“It’s kind of like a throwback to those arcades that you might have gone into as a kid,” is how Erin Pampu, Diehard Pinball League Board member describes the event.
YEGPIN is a three-day pinball and arcade expo.
“We have about 150 all together, pinball and arcade machines,” said Pampu.
It’s a chance for people to play modern and classic machines, plus some you’ll likely only see at YEGPIN.
“They come from a population of donors, so these are people who have them in their homes so it’s a bunch of collectors that have been collecting for years that donate their machines to us to be able to let the public come in and enjoy their hobbies,” Pampu said.
“All of the machines are on free play. So you don’t have to put any money into the machines, they’re all ready to just go ahead and play,” she added.
Nitro Pinball also brings some of the hot new machines on the market.
“Brand new, out of the box machines. There’s going to be some Munsters this year.”
More than 2,000 people are expected throughout the weekend, including the top ranked player in the world, Raymond Davidson. Seven of the top 10 players in Canada are also planning to attend.
“There’s a tournament area where there’s going to be a bunch of pro pinball players, playing in qualifiers and then for finals and all that kind of stuff. Those particular machines aren’t open to the public unless you want to play in the tournaments and then you’re allowed to play those machines,” said Pampu.
There are six tournaments happening at YEGPIN, starting with the Knockout Cancer Pinball Tournament on Friday night.
“It’s a $25 entry fee, anything we make from that one YEGPIN also matches,” Pampu said.
Money raised from that tournament is donated to the Alberta Cancer Society.
There’s also the Little Flippin Pinball Tournament for kids aged 12 and under.
“Then the top four players will advance and play finals on Sunday where all the big guys play their tournaments,” said Pampu.
“If your child qualifies for the finals we have two tickets set aside for the parents to come in and watch.”
Now in its fourth year, YEGPIN is being held in a new location, Millennium Place in Sherwood Park.
“So we held it for three years in the aviation museum in Edmonton and we actually outgrew their facility, so we have so many more people wanting to come and attend that we had to find a new spot and Millennium Place answered our call.”
