Silverball News and Views - August 1999 - Pinball Expo '98 (Part - 2)

Last time (please visit Part 1 at Russ's site if interested) I described in detail all of the Friday Expo seminars, except for the last one (which wasn't really a seminar per se). This time I will concluded my Expo coverage with a description of that session - "The Pat Lawlor Show" - plus describe the Expo auction (very briefly), the Designers, Artists, and Authors Autograph Session, the annual banquet with it's guest speaker, and finally the Exhibit Hall.

THE "PAT LAWLOR SHOW"

Expo chairman Rob Berk first got up and introduced the "host" for the final Friday afternoon event, Williams ace pinball designer Pat Lawlor, who has been conducting a similar fun event for the past several years. Rob's introduction of Pat and his "Pat Lawlor Show" brought on a good round of applause!

Pat began by telling us that his show was "all about fun", adding that pinball was all of our "favorite hobby". He then commented that the people attending his event get to meet "the people who make the games". When Pat then asked the "first timers" to the Expo to raise their hands, he exclaimed "wow" when he noticed how many people raised their hands.

At that point Pat thanked the engineers and management people from Williams who had come with him for the "goodies" they had brought with them to give away during the show, also thanking his "panel of experts" including pinball industry old-timer, and current Williams executive, Steve Kordek. After telling us that today's game would be based on the popular TV show "The Price Is Right", Pat told us that the brochures for old and new pingames to be used in conjunction with the show were personally selected by Steve. He then said he would explain the rules of the game.

First, Pat told us, we cannot ask any questions concerning their competitors or their games, or any questions regarding future games from their company. He also told us that some personal questions may also be "off limits". He then began explaining how the game would actually be played.

Pat said that each "round" of the game would begin with someone from the audience posing a question for the panel to answer, adding that that person should remain standing after his/her question had been answered. Roger Sharpe, Pat went on, would then draw three tickets; the people in the audience holding those numbers standing up to try and guess the price of a pingame whose advertising flyer would be shown on a projector.

Each of those three people would then guess the suggested retail price of that game in the year it was produced. If a person's guess was too high, a buzzer would sound, the one coming closest to the price without going over would win a prize. The "loser", Pat then told us, would remain to participate in the next round, requiring only one new ticket to be drawn. Those rules we were then told could be changed at any time "as is true with new pinball designs".

At that point Pat asked the members of his panel to introduce themselves. First was programmer Louis Koziarz who was to show the pinball brochures (and the correct prices) during the game. Next was former pingame programmer, and now Slot Machine Project Manager, Ted Estes. Next to introduce himself was Larry DeMar who is the Director of Marketing for Williams Pinball Division. And finally Roger Sharpe, Williams' Licensing Director. The panel then received a round of applause. It was then time for the first question to start the actual game.

The first question asked concerned the "video mode" of Williams 1996 game JUNKYARD, one of the panelist explaining it in some detail. Roger Sharpe then drew three tickets and the people holding those numbers stood up to play the game. Louis then showed on the screen the flyer for Genco's 1934 pingame CRISS-CROSS. The three contestants guessed it's retail price to be $23, $39 and $48. Louis then reveled the actual price of $92.50, the person guessing $48 winning a T-shirt.

The next question was really a joke. Someone asked if the dummy "Rudy" on Williams FUN HOUSE was the "love child" of the dummies Red and Ted on their game ROAD SHOW? Pat answered that Rudy was actually related to Red, but was really Red's "stupid brother". Roger then drew a ticket for a new contestant for the game. Louis then showed the flyer for the game whose price was to be guessed, Genco's TRI-A-LITE from 1935, giving a hint that the game came out during the great depression.. The contestant guesses of $59, $66, and $74 were all above the actual price, so no prize was awarded that round and all three contestants remained standing.

Someone next asked the panel about the possibility of providing a "security chip" for future games, it being answered that that "would have to be considered". The three contestants were then given another chance to guess the price of the previous game, their guesses that time being $15, $17.55, and $34, the latter coming closest to the actual price of $52,25. The winner was awarded a Dracula figure as his prize, the two losers given consolation prizes of small pewter picture frames.

