data

East's TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES and Williams' GETAWAY were given away.

When the winning ticket number for the Data East game was called nobody

claimed it!  After several attempts to find that ticket holder another

ticket was drawn and the game given away to the lucky winner.  It seemed

strange to everyone there that no one had the first ticket drawn.

 

     After that, another ticket was drawn and the GETAWAY was given away to

another lucky person.  Later on the mystery of the unclaimed winning ticket

was solved.  I overheard a conversation in the Exhibit Hall to the effect

that that ticket was held by one of the visitors from Germany, but he

didn't check his tickets when the first number was called because he

thought he had only purchased tickets for the Williams machine - a sad

story indeed!

 

     At the conclusion of the raffle a group of door prizes were also given

away.  This year, however, the winners were drawn from a list of the names

of the attendees, rather than from numbered tickets as in the past.

 

     At the conclusion of the banquet festivities Rob Berk announced that

Pinball Expo '93 will be held a bit earlier this time (hooray - better

weather!).  It is scheduled from September 9th through 12th, 1993 at the

same old location.  He also announced that we would be touring the new

Alvin G. and Co. plant.  For information on that show you can call Rob Berk

at 1-800-323-FLIP.

 

     As everybody was beginning to leave the banquet hall, Rob Berk was

suddenly reminded that he had forgotten to mention the Arizona Pinball Show

the following Spring.  Rob hurried back to the podium and told us it would

be held June 5th and 6th, 1993 in Scottsdale Arizona.  (For more

information on that show call Bruce Carlton at 602-831-9669)  That ended

this year's banquet.

 

THE EXHIBIT HALL

 

     The Exhibit Hall this year, as it has been in the past, was really the

center of activity for the show.  It was a large area consisting of a main

room, which was pretty well full, and a second room which had displays of 5

or 6 dealers, plus a display of Alvin G. and Company games.

 

     Again, the Exhibit Hall contained many pingames, both old and new,

most of which were for sale.  The prices of the pins varied from as low as

a hundred dollars or so, up to $1000 (well, there was a FIREBALL with an

asking price of $2500).  Prices of the majority of the games this year were

between $300 and $700.

 

     Some of the manufacturers also displayed some of their games.  Alvin

G. and Company had several of their new "table style" two player games,

SOCCER-BALL and U.S.A. FOOTBALL.  I thought it was nice to see parents and

children playing against each other on these games many times during the

show.  Data East had their TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES pin, plus a special

edition MICHAEL JORDAN game.  Williams had a booth with flyers, etc,, but I

don't remember them having any actual machines on display.

 

     The latest Gottlieb hit from Premier, CUE BALL WIZARD, was the game

used for the Flip-Out tournament qualifying rounds.  A whole row of these

games was clearly visible when you first entered the main hall.  This

flashy game, by the way, was the latest design of Jon Norris who got to be

a designer from contacts he made with Premier during the first Expo in

1985.

 

     The following is a chronological list of all the pingames at the Expo:

 

 

                       PINGAMES AT PINBALL EXPO '92

 

