The Pinball Expo

Pinball Expo is an event that is held annually in the Chicago area, the original home of most pinball manufacturers.[1] It attracts pinball industry professionals, pinball players, collectors, and enthusiasts from around the world. Founded by Robert "Rob" Berk, of Warren, Ohio, the event was inaugurated over the weekend of November 22–24, 1985 at the Holiday Inn O'Hare/Kennedy in Rosemont, IL. At the 33rd Pinball Expo, on Saturday, October 14, 2017, Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day made a presentation on behalf of Guinness World Records, issuing a Guinness award that recognized The Pinball Expo as history's "longest-running pinball event."[2]

The Pinball Expo
GenrePinball Show
Begins14 October 5:00pm
Ends18 October 10:00pm
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Westin North Shore
Years active35
Inaugurated22-24 November 1985
FounderRobert Berk
Most recent16-19 October 2019
Previous event16-19 October 2019
Next event14-18 October 2020
AreaWheeling, Illinois
Websitehttp://www.pinballexpo.com/

The birth and growth of Pinball Expo

Founded in 1985, Pinball Expo is the longest-running event dedicated to pinball. It was conceived in 1984 by Robert "Rob" Berk of Warren, Ohio, with the purpose of honoring his heroes of the pinball industry; the artists and designers. With the assistance of Bill Kurtz of Cleveland, Ohio, and later Mike Pacak of Canfield, Ohio, the trio held their first event over the weekend of November 22–24, 1985 at the Holiday Inn O'Hare/Kennedy in Rosemont, Illinois. The inaugural event attracted around 100 attendees from all parts of the world and a dozen vendors. The expo offers seminars, a tour of a pinball factory, an autograph session, tournaments, an exhibit hall of pinball machines, parts, and related paraphernalia, and much more. On October 26, 1991, the Pinball Expo launched the Pinball Expo Hall of Fame and inducted its first class of pinball luminaries: David Gottlieb, Ray Moloney, Sam Stern, and Harry E. Williams. The event is open to the general public.

Pinball World Premieres held at the Pinball Expo

As one of the most prestigious pinball events in the world, the Pinball Expo has been chosen by many pinball manufacturers as the site for official "world premieres" of new pinball titles. Among the games released at the Pinball Expo are:

Year Pinball Title Manufactureer
1985 Loch Ness Monster Game Plan
1987 Laser Wars Data East
1988 Baby In The Hole Data East
1990 King Kong Data East
2014 Full Throttle[3] Heighway Pinball
2016 Dialed In![4] Jersey Jack Pinball
2016 Alien[5] Heighway Pinball
2016 Batman 66[6] Stern Pinball, Inc.
2017 Pirates of the Caribbean[7] Jersey Jack Pinball
2018 Oktoberfest: Pinball on Tap American Pinball

Chronology of Annual Pinball Expos
Year Date Location Show Highlights this Year
1 [8] 1985 November 22–24 Holiday Inn O'Hare/Kennedy in Rosemont, IL Premiere Technology/Gottlieb Plant Tour
2 [9] 1986 November 21–23 Holiday Inn O'Hare/Kennedy in Rosemont, IL Williams Plant Tour
3 [10] 1987 October 9–11 Holiday Inn O'Hare/Kennedy in Rosemont, IL
4 [11] 1988 October 7–9 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
5 [12] 1989 September 29–30 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
6 [13] 1990 November 9–10 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
7[14] 1991 October 25–27 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport) Pinball Expo Hall of Fame Inaugurated
8 [15] 1992 November 12–15 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
9 [16] 1993 September 9–12 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
10 [17] 1994 November 10–13 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
11 [18] 1995 October 26–29 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
12 [19] 1996 November 14–17 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
13 [20] 1997 November 13–16 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
14 [21] 1998 October 22–25 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
15 [22] 1999 October 21–24 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
16 [23] 2000 October 19–22 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
17 [24] 2001 October 18–21 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
18 [25] 2002 October 17–20 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
19 [26] 2003 October 16–19 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
20 [27] 2004 October 14–17 Ramada Inn, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
21 [28] 2005 November 17–20 Wyndam Hotel, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
22 [29] 2006 November 2–6 Wyndam Hotel, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
23 [30] 2007 October 24–28 Wyndam Hotel, Rosemont, IL (near O’Hare Airport)
24 [31] 2008 October 1–5 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
25 [32] 2009 October 14–18 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
26 [33] 2010 October 20–24 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
27 [34] 2011 October 19–23 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
28 [35] 2012 October 17–21 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
29 [36] 2013 October 16–20 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
30 [37] 2014 October 17–19 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
31 [38] 2015 October 14–18 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
32 [39] 2016 October 12–16 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
33 [40] 2017 October 11–15 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
34 [41] 2018 October 17–20 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL
35 2019 October 16–19 Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, Wheeling, IL

Pinball Expo Hall of Fame

As early as Pinball Expo '88, Rob Berk was championing the idea of a Pinball Expo Hall of Fame. In 1991 the Hall of Fame was created with the induction of Harry E. Williams, Sam Stern, Ray Moloney and David Gottlieb.