Back to the subject of Rudy, someone asked Pat how he came up with the idea of him? Pat replied that he had some "weird concepts" in his head, a combination of thoughts about old amusement parks, Aladdin's Castle arcades, and ventriloquists' dummies. At that point artist John Youssi arrived and was given a round of applause.

The game whose price was to be guessed next was then shown on the screen -.Genco's 1936 game HAPPY DAYS. The guesses were $61, $75, and $97, the lower guess being the winner since the actual price of the game was $72. The winner was awarded a "token kit" from Williams' game SAFECRACKER.

The next question asked was how did they get actress Carline Carter to do the voice for Rudy? Roger Sharpe answered that Pat wanted her to do it so he talked to her representatives and worked it out. At that point Pat announced a slight change in the game's rules, such that if a contestant makes two bad guesses in a row he is out of the game.

Pat was then asked how many games he had designed, he then naming them all, followed by the other panel members naming the games they had worked on. The game whose price was to be guessed was then shown, it being Steve Kordek's great game SPACE MISSION from 1976. The price guesses were $1350, $1400, and $1995, all of which were too high, with everyone receiving only a consolation prize.

My friend Sam Harvey next remarked that the first Williams solid-state game was AZTEC in November 1976, and the next one HOT TIP exactly a year later, then asking why there were no solid-state games produced in between those two? The answer given was that most likely there were others made in that period, but at that time solid-state games were mainly made as experimental counterparts of electro-mechanical games..

Three new contestants were then chosen to guess the price of SPACE MISSION. The guesses this time were $895, $900, and $901, the highest guess being the winner since the actual price was $1160, he receiving the prize of a plastic set from their game WHO DUNNIT

Artist John Youssi was then asked what game took him the longest time too do the artwork for, John answering that it probably was TWILIGHT ZONE, Pat then telling about Mrs. Rod Serling liking the preliminary artwork John did for the game. The game whose price was to be guessed this time was Atari's 1978 game SUPERMAN. The guesses were $1200, $1600, and $1, the highest guess coming the closest to the actual price of $1850. The winner was awarded a "point of purchase" display for the game ROAD SHOW featuring the dummy heads Red and Ted.

The next question asked involved how the "ball saver" device was activated on TWILIGHT ZONE, which was answered in some detail. Pat then commented that some new software was now available from his Internet website which could be loaded into TWILIGHT ZONE, adding that everything on his site is done on his own time. He then gave a brief plug for the raffle of the NO GOOD GOPHERS game to be held during the Expo banquet, the proceeds going to a "memorial fund" for Williams executive Joe Dillon who had passed away earlier in the year.

It was then time for the next price guessing game, this time the game in question being Williams' 1985 game HIGH SPEED. The guesses were $2150, $2151, and $2600, the person guessing $2151 being the winner, the actual price being $2250. The winner received two backglasses from NO GOOD GOPHERS.

The next question asked was whether "Crazy Bob" (a character in Williams' CHAMPION PUB) was supposed to represent a Williams executive named Dwight? The answer given was "no". The game whose price was to be guessed next was Williams' 1980 game BLACK KNIGHT 2000. The guesses were $2500, $2850, and $2695, the latter guess winning since the actual price was $2750, the winner receiving a set of game posters.

The last question asked was if the "red button" shown on the backglass of their popular game TWILIGHT ZONE had anything to do with a particular episode of the TV series? Pat answered "no", refusing to disclose the secret surrounding that mysterious button.

The last game in the price guessing game was their recent pin NO GOOD GOPHERS. The three guesses were $3400, $3350, and $3450, the latter coming closest to the actual price of $3860. That ended this year's game, the winner receiving two "figurines".

Before ending the session Pat said that he had a few things to say. He began by remarking that many people refer to the present time as "the dark days of pinball". Pat then commented that "we are the people who love the game" and that "people in the industry will listen to you".

Pat continued by telling us that he had a request to make of the people in the room. He then said that it is when you run into a test location for a new game (no matter from which manufacturer) that you don't get on the Internet and say bad things about it without thinking what you are doing. Pat then commented that you can say what you like about a game, but if it's a new test game you should try to say how you think it can be improved, adding that strictly negative comments "hurt you as well as us".