  GAME                             MFG             YEAR     PRICE

  ______________________________   ___________     _____    ______________

  STRATO-O-LINER                   Chicago Coin    1940     SOLD

  ARIZONA                          United          1943     500/OBO

  BALLY HOO                        Bally           1947     200/OBO

  BRONCHO                          Genco           1947     -

  NEVADA                           United          1947     500/OBO

  ROCKET                           Bally           1947     325, 500/OBO

  CHAMPION (1-BALL)                Bally           1948     800

  OLDE KING COLE                   Gottlieb        1948     450/TRADE

  RANCHO                           Bally           1948     400

  BUTTONS AND BOWS                 Gottlieb        1949     795

  DOUBLE SHUFFLE                   Gottlieb        1949     -

  TRI SCORE                        Genco           1951     325

  PIN WHEEL                        Gottlieb        1953     650

  GOLD STAR                        Gottlieb        1954     -

  ROYAL FLUSH                      Gottlieb        1957     350/OBO

  SUPER CIRCUS                     Gottlieb        1957     900

  GUSHER                           Williams        1958     -

  SUNSHINE                         Gottlieb        1958     600

  LIGHTNING BALL                   Gottlieb        1959     -

  MISS ANNABELLE                   Gottlieb        1959     -

  PINCH HITTER (BASEBALL)          Williams        1959     -

  QUEEN OF DIAMONDS (NO GLASS)     Gottlieb        1959     300

  DARTS                            Williams        1960     -

  WAGON TRAIN                      Gottlieb        1960     125

  WORLD BEAUTIES                   Gottlieb        1960     550

  BIG CASINO                       Gottlieb        1961     375

  SHOWBOAT                         Gottlieb        1961     425

  EGG HEAD                         Gottlieb        1962     650, 695

  JOLLY JOKERS                     Williams        1962     -

  BIG DEAL                         Williams        1963     500

  MOON SHOT                        Bally           1963     NOT FOR SALE

  SWING TIME                       Williams        1963     -

  BONANZA                          Gottlieb        1964     300

  SOCCER                           Williams        1964     200

  WING DING                        Williams        1964     325

  BANK-A-BALL                      Gottlieb        1965     650

  BOWL-A-STRIKE                    Williams        1965     350

  CENTRAL PARK                     Gottlieb        1966     -

  HOT LINE                         Williams        1966     395           

  PITCH 'N BAT (BASEBALL)          Williams        1966     595

  BLAST OFF                        Williams        1967     525

  KING OF DIAMONDS                 Gottlieb        1967     350

  SUPER SCORE                      Gottlieb        1967     300

  FUN PARK                         Gottlieb        1968     550

  HAYBURNERS II                    Williams        1968     350

  JOKER                            Bally           1968     600

  MINI POOL                        Gottlieb        1969     325

  HOME RUN                         Gottlieb        1971     500

  ROLLER  COASTER                  Gottlieb        1971     300

  ZODIAC                           Williams        1971     -

  FIREBALL                         Bally           1972     1000, 2500

  MONTE CARLO                      Bally           1972     750

  NIP-IT                           Bally           1972     800

  SPANISH EYES                     Williams        1972     -

  TIME ZONE                        Bally           1972     750

  TRAVEL TIME                      Williams        1973     -

  UPPER DECK (BASEBALL)            Williams        1973     -

  BIG INDIAN                       Gottlieb        1974     125

  MAGNOTRON                        Gottlieb        1974     450

  MYSTIC GATE (BINGO)              Bally           1974     600

  SKY LAB                          Williams        1974     -

  HOKUS POKUS                      Bally           1975     -

  OLD CHICAGO                      Bally           1975     500

  WIZARD                           Bally           1975     475

  AZTEC                            Williams        1976     325

  CAPTAIN FANTASTIC                Bally           1976     495-800

  DERBY DAY (ROUGH)                Williams        1976     OFFER

  GRAND PRIX                       Williams        1976     600

  SPIRIT OF '76                    Gottlieb        1976     -

  CLEOPATRA                        Gottlieb        1978     250

  CLOSE ENCOUNTERS                 Gottlieb        1978     350

  KISS                             Bally           1978     595

  SILVERBALL MANIA                 Bally           1978     650

  WORLD CUP                        Williams        1978     -

  FLASH                            Williams        1979     600

  FUTURE SPA                       Bally           1979     -

  GORGAR                           Williams        1979     650

  HOT HAND                         Stern           1979     350

  INCREDIBLE HULK                  Gottlieb        1979     -

  METEOR                           Stern           1979     200-450

  PINBALL POOL                     Gottlieb        1979     200

  ROCK STAR                        Gottlieb        1979     450

  SHARPSHOOTER                     Game Plan       1979     350

