Note from the organizers.
This year we had great weather at the show, but a fire near Heathrow airport, snow in the US, and other unforeseen events directly impacted 4 of our exhibitor’s ability to join us as. This led us to some open space which made the show feel much less crowded than prior years. However we had about 4200 attendees enjoying the 429+ games that we had on the floor. As always, it is great seeing old friends and making new ones which for most is the best part the show.
Games this year included first ever appearances for Multimorphic’s Portal and Turner Pinball’s -Merlin’s Arcade, as well as the updated releases from Chicago Gaming for Medieval Madness and Cactus Canyon all announced the week of the show. Avatar’s first appearance at the show had a top level of interest from the fans. This was the also first exposure for many to D&D and Evil Dead.
Our back door check in team was all new for this show- Grieg Riddle, Brandon Walker with Sunbelt Rentals, Chris Campbell, Mike Muton and Earl Balzer. They adjusted the plan to 3 large exhibitors that showed up early and everybody else that all arrived precisely at noon on Thursday (whilst we were still putting the finishing touches on marking the floor BTW). And thank you to Tony Lanphier who volunteer in the early Thursday hours to help finish our late start floor layout. We think this is the swiftest breakdown in the history of the show with just a few of us left after 7pm on Sunday night / Monday morning.
Team Retail – Darryl Gamboa, Marc Davis, Laura Tennison, David Vandiver, Beverly Gamboa, Sara Harris, Stefanie Vandiver, Lisa Miller, Brittany Parker, Kris Klinge and Hannah, Jerry Sinclair, Carey Fishman. Earl Balzer is in here too, that guy was helping out everywhere.
Tech support. There was less than 2% of machines down at any point due to the efforts of: Kevin Moore & Jessica Richardson with Pinball-ERS. Pat Danis, Mike Menchu, David and Loretta Corbin, Billy Burgess, Frank Haley, Sandra Hegeman… and Rob Anthony of Lock when Lit, and of course the EM expertise of Nic Schell, Bob Herbison, Ken Head. Special thanks to Cayman Kai for supporting all the games as well as bringing the Alice Homebrew. And I know I missed another ½ dozen of you that helped (call me). Also, a shout out to Sean Palmer for getting my Godzilla set up (again, Organizers shouldn’t bring games) and to Kevin Moore for laying hands on it when it wouldn’t boot up. I blame wonky power levels; Kevin credits his magical abilities.
Richard/Howard/Gerald with Visionality Thank You! for supporting our AV needs and streams on Twitch. Look for the replays soon on our YouTube channels (we will cross post to Marco too). We appreciate the sponsorship of our stream from PlayerOne Amusements.
Seminars – Can’t say enough thanks to Imoto and Pam Heffern in coordinating our seminars and all the time spent getting ready before the show. Imoto, Craig and Roper, thanks for coordinating another great Stern/Fun/Marco booth and for Aaron with FASTpinball coordinating getting those home brew games on the floor. Cool lighting and theming also adorned several of the booths this year from the Game Preserve to JJP so most creative booth remains fierce!
Swap meet-up. We already plan to move this to 7am start next year! Thank you Russell and Shawn for the early rise, donut and coffee and another winning find for Ken Head!
Six food trucks were there for most of the show and a new picnic area seems to have worked out well! Special thanks goes to Marcel van Kessel, who when he wasn’t legging up games or assembling tables, used his additional height to help get the lights above the picnic tables. There are many at the show like him, who just show up and pitch in with all the little surprises that happen needing a little help in the set-up hours.
There was over $3K in some well-deserved machine awards given out and $7K in collector incentives. We greatly appreciate the exhaustive efforts of our Judges team. Keith Holbrook, Scott Martin, Bill Morrison, Rich Wiski, Michael Lube in their rigorous selection methods and dedication of time.
Show Award Winners
Best Antique (Pre-1960)-Baffle Ball [Gottlieb, 1931] – Redshaw
Best 1960’s-Diamond Jack [Gottlieb, 1967] – Ken Head
Best 1970’s (EM)-Jet Spin [Gottlieb, 1977] – Ken Head
Best 1970s (SS) / 1980’s-Big Game Prototype [Stern, 1980] – Tommy Skinner
Best 1990’s-Bride of Pin*Bot [Williams, 1991] – Eric Smith
Best 00’s-Playboy [Stern, 2002] – Brandon Haney
Best Modern-Jaws [Stern, 2024] – Kim Keist
Best Original-Devil King [Tecnoplay, 1987] – Wormhole Pinball
Best Newcomer-Mr. and Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball [Bally, 1982] – Paul Brown
Best Restoration-Future Spa [Bally, 1979] – Ben Bassinger
Best Custom Pinball-The Greatest Showman [2025] – Pinball Reborn
Best Classic Arcade Video Game-Punch-Out!! [Nintendo, 1984] – Brian and Kathy Smith
Best Custom/Innovative Video Game-Tekken 7-Fated Retribution [Custom, 2025] – Ismael Rodriguez
GRAND CHAMPION – Dracula – Damon White / Aaron Mabau
Tournaments
Thank you to Louis Marx, Elizabeth & David Dornet, Kevin Stone, Ken Kemp, & Ray Ford and numerous volunteer score keepers. Mike McKenna on tech support kept the problems to a minimum and Wormhole’s streaming was enjoyed by a constant crowd downstairs in the lobby. And of course, these tournaments can’t happen without all the folks that donated games for tournament play.
Congrats for running tournaments that finished on time and allowed some show floor time this year. Shout out to History of Pinball, Hangar and NorthTXPinball for the side tournaments. In addition to the fun of competition, these often introduce the public to their first Tournament experience. Tom George, we appreciate you organizing the kids tournament this year too. Well, done!
Wizards A
1st Place – Texas Grand Champion – Preston Moncla! Way to go Preston! 2nd place Jack Revnew. 3rd place Garrett Shahan. 4th place Nick Mueller
Wizards B
1st Place – Austin Kemp. 2nd place Michael Hew. 3rd place Ian Taylor. 4th place Jokton Strealy
Wizards Novice
1st Place – Allie Lawson. 2nd place Ali Diaz. 3rd place Michael Hendrick. 4th place Shane Told
Women’s Texas Takedown
1st Place – Dawnda Durbin. 2nd place Mandy Peel. 3rd place Ariel Dutton. 4th place Kelly Moncla
Kids Tournament
-Paul and Robert