We were then told by Pat that there is "not one person working for any of the current manufacturers who is not trying to keep pinball alive". He then added that "everyone wants great games", also saying that we should go to game operators and tell them in a nice way if their games have problems. Finally, Pat remarked that if what he just talked about doesn't happen the alternative is in two years there will be no more new games. When he then thanked us for attending his presentation Pat received a good round of applause.

That ended Pat's game session, and also this year's Expo seminar sessions.

THE GAME AUCTION

For the past several years a coin machine auction has been conducted in conjunction with the Expo. Every year in the past the auction began on Saturday morning. This year, for some reason, the auction was moved to Friday evening. When held on Saturday I had the morning before the auction started to look at the games to be sold, take a few photos, and note which older pingames were to be auctioned off.

Since it was held on Friday evening this year, I had no time to do this ahead of time since I had to attend all the seminars so I could write about them. For that reason I chose not to attend the auction this year. My friend Sam Harvey did make a list of the pingames in the auction. A list of the earlier pingames which were offered for sale (there were not very many this year compared to past years) is shown below,

GAME	MFG.	YEAR
HI-BOY (PAYOUT)	Mills	1938
STRIKE ZONE	Williams	1970
DOUBLE UP (BINGO)	Bally	1971
BIG SHOT	Gottlieb	1974
CAPT. FANTASTIC	Bally	1975
BIG HIT	Gottlieb	1977
PINBALL (SS)	Stern	1977
MIDDLE EARTH (SS)	Atari	1978
SOLAR RIDE	Gottlieb	1979

THE "DESIGNERS, ARTISTS, AND AUTHORS AUTOGRAPH SESSION"

This year, as at past Expos for many years, on Saturday afternoon an autograph session including pinball designers, artists, and authors was held. All of these personalities were seated behind three sets of tables (in a C-shaped configuration) with Expo guests lining up to walk past the tables and obtain autographs from their favorite pinball people.

There was one person who was sadly missing this year however - the late coin machine historian and author Dick Bueschel. The session just didn't seem to be the same without that fine gentleman.

As was true at many of the past autograph sessions, I was a participant in it, displaying my book Pinball Troubleshooting Guide, but this year I didn't sell a single copy. Another feature this year was that prior to the session (including the previous day) T-shirts were sold at the Expo registration booth, one purpose of which people were told was so they could have people in the autograph session sign the shirts. So I signed a few people's T-shirts at their request, including one little girl who asked me to autograph the tail of her shirt.

THE SATURDAY NIGHT BANQUET

A highlight of all the past Expo's has always been the Saturday night banquet with it's always interesting guest speaker, as well as good food and other presentations. And for the past several years a charity auction has been held before the food was served, the proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The items to be auctioned off were donated by various Expo guests, as well as the pinball manufacturers.

The auctioneer conducting these sessions has always been the same person who presided over the game auction held earlier. This year was no exception.

The first item to be auctioned this year was two passes to Herb Silver's PINBALL FANTASY '99 show to be held in Anaheim CA in July, they bringing $110. The next item was a "Flip-Out '98" T-shirt which went for $25. Following an Elvira T-shirt and photo which sold for $40, the three-volume set of Mike Pacak's Pinball Flyer Book went for $110.

The next item put up for bid was a special mirrored version of the backglass for Williams' NO GOOD GOPHERS game (it being said only 12 of them were produced) which went for $125. After that a Dave Christensen pinball art picture sold for $195, followed by a MEDEVEL MADNESS T-shirt going for $40. The next item offered was copies of two of the solid-state repair documents put out by Clay Harrel, who gave one of the seminars on Friday, which also sold for $40;

A playfield for Williams FUN HOUSE (autographed by the designers) next brought $100, followed by a book called "Lost World Artifacts" which sold for $55. Following that a poster, prototype translite backglass, and some tokens for Bally SAFECRACKER brought $150. After some "patches" advertising several Williams pingames sold for $30, a photo of pinballs in Japan from the Tokyo Pinball Association went for $70

Next up was a "whitewood" playfield for Williams MONSTER BASH game which sold for $50, followed by an autographed prototype playfield for Sega's 1998 pin VIPER which sold for $75. An enlarged photograph of Elvira which was autographed then brought $105. This was followed by four signed backglasses from Williams' 1988 game GRAND LIZZARD which sold for $185, and then backglasses from two Williams games, SPACE JAM and GODZILLA, brought $50

The final two items to be offered for sale were a signed copy of the Japanese pinball book Pinball Graffiti, followed by a figurine which sold for $175. That ended the charity auction, and all the buyers and contributors were given a round of applause for their charitable contributions.