  XENON                            Bally           1979     -

  BLACK KNIGHT                     Williams        1980     700-750

  CONEY ISLAND (OLD)               Game Plan       1980     575

  FATHOM                           Bally           1980     695

  FIREPOWER                        Williams        1980     425

  FLASH GORDON                     Bally           1980     595

  FRONTIER                         Bally           1980     995

  GALAXY                           Stern           1980     150

  JAMES BOND                       Gottlieb        1980     500

  SKATE BALL                       Bally           1980     375

  ARENA                            Gottlieb        1981     750

  BLACK HOLE                       Gottlieb        1981     150

  CATACOMB                         Game Plan       1981     425

  CENTAUR                          Bally           1981     600, 895

  HYPERBALL                        Williams        1981     500

  JUNGLE LORD                      Williams        1981     -

  VECTOR                           Bally           1981     450, 695

  EIGHT BALL DELUXE (LTD EDITION)  Bally           1982     -

  MR & MRS PAC MAN                 Bally           1982     450, 895

  SPEAKEASY                        Bally           1983     750

  X'S & O'S                        Bally           1983     -

  COMET                            Williams        1985     -

  CYCLOPES                         Gottlieb        1985     750

  GOLD WINGS                       Gottlieb        1986     -

  MILLIONAIRE                      Williams        1987     850

  PARTY ANIMAL                     Bally           1987     850

  SECRET SERVICE                   Data East       1988     -

  SWORDS OF FURY                   Williams        1988     -

  MICHAEL JORDAN                   Data East       1992     NOT FOR SALE

  TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES     Data East       1992     NEW

  CUE BALL WIZARD                  Gottlieb        1992     NEW

 

 

     In addition to the many pins for sale and demonstration in the hall,

there was also a good supply of parts to be had, especially at Steve and

Laura Engle's Pinball Supermarket, the prize winning exhibit mentioned

earlier.

 

     As usual there were also plenty of pinball related literature for sale

in the hall.  Exhibit Hall Chairman Mike Pacak had his usual booth with

pinball brochures for sale, plus a selection of pinball books.  Steve Young

also had a wide selection of his quality reprints of pinball service and

parts manuals, etc.

 

     Bob Nelson and Neil Jamison from Wichita were also selling pinball

literature as well as a few select games, including the FIREBALL mentioned

earlier.  Jim Tolbert's "For Amusement Only" booth also sold a variety of

pin literature and parts.  In addition, Jim held a mini-tournament on a

1963 Gottlieb SLICK CHICK.  Incidentally, pinball wizard Rick Stetta, who

later won the Flip-Out tournament, also won the SLICK CHICK tournament.

 

     In addition to the other pinball literature, two magazines also were

represented in the Exhibit Hall.  Jim Schelberg from Michigan had a booth

showing off his great "pinball only" publication "PinGame Journal", also

featuring a display dealing with the design details of one of the

industry's latest pins.

 

     The other coin-op magazine to have a booth was "Classic Amusements"

(formerly "Slot-Box Collector"), their new editor Dick Bueschel manning the

booth.  Sharing the booth with Dick was German author Heribert (Heri) Eiden

with his new pinball art book "Pinball Machines", available for sale and

autographing.  Helping Heri at the booth was his charming lady friend

Claudia.

 

     I talked with Heri and Claudia many times during the show and they

were really friendly people, even helping to sell a few copies of my book

for me.  I also bought (well I actually used my book which Heri wanted as

partial payment) Heri's fine book.  The book is really great!; the best

all-round pinball art book I have seen.

 

     In addition to the many games and other wares offered for sale in the

Exhibit Hall, the second room also housed the display of the entries in the

pinball art contest mentioned earlier.  Also, on Saturday afternoon, this

room was the site of the 2nd annual autograph session where Expo visitors

could meet and get autographs from many pinball designers, artists, and

authors.

 

     Before ending my coverage of the show I would like to tell of a bit of

personal nostalgia that occurred.  On the last day I noticed offered for

sale an article from my past; a postage stamp vending machine made by the

Shipman Co. of Los Angeles in the late 1940's and early 1950's.

 

     It seems that when I was a young teenager I purchased one of these

machines from the manufacturer (my father was operating candy machines made

by them at around the same time to make ends meet while between jobs) and

operated it in two grocery store locations to make a little extra spending

money.

 

     I decided to purchase this item (the price was right - only $35) for

nostalgic reasons - the only coin machine I ever actually operated.  I also

ended up taking it on my return flight to Los Angeles as "carry-on

baggage", tucked under my arm.

 

     Well, there you have it again!  Another detailed account of the

happenings at another great Pinball Expo.  And, as I said earlier, Pinball

Expo '93 will be held September 9th through 12th, 1993.  Hope to see you

there!