The Great British Pinball Podcast Ep 30 Part 2 - Exclusive interview Rob Berk - Pinball Expo!
The Great British Pinball Podcast
32 min
Summary
Rob Berk previews Pinball Expo 41 with legendary seminars, expanded vendors, and rare game debuts.
Neil McRae interviews Rob Berk, founder of Pinball Expo, about the 41st annual event happening in Chicago. Rob details major highlights including seminars with legendary designers (Pat Lawlor, Joe Kaminkow, Steve Ritchie), expanded vendor presence (Marco's 80x80 booth with 40+ homebrews, Planetary Pinball, Jeff Moorhead), special attractions (Cithara guitars made from playfields, Bittronic and Home Pin games, Blues Brothers machine), and themed events (1930s speakeasy tournament). The conversation emphasizes Expo's role as the pinball community's gathering point and the event's growth from 100 attendees to filling 100,000 square feet.
Highlights
- Pinball Expo has grown from 100 attendees at day one to filling 100,000 square feet of space, with 10,000 to 25,000 to current 100,000+ square feet progression
- Hotels filled up faster than ever before for Expo 41, indicating unprecedented demand
- Joe Kaminkow single-handedly spent a million dollars of his own pocket to produce the Beatles pinball machine
- Pat Lawlor seminars have been the most popular seminars at Expo since day one, with rooms consistently packed
- Bittronic and Home Pin games will appear at Expo for the first time, with Blues Brothers from Home Pin being 'the first time at least that I seen on American soil'
- Marco Specialties expanded their booth from 20x20/20x30 to 80x80 feet and is introducing a 'Marco supermarket' discount sale of scratch-and-dent items for the first time
- There are 40+ homebrew games on display at Expo 41, up from 3-4 games in earlier years
- Rob Berk has 40 hours of seminars scheduled and spends at least 40 hours making phone calls to coordinate them
- About 15 British visitors are coming to Expo 41, with potential for 50 if Rob's dinner offer incentivizes more
- Cithara guitar company will have 6-8 guitars made from pinball playfields at Expo for the first time
Send us Fan Mail Neil has a last minute interview with Rob Berk ahead of Pinball Expo this week.
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