The next banquet events were the raffles for two pingames. The first game to be raffled off was a new NO GOOD GOPHERS machine. Larry De Mar from Williams came up on stage and then asked Masaya Horiguchi from Japan to draw the winning ticket. The winner was a gentleman from Holland who received a round of applause. He then quipped that "it wouldn't fit in his suitcase unless he removed the legs".

The second pingame to be raffled off was a 1974 Gottlieb BIG SHOT. The person whose ticket was drawn was not present at the banquet, but according to the rules they would have to call him on the phone to notify him. Just in case he could not be located (or did not want the game) two "backup" tickets were drawn. The last of these tickets just happened to be mine, but alas I never heard that I had won by default.

After the raffle Rob Berk asked Sega designer Jon Norris to come up and announce the winner of a contest held on his latest design KELLY PACKARD'S GOLDEN CUE. The prize of a 25 inch color TV went to an Expo visitor from Japan.

Rob Berk next got up to introduce the banquet guest speaker. He told us that this person was responsible for the design of such pingames as: INDIANNA JONES, DINER, TAXI, FISHTAILS, and THUNDERBALL). Rob then said that person was Mark Ritchie, bringing on a round of applause.

Mark began by saying "good evening" to his audience. He then told us that he was there to tell some things he did for the industry over the past sixteen years, adding, that he was no longer associated with the coin machine industry. In 1976, Mark then told us, after graduating from high school he went to work for Atari on their playfield assembly line.

Mark next commented that he wanted to get into pinball design at Atari, but since his older bother Steve was in that department a company rule would not allow family members to work in the same department. In 1978, Mark went on, his brother went to work for Williams, and he himself went to the department at Atari that operated the "burn-in ovens".

A few weeks after he transferred to the new department Mark said his brother Steve called him from Chicago to tell him that the people at Williams would like to interview him for possible employment, in particular the company head at the time Mike Stroll. Mark then told about Steve and Mr. Stroll coming to California, and how Mr. Stroll interviewed him. When the interview was concluded, Mark went on, Mr. Stroll said to him "it seems that you have the same stuff as your brother", inviting him to come to Chicago and work for Williams.

Mark next told of his moving to Chicago and going to work at the Williams Pinball Lab. He then told of his first meeting with Steve Kordek, and how they have remained good friends ever since. Two years later, Mark continued, he began designing his first pingame THUNDERBALL. After describing some of that game's features, Mark told us that it ended up being "a complete disaster". At that point Mark began naming the other games that he designed while at Williams.

His second game Mark said was FIREPOWER 2 which he designed in 1983, commenting that that game was "more conventional" than his previous game and did achieve some success in the market. His other Williams games from the 1980's were then described which included: PENANT FEVER (Williams first solid-state "pitch and bat" baseball game) in 1984; SORCERER (1985); ROAD KINGS (1986); BIG GUNS (1987); TAXI (1988); and POLICE FORCE (1989).

Mark then described his Williams games from the current decade which included: DINER (1990); SLUGFEST (another solid-state baseball game) (1991); FISHTALES (1992); and his last game INDIANA JONES (1993). Mark was then given a round of applause for his great Williams designs.

At that point Mark made a few general comments regarding his design philosophy which he said included trying to keep his designs simple, and striving to produce games that "everyone could play". He then concluded his discussion of his years at Williams telling us he was "grateful for his experiences at the company, and with it's people".

Mark then began telling of his experiences with the pinball company Capcom which he said he had the opportunity to join up with it's predecessor in 1993. He told us that when he joined that organization he was made "Chief of Game Design", then assembling the components to form the Pinball Design Department. Mark then told us that for the first year he was barred from doing actual designing due to a "non-compete agreement" he signed when he left Williams, so he had to do only management work for awhile, commenting that It "seemed forever" before he was allowed to design a game.

We were then told that at first the company produced "Redemption Games", their first such game Mark said "flopped" when exhibited at the 1993 AMOA show, then producing two more such games which he said did a little better, remarking that this "kept him busy". Mark then began telling of the Capcom pinballs which were produced.

In 1995, Mark then told us, the company produced it's first pingame, PINBALL MAGIC, which he said was "a very impressive game" with neat features and overall a good design. After naming the game's design team, Mark remarked that most of the team members had never designed a pingame before. We were then told that there were some "start-up problems" with the game - legal, supply, etc..

The next game they produced, Mark told us, was AIRBORNE which he said was somewhat of a "disaster". He then named it's design team. Next, Mark went on, came one of his "personal favorites", BREAKSHOT, which he told us used a new computer operating system. He then commented that there were problems at the time with the marketing situation.

Mark then said that next came BIG BANG BAR, which he said was another favorite of his, which took much "creative effort" to design. When he then asked the audience if anyone had seen the game it drew a round of applause. After then commenting that it was "an incredible piece", Mark said the problem with it was they just sort of "ran out of steam" on the project, only ten sample games ever being produced.

The next game Capcom produced Mark said was FLIPPER FOOTBALL which he told us they tried to design for the European market, adding that it was not totally a pingame, but more of a "simulation". After that, he went on, they tried another redemption game called THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM which they thought might be halfway successful. Mark said they build five for test and they tested pretty well, but he said at that time "the end was near" for the company.

After that, Mark told us, they started laying out their last pinball KING PIN, commenting that he was happy to be designing again. He then said to him at the time "life seemed good" because he was doing something creative. Mark then told us that it's design had essentially two iterations.

At first, Mark went on, it was supposed to have a "casino game" theme, but when Williams came out with JACKBOT at about that time they had to "rethink" it. Mark said that they decided to change it to a "1930's gangster" theme, he then describing it's configuration in some detail. He ended his discussion of the game by saying it had a "neat design team" who worked really hard on it.

But, Mark then commented, it was a "desperate time", and if the pinball market had been better then maybe Capcom could have succeeded, but "the timing was way off". He then remarked that he thought their products were "very competitive" and "highly entertaining". Mark then told us that he was very proud to have been associated with the Capcom people, and that it was a valuable learning experience for him.

Finally Mark commented that he believed Capcom had "set the stage" and "raised the bar slightly" for higher standards in pinball development. And in the process, he added, they made some "really fun games". When Mark then thanked us for listening to him, also remarking "you've been great", he received a good round of applause ending his talk.

When Mark had finished Rob presented him with a plaque, drawing a round of applause. At that point Rob asked Gordon Hasse to come up on stage. Gordon then presented the following tribute to the late coin machine historian Dick Bueschel.

"I'd like to say a few words in behalf of a good friend who couldn't be with us here tonight. That good friend, of course, is Dick Bueschel.

And the words I'd like to say in his behalf are that he loved this industry and this hobby and all the people in it. Especially those who are gathered here in this room. He found you open. And generous. And honorable. And a wealth of fascinating information. For once everyone understood what he was up to...you were supportive of his every effort.

If Dick had had his way, he would have expired at a gathering just like this. In fact, I'm told, he had asked to be taken to the last Chicagoland Show on the very evening of his death. It didn't surprise me. That was Dick Bueschel.

To say that he was bigger than life would have upset him. For he failed to see the distinction between whatever engaged his vast energies and talents and life itself. He was the consummate family man. Fiercely devoted to his beloved wife Helen, his two daughters Stacy & Megan and their respective spouses. He was the consummate advertising man. One of the last of the great copy/contact giants who once dominated industrial advertising. An intrepid cold caller, fearless presenter, persuasive closer and creative firebrand.

He was also the consummate author. The inevitable result of being a voracious accumulator of things, people and ideas. He was a tireless researcher. An incisive interviewer. A profound thinker. A highly disciplined and prolific writer. A man gifted with the talent to transform whatever touched him deeply into something incandescent. Whatever his subject - From World War II Chinese aircraft to ragtime composers to coin operated amusement machines.

Though he avowed atheism, Dick had an unwavering faith in the goodness and worth of his fellow man. He was trusting almost to a fault. Routinely concluding important business and financial arrangements with a simple handshake. And though he spent most of his successful career in a business that has traditionally been stained by moral cowardice and personal compromise, Dick managed to emerge unmarked. Unjaded by the cynicism. Uncorrupted by the cynics.

