Date: 7th - 9th February 2025 Location: TradeWinds Island Grand, 5500 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach, FL 33706, USA Pinball at the Beach is a new pinball show located at the TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida. The TradeWinds Island Grand resort The show is sponsored by local pinball retailer, Little Shop of Games, it’s owner Marshall Dickson, partnering with Ed VanderVeen. Ed ran the very successful Texas Pinball Festival (TPF) for years, retiring after the 2023 show. Pinball at the Beach organisers, Marshall Dickson and Ed VanderVeen The concept for the Pinball at the Beach, and what sets it apart from other pinball shows, is combining pinball with a warm weather vacation experience. The example given was a celebrity cruise experience, with pinball celebrities and pinball games, hosted on a resort site with a beautiful beach. So, bringing a family, even if only one person is into pinball, is very much a consideration. The resort’s beachfront The pinball experience is advertised as a VIP event, with limited tickets, and no single day passes. The show runs from 5pm, Friday February 7th to 2pm, Sunday February 9th. Almost all of the games are supplied by the host, Little Shop of Games, but there are also a few vendors selling parts and mods, or promoting their pinball arcade business. The entry desk in The Pavilion In the main hall, it has the feel of the ‘after party’ experience at TPF, with less of a crowd and better access to the games. Even the newest releases usually had only one or two people in line, and many games in the regular rows were open to play. The tickets cost more than other shows in order to achieve the goal. The hotel rooms were slightly more than other pinball shows as well but seemed reasonable given the location and time of year. The location of the TradeWinds Island Grand resort The ‘Island Grand’ half of the TradeWinds resort has multiple meeting areas, and that is where the show was hosted. Another hotel, the RumFish Beach hotel, is also on the property but is a little farther from the event space. The layout of the resort The main pinball hall was the Pavilion space, which looks like a temporary tent structure, but has been up for years. It is an air-conditioned space of 10,500 square feet and accommodated the show game setup well. The resort’s Pavilion There were about 160 games set up in the Pavilion space. The Pavilion conveniently also had a full bar available. Banners for events across the weekend The bar inside The Pavilion The show also has access to another space, the Banyan Breezeway, which was used for a few EMs and a table for the autograph session. Some of the free play machines The Autograph Session in the Banyan Breezeway Show guests line up to get their items signed There were evening social events hosted at the beach side bar, and at a fire circle for a bonfire on the beach, located towards the RumFish hotel. Sunset on the beach There were nine of the latest Stern game, Dungeons and Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye, with all three models represented. Those and many other Stern games had Insider Connected hooked up to the internet so people could get credit for their games. They also had a video display of the top scores on the Insider Connected games. Anyone signed into Insider Connected could find Pinball at the Beach as a location and look at the top scores. Spooky Pinball had four of their latest game, Evil Dead, and one each of Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo. The Spooky Pinball stand Barrels of Fun had two Labyrinth’s available to play and there were many, if not all, of the Jersey Jack titles available to play. A new pinball manufacturer, Ramp’s Pinball, was there with their first game, Road Trip. The game was designed by Bob Nies, who previously has won an award at TPF for his homebrew game ELF. The new Road Trip game from Ramp’s Pinball Here’s a list of the machines. In addition to these, there were eight electromechanical machines set up in another room, some of which weren’t working. Game TitleModel007 James BondPro007 James BondPremium007 James Bond 60th007 James Bond ThunderballLEAC/DCProAddams Family, TheAddams Family, TheAerosmithProAttack From MarsAvatar: The Battle for PandoraCEAvatar: The Battle for PandoraLimitedBatman 66PremiumBaywatchBeatles, TheGoldBig Buck HunterBlack KnightBlack Knight 2000Black Knight: Sword of RagePremiumBlack RoseCactus CanyonCirqus VoltaireClass of 1812CongoDeadpoolPremiumDeadpoolPremiumDefenderDialed-InLimitedDungeons and Dragons (Bally)Dungeons and Dragons (Stern)PremiumDungeons and Dragons (Stern)ProDungeons and Dragons (Stern)PremiumDungeons and Dragons (Stern)ProDungeons and Dragons (Stern)PremiumDungeons and Dragons (Stern)ProDungeons and Dragons (Stern)PremiumDungeons and Dragons (Stern)ProDungeons and Dragons (Stern)LimitedDynomiteEarthshakerElfElton JohnPremiumElton JohnCEElvira and the Party MonstersElvira’s House of HorrorsPremiumEvil DeadEvil DeadEvil DeadEvil DeadFlintstones, TheFoo FightