‘The show is about the people’: After 42 years, Pinball Expo is still going strong
A supposedly one-and-done Pinball Expo back in 1985 is on its way to the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel this week to mark its 42nd year.
Still overseen by founder Rob Berk, the ever-expanding celebration of all things pinball will kick off at 7 p.m. Wednesday with the Bumper Blast Welcoming Party at Enterrium at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg and then carry on through Saturday at the nearby convention center.
“When I did this show back in 1985, the whole point was to honor my heroes,” Berk said. “I don’t see it stopping. There’ll be a lot fun in the air, a lot of enthusiasm.”
With a growing international fan base, more companies joining the industry and social media sites stoking the fire, Berk expects attendance to break last year’s record of about 6,000.
Though it’s the 42nd running of the show, finding new vendors and seminar speakers to highlight each year is becoming easier than ever, he said.
But for Berk himself, the highlight is always the new faces that come to see what he’s booked.
“To me, the show is about the people,” he said. “For everyone to have an emotional high at the show.”
Except during the pandemic year when the expo became a yearlong series of seminars at his home base in Girard, Ohio, Berk has always held it in the Chicago area. That’s because the region is so deeply ingrained in the history of pinball, he said.
The expo will include tours in neighboring Elk Grove Village of the Jersey Jack Pinball and Stern Pinball factories. The latter’s 40th anniversary will be celebrated at the show.
Jersey Jack’s creation of a new Sonic the Hedgehog pinball machine has inspired a related costume contest at the expo and an appearance by the Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of Sonic the Hedgehog memorabilia.
In fact, there will be multiple costume contests ― both general and specific ― based on pinball titles.
About four years ago, the expo featured a 1930s pinball game from before flippers became an integral part of their design, Berk said.
That inspired a growing interest in that era and this year’s tournament on such machines.
Though the first Pinball Expo was held at a Holiday Inn in Rosemont, the shows have since outgrown all purely hotel venues. Berk learned of the Schaumburg Convention Center’s 100,000 square feet of exhibition space a few years ago, just as it became necessary to his trajectory of expansion.
“I said this is great for me!” he said.
The proximity to O’Hare International Airport also is crucial for the overseas attendees who now regularly arrive from countries like Italy, Spain, Canada, Germany and France.
And Enterrium at Woodfield has also proved the perfect place for the welcoming party that’s become like a class reunion for the expo’s most dedicated fans, Berk said.
For more details and a list of events, go to pinballexpo.com or follow on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
<strong id="strong-13bbacb3eefafacf81774772665c2e53">42nd Pinball Expo</strong>
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, for the Bumper Blast Welcoming Party at Enterrium; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15; 8 a.m. to midnight Friday, Oct. 16; and 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.
Where: Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, 1551 N. Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg, (330) 716-3139, pinballexpo.com.
Admission: Single day: $55 Thursday or Friday, $60 Saturday; three-day: $160; advanced registration package: $240 (includes three-day admission, welcome party, Stern Pinball factory tour, a door prize ticket and souvenir guide. The Jersey Jack Pinball factory tour is available for an additional $35 and limited to 450 attendees.)