Someone less worldly, astute, or centered might have been labeled a Pollyanna. But it was part of Dick's vast and engaging charm that he raced headlong into everything he did with rose colored glasses. His generosity was legend. And all you had to do to lay claim to huge amounts of Dick's time, knowledge, or experience was to be genuinely interested.

The same was true of the things he owned. For if you loved something of Dick's, as much or more than he did...it was yours. In many cases as an outright gift. But always for far less than it would take for him to replace it. And that is the final irony and sadness of Dick's passing. That so many of the gifts he had intended to give us will never be conferred.

We've lost an important advocate and a good friend at a time when the industry is struggling to redefine itself. Ultimately, there will be a turnaround. A new kind of pinball will be born out of vision, talent and just plain guts that will take this great game and industry into the new millennium - and beyond. That success will be the finest tribute you could pay to Dick's courage and to the great confidence that he had in all of you."

When Gordon ended his tribute to Dick he was given a hearty round of applause. After that Rob introduced the people seated with him at the first table which included his wife and her parents, his co-host Mike Pacak, and the guest speaker Mark Ritchie.

At that point Rob said he was going to do something that was an "Expo tradition". He then asked all the Expo "first timers" to stand up. Next he asked all who had attended all of the past thirteen Expos to stand up (which included myself). Finally he asked all foreign Expo visitors to stand and tell what countries they were from. The countries represented were: Argentina, Belgium, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Japan, and South Africa.

Rob then announced it was time for the annual award for the "Best Exhibit" in the Exhibit Hall. This year he said there was a tie - between Steve Engle's Mayfair Amusements booth and Steve Young's Pinball Resource booth. These great exhibitors were then given a round of applause after receiving plaques.

After that Rob announced that the next presentation was another "Expo tradition" - the Expo "Pinball Hall of Fame". He then told us that the inductee this year was pinball artist Gordon Morrison who did art for the contractor Advertising Posters, doing the artwork for about 125 pingames. After announcing that the plaque would be sent to Gordon since he was not present, Gordon received a round of applause.

Rob then asked Sega Pinball designer Jon Norris to come up on stage, presenting him with a plaque for his company in appreciation for their "factory support" at the show. After giving recognition to the members of his Expo staff (they then receiving a round of applause), Rob presented certificates to all those who had taken part in that year's seminars. Rob then gave special thanks to his co-host Mike Pacak who also received a round of applause.

It was then time for a special presentation at the Expo, and for that Rob called a gentleman named Walter Day up on stage who for the past 16 years, Rob told us, operated the Twin Galaxies Arcade in Iowa. Walter first told us that back around 1982 he began compiling what he called the "Galaxies National Scoreboard". At first, Walter said, his scoreboard kept records of high scores all around the country for video games. A few year later, he went on, he added pinball scores to his project.

After telling us that he had been recording high pinball scores at the past two Expos, Walter said that next year he would put out a "World Pinball Record Book" which would include those scores. He then told of an "International Registry of Pinball and Video Arcades". Walter said he was now going to give out awards to arcades which had lasted for many years. After reading the wording of the award certificates, Walter presented three such awards.

The arcades receiving these awards were: The Space Station in Anchorage, Alaska; The Lightning Rod in Capitola, California; and Friar Tuck's in Calumet City, Illinois, which Walter said had been in business since 1982. At that point the owner of Friar Tuck's (a gentleman named Tom) was asked to come up and receive his award. Tom then gave a short talk during which he commented that pinball machines were technically illegal in their town. He then received a round of applause for his establishment.

After the awards presentation was over Rob again asked all of us who had attended all of the past Expos to stand so he could count us, then thanking us for attending. He then announced that the next Expo ('99), which would be the show's 15th year, would be held October 21 through 24, 1999. At that show, Rob then remarked, we will "pull out all the stops", saying that they planned to have as special guests, ex-Gottlieb designer John Osborne, as well as pinball artist Christian Marche, that drawing a round of applause.

At that point Rob told of the Flip-Out tournament finals to be held the next morning. After then asking anyone who wanted to to meet with him after the banquet and tell him what they would like to see at the next Expo, he thanked everyone for attending. That brought a final round of applause, and also ended the banquet festivities.

