Wisconsin Pinball

Greetings,

Apologies if this isn't appropriate for this board, but it seems relevant. I'm the coordinator for the gaming convention Coulee Con (http://couleecon.com) held in La Crosse, WI. This year's convention will be August 25-27, 2017. This is the third year for our convention. Last year's attendance was 461 and this year we're projecting an attendance of 550.

We're interested in creating a room this year arcade/pinball machines for attendees to use. In exchange for bringing a machine, we can provide free weekend pass to the convention and space to advertise/sell your machine. The only requirement is that the machine would be available all weekend for attendees to play for free.

If you are interested or know of someone who might be, please contact coordinator [at] couleecon [dot] com

Welcome,

You mentioned the word pinball in your post so I think you get a pass.

This might turn into the MN show people have been looking for since there isn't anything in the twin cities yet.

Your show falls right on the cusp of when most in this hobby start thinking about pinball again since many of us play with our cars and such during the summer.

Additionally. You might set up an account and post something in this thread on the other pinball website. It's where most of the MN/WI pinball nerds hang out when we aren't hanging out here.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/unoff ... st-3534334

Finally,

If you can or maybe you have, check out this show. Dan & Gary run one of the best shows I have ever been a part of. Between the ease of bringing in machines and the way he takes care of those that do he really has created a community event.

https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com

Good luck

Chris

Thank you for all the info! I'll be sure to post on the other board as well.

I haven't attended Midwest Gaming Classic myself, but a colleague of mine had and suggested the idea. I've sent them a note to see if they might have some advice to offer.

Coulee Con is focused on bringing together gamers of all sorts from the region and it seems like the pinball/arcade machine community would fit right in. For 2017, we're just hoping for a small number of setups for a trial run. If all goes well, we would love to expand and offer the community more opportunities to grow, network, and share the hobby.

MGC has grown dramatically over the years (in much the same way you want to), and has probably hit every bump in the road there has been to hit. If you can pick their brains you'll probably gain years of knowledge in a conversation.

Best of luck in your organizing, and I suggest you attend MGC this year to check it out "for research purposes".

Chris K,

Whatcha bringing to MGC?

I was thinking about that... Not SF2, it's a little flaky right now. Not Taxi, it's likely out the door soon. Not Getaway, I need to figure out a sound problem. Not TNG, it's a monstrosity that will leave my basement when hoverboards are invented. Not POTO, we're still having our honeymoon and I just got her back on her feet.

Ghostbusters? It's lightweight and reliable. But that seems like a bad idea....

I think I need to quick buy a table and bring it to MGC!

Chris K wrote:
I think I need to quick buy a table and bring it to MGC!

I like how you think, but I would love to see POTO. It is rarely seen and a fun game!

Chris K wrote: I think I need to quick buy a table and bring it to MGC!

I was thinking the same thing.

Someone sell me a Gameshow or SOF

Originally I had a garage machine that was just for shows but now the garage is full with other peoples things. So there is no room for any extra toys.

chris

Sell Chris the Game Show. Sell me a SOF.

A garage machine? Ferris Bueller, you're my hero...

Chris K wrote:Sell Chris the Game Show. Sell me a SOF.

A garage machine? Ferris Bueller, you're my hero...

He is being modest..... His garage machines are usually pairs of the exact same title. I think he mentioned to me one time that "If I can play both of them at the same time, when it comes time for Ballers, playing just one of them will be way easier"......

Couleecon wrote:Greetings,

Apologies if this isn't appropriate for this board, but it seems relevant. I'm the coordinator for the gaming convention Coulee Con (http://couleecon.com) held in La Crosse, WI. This year's convention will be August 25-27, 2017. This is the third year for our convention. Last year's attendance was 461 and this year we're projecting an attendance of 550.

We're interested in creating a room this year arcade/pinball machines for attendees to use. In exchange for bringing a machine, we can provide free weekend pass to the convention and space to advertise/sell your machine. The only requirement is that the machine would be available all weekend for attendees to play for free.

If you are interested or know of someone who might be, please contact coordinator [at] couleecon [dot] com

you should contact Stansfield Vending. They have a gameroom store at their office in La Crosse.

KingPin Games wrote:
you should contact Stansfield Vending. They have a gameroom store at their office in La Crosse.

Thanks for the suggestion. I chatted with one of the owners last year and she said that the logistics for this kind of small event were too much for them to make it worthwhile.

And that's why you come here and look for those to bring their games for fun.

I think the only bummer about the event is no alcohol but I understand wanting to keep it family friendly.........maybe I have a problem.

ChrisS wrote:And that's why you come here and look for those to bring their games for fun.

I think the only bummer about the event is no alcohol but I understand wanting to keep it family friendly.........maybe I have a problem.

Yes, since our convention is about bringing people together around the games that they love and we thought perhaps there might be interest from the hobbyist community.

To your comment about drinks, I think we'd be fine with having adult beverages available in the evening. The problem is we'd have to pay through the nose for concessions. The venue has rigid rules about minimum amount sold per hour and we would be on the hook to pay the difference . Small conventions like ours pretty much run on shoestring budgets so we have to be pretty careful about open ended agreements like that.

I've gone to MGC for many years, and aside from being handed Monster drinks from the "booth babe" ladies one year and a couple desperation subs when we were really hard up for some nourishment, we tend to head out for lunch and dinner. I'd rather pay $8 for a restaurant hamburger and beer than $8 for a eight-hour-steamed hot dog in a convention hall, and after six hours of gaming a little fresh air is welcome before diving back in.

Just the way we do it. I'm the second-most hardcore Chris here.