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FLIP EXPO 2008 |
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Date: 29th & 30th March 2008 Report by Pascal Descloux
This weekend, the 2nd edition of Flip Expo pinball show took place in Mers-Les-Bains.
The city is located on the northern shore of France, right on the English Channel. While the main attraction was the building located few blocks from the sea, visitors were able to take a nice, sunny break on the boardwalk during this pleasant Saturday.
The Mers-Les-Bains show is like most of the French pinball shows - a small but very friendly affair which is a great occasion for collectors to meet around pinballs. Entry cost just €2.
Around forty machines were gathered together and if most of them were mechanical and solid state, a few dot-matrix machines were also available, such as this nice and rare Cactus Canyon.
Parts dealers were also present at this occasion.
On Saturday afternoon, a pinball tournament took place on the stage, where 3 machines were reserved for the 43 registered players. Party Zone, Star Wars and Totem were used during the competition, but the final battle took place on just the Totem. If the tournament was just for fun, the first prize was very serious as the winner went home with a Sega Frankenstein!
When all the play was finished, the winner was Michel Souris shown here with his prize.
Later during the weekend, a lottery was organized, and once again the first prize was another pinball, this time, a Gottlieb Canada Dry!
Around 500 visitors came for the weekend, and everyone enjoyed its location (which makes for a good escape to the sea), and its friendly atmosphere.
Everybody agreed that the organizers had done a very good job, and have made this show a real rendezvous for pinballs fans.
See you next year!
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