Date Inductee References
October 17, 2019 Mike O'Donnell, Cassandra Peterson, Pat Powers
October 19, 2018 Elliot Eismen, Jon Norris, Ken Fedesna
October 21, 2017 Gordon Horlick, Dwight Sullivan, Pat McMahon, Brian Schmidt, Neal Falconer
October 15, 2016 Don Marshall Connie Mitchell
October 17, 2015 John Rotharmel David Thiel Lyman Sheats Jr.
October 18, 2014 Nolan Bushnell Brian Eddy
October 19, 2013 Lonnie Ropp, Suzanne Ciani, Eugene Jarvis
October 20, 2012 Steve Kirk John Borg
October 22, 2011 Mark Ritchie John Popadiuk
October 23, 2010 Python Anghelo Gary Flower Michael Shalhoub Clay Harrell
October 17, 2009 Dennis Nordman Barry Oursler Michael Stroll Jim Schelberg
October 4, 2008 Ted Zale George Gomez
October 27, 2007 Lou, Dave and Meyer Gensberg (Genco) Alvin Gottlieb John Youssi
October 2, 2006 Paul Faris Judd Weinberg
November 19, 2005 Margaret Hudson Roy Parker
October 16, 2004 Robert Berk, Ed Cebula, Greg Freres, Gary Gayton, Kevin O'Connor, Michael Pacak, Joe Kaminkow
October 18, 2003 Tom Nieman [42] Edward Krynski [43]
October 19, 2002 Christian Marche [44] Jim Patla [45]
October 11, 2001 Gary Stern [46] Steve Young [47]
October 21, 2000 Pat Lawlor [48] Roger Sharpe [49]
October 23, 1999 Larry Demar [50] Greg Kmiec [51]
October 24, 1998 Gordon Morison [52]
November 15, 1997 Dick Bueschel [53] Steve Ritchie [54]
November 16, 1996 Dave Christensen [55]
October 28, 1995 Norm Clark [56] Wendell McAdams [57]
November 12, 1994 Wayne Neyens [58]
September 11, 1993 Steve Kordek [59] George Molentin [60]
October 24, 1992 Harvey Heiss [61] Harry Mabs [62]
October 26, 1991 David Gottlieb [63] Harry E. Williams [64] Ray Moloney [65] Sam Stern [66]

Pinball Expo Service and Support Hall of Fame

The Pinball Expo Service and Support Hall of Fame was established at the 2014 Expo to recognize individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the hobby of pinball.

Date Inductee References
October 17, 2019 Pinball Life
October 19, 2018 Martin Ayub
October 21, 2017 Walter Day, Lloyd Olson
October 15, 2016 Jay Stafford, Dave Marston
October 17, 2015 Marco Specialties
October 18, 2014 Shelly Sax, Churchhill Cabinets, Foremost Plastics
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gollark: Oh, I see.
gollark: Is truncating a few digits that much of a problem? I am not sure how precise stoves are.
gollark: Like IPv6.
gollark: I think metric is basically entirely better but is somewhat hard to switch over to everywhere.

References
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  2. "Playmeter December 2015".
  3. "Pinball News - First and Free". www.pinballnews.com. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
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  6. "PINBALL EXPO 2016". Welcome to Pinball News - First & Free. 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  7. "PINBALL EXPO 2017 – THURSDAY". Welcome to Pinball News - First & Free. 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
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  9. "PINBALL EXPO '86 -THE SECOND 'HURRAH'- By Russ Jensen". www.pinballcollectorsresource.com.
  10. "PINBALL EXPO '87 -It 's The People- By Russ Jensen". www.pinballcollectorsresource.com.
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  12. "PINBALL EXPO '89 - My wife comes along - By Russ Jensen". www.pinballcollectorsresource.com.
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  14. "PINBALL EXPO '91 - The Seventh Year - By Russ Jensen". www.pinballcollectorsresource.com.
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  16. "PINBALL EXPO '93 (PART 1) By Russ Jensen". www.pinballcollectorsresource.com.
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  19. "PINBALL EXPO '96 (The Year of Coincidences) By Russ Jensen". www.pinballcollectorsresource.com.
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  41. "Pinball Expo in Chicago - Home Page". www.pinballexpo.net.
  42. "The Walter Day Collection - 0807 Tom Nieman".
  43. "The Walter Day Collection - 0803 Ed Krynski".
  44. "The Walter Day Collection - 0813 Christian Marche".
  45. "The Walter Day Collection - 0819 Jim Patla".
  46. "The Walter Day Collection - 0825 Gary Stern".
  47. "The Walter Day Collection - 0830 Steve Young".
  48. "The Walter Day Collection - 0836 Pat Lawlor".
  49. "The Walter Day Collection - 0830 Steve Young".
  50. "The Walter Day Collection - 0844 Larry DeMar".
  51. "The Walter Day Collection - 0854 Greg Kmiec".
  52. "The Walter Day Collection - 0855 Gordon Morison".
  53. "The Walter Day Collection - 0859 Dick Bueschel".
  54. "The Walter Day Collection - 0863 Steve Ritchie".
  55. "The Walter Day Collection - 0867 Dave Christensen".
  56. "The Walter Day Collection - 0870 Norm Clark".
  57. "The Walter Day Collection - 0871 Wendell McAdams".
  58. "The Walter Day Collection - 0876 Wayne Neyens".
  59. "The Walter Day Collection - 0880 Steve Kordek".
  60. "The Walter Day Collection - 0886 George Molentin".
  61. "The Walter Day Collection - 0889 Harvey Heiss".
  62. "The Walter Day Collection - 0890 Harry Mabs".
  63. "The Walter Day Collection - 0522 David Gottlieb".
  64. "The Walter Day Collection - 0520 Harry Williams".
  65. "The Walter Day Collection - 0538 Ray Moloney".
  66. "Sam Stern Biographical Card".
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