THE EXHIBIT HALL

As has been true of all the past Expos, the Exhibit Hall was the place where much of the "business" of the show was conducted. It is the place where all the buying and selling of pingames and related parts and literature takes place. It is also the place where people play pinball - a main attraction to many Expo attendees. And finally, it is the place where many pinball fans congregate and visit with each other - one of my personal highlights of these shows.

The number of exhibitors seemed to be about the same as at the previous Expo. Also many of the same dealers exhibited at both shows. There were, however, a couple exhibitors who used to attend Expo who have been conspicuously absent the last two years - notably Jim and Judy Tolbert's For Amusement Only booth, and Herb Silver's Fabulous Fantasies booth, both from California.

There were, however, several exhibitors there who have been at most all of the previous shows. These included Steve Young's Pinball Resource, with a good selection of pinball parts and literature; Steve Engle's Mayfair Amusements, with a similar line of items for sale; and Larry Bieza's booth selling a few pingames and also literature.

And, of course, the ever-present booth of Expo co-host Mike Pacak with his fine assortment of pinball advertising flyers, plus other literature. There were also several booths selling a large assortment of pingames, including a dealer from Wisconsin with a large selection of pins of the "Add-A-Ball" variety

An approximate breakdown of how many games were in the hall from each decade is as follows: There were only a few games from the first three decades of pinball production - only 3 from the 1930's, 2 from the 1940's, and 9 from the 1950's. There were 28 games from the 1960's, many of which were the Add-A-Ball games previously mentioned. From the 1970's there were 32 electro-mechanical pins and 11 solid-state. From the 1980's there were18 machines, and from the current decade around 22 games. The following is a chronological listing of the pingames in the Exhibit Hall (with asking prices when available).

CHRONOLOGICAL PARTIAL LIST OF PINGAMES AT PINBALL EXPO 1998

NAME	MFG.	YEAR	PRICE
LUCKY STRIKE	Pace	1932	295
OFFICIAL	Mills	1932	395
JACK AND JILL	Bally	1933	395
DEW-WADITTY	Williams	1948	600
EL PASO (AS IS)	Williams	1948	100
GLOBE TROTTER	Gottlieb	1951
FOUR CORNERS	Williams	1952	NOT FOR SALE
ARABIAN NIGHTS	Gottlieb	1953	1095
STRUGGLE BUGGIES	Williams	1953	850
TIMES SQUARE	Williams	1953	NOT FOR SALE
BIG INNING (BB)	Bally	1958	OFFER
ROTO POOL	Gottlieb	1958	1450
SATELLITE (AS IS)	Williams	1958	100
FIESTA	Williams	1959	300
JUNGLE	Williams	1960	300
TEXAN	Gottlieb	1960
BIG CASINO	Gottlieb	1961	350
FLIPPER PARADE (AAB)	Gottlieb	1961	995
SHOWBOAT	Gottlieb	1961
EGG HEAD	Gottlieb	1962
SLICK CHICK	Gottlieb	1963	775
WORLD FAIR	Gottlieb	1964
ALPINE CLUB	Williams	1965	450
BANK-ABALL	Gottlieb	1965	500
BIG STRIKE	Williams	1965	350
BUCKAROO	Gottlieb	1965	1400
COWPOKE	Gottlieb	1965	995
MOULIN ROUGE	Williams	1965	NOT FOR SALE
SIX STICKS	Bally	1965
SKI CLUB	Williams	1965	1000
CAPERSVILLE	Bally	1966	695
CENTRAL PARK	Gottlieb	1966	850
APOLLO	Williams	1967	350
BLAST OFF	Williams	1967	400
DAIMOND JACK (AAB)	Gottlieb	1967	500
DERBY DAY	Williams	1967	350
DAFFY	Williams	1968	350
FUN PARK (AAB)	Gottlieb	1968	595
PALACE GUARD (AAB)	Gottlieb	1968	600
SPIN WHEEL	Gottlieb	1968	300
MINI POOL	Gottlieb	1969	400
TARGET POOL	Gottlieb	1969	600
EL TORO	Bally	1970
FOUR MILLION B.C.	Bally	1970
STRAIGHT FLUSH	Williams	1970
DIMENSION (AAB)	Gottlieb	1971
FOUR SQUARE	Gottlieb	1971
GOLD RUSH	Williams	1971
HIGH SCORE POOL	Chicago Coin	1971	400
HOME RUN (AAB)	Gottlieb	1971	300, 400
PLAYBALL	Gottlieb	1971	350
GRANADA	Williams	1972
GRAND SLAM	Gottlieb	1972	350
POP-ACARD	Gottlieb	1972	625
SPANISH EYES (AS IS)	Bally	1972	100
TWIN JOKER	Bally	1972	300
WORLD SERIES (AAB)	Gottlieb	1972	600
CHAMP	Bally	1973	375
GULFSTREAM	Williams	1973	60 0
HIGH HAND	Gottlieb	1973	425
KING PIN	Gottlieb	1973
PRO FOOTBALL	Gottlieb	1973
BIG SHOT	Gottlieb	1974	RAFFLE
BIG SHOT	Gottlieb	1974	225
CAPT. CARD (AAB)	Gottlieb	1974	500
SKY LAB	Williams	1974	75
CAPT. FANTASTIC	Bally	1975	590, 950
OLD CHICAGO	Bally	1975	500
SPIN OUT	Gottlieb	1975
TOP SCORE	Gottlieb	1975	475
TRIPLE STRIKE	Williams	1975	300
NIGHT RIDER	Bally	1976
NIGHT RIDER (EM)	Bally	1976
CENTIGRADE 37	Gottlieb	1977	450
EIGHT BALL	Bally	1977	695
LIBERTYBELL	Williams	1977	350
RAWHIDE	Stern	1977	125
STRIKES AND SPARES	Bally	1977	375
KISS	Bally	1978
PARAGON	Bally	1978
SILVERBALL MANIA	Bally	1978	750
WORLD CUP	Williams	1978	300
GORGAR	Williams	1979
HOTDOGGIN'	Bally	1979	375
SPACE INVADERS	Bally	1979	375
BLACK KNIGHT	Williams	1980	1400
EMBRYON	Bally	1980	300
FATHOM	Bally	1980	800
BARACORA	Williams	1981
JUNGLE LORD	Williams	1981	175, 650
PHARAOH	Williams	1981	495
BABY PACMAN	Bally	1982	695
DEFENDER	Williams	1982
RAPID FIRE	Bally	1982	100, 300
SPEAKEASY	Bally	1982
TIME FANTASY	Williams	1983	595
SPACE SHUTTLE	Williams	1984
GENESIS	Gottlieb	1986	550
GRAND LIZARD	Williams	1986	275
HARDBODY	Bally	1987	295
VICTORY	Gottlieb	1987
ESCAPE FROM THE LOST WORLD	Bally	1988
BAD CATS	Williams	1989	295
TOTAL RECALL	Data East	1990
ADDAMS FAMILY	Bally	1991	1595
GILLIGAN'S ISLAND	Bally	1991	1200
PARTY ZONE	Bally	1991
TERMINATOR 2	Williams	1991	1995
DOCTOR WHO	Bally	1992	1200
LETHAL WEAPON III	Data East	1992	700, 1995
STAR WARS	Data East	1992	1095
WHITEWATER	Williams	1992	12 00
CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON	Bally	1993
INDIANA JONES	Williams	1993	1500
JURASSIC PARK	Data East	1993	995, 1800
MYSTERY CASTLE	Alvin G.	1993	1295
STAR TREK - THE NEXT GENERATION	Williams	1993	1795
TALES FROM THE CRYPT	Data East	1993	1500
TOMMY	Data East	1994	1295
WORLD CUP SOCCER	Bally	1994	1795
GOLDENEYE	Sega	1996	1500
SAFE CRACKER	Bally	1996
BIG BANG BAR	Capcom	1997	NOT FOR SALE
NO GOOD GOPHERS	Williams	1997	RAFFLE
GOLDEN CUE	Sega	1998	DEMO

Well, this ends my description of another great Pinball Expo. As I have for the past 13 years, I really enjoyed attending Pinball Expo again this year. Next year (as I said earlier) will be the 15th Expo and I sincerely hope to be able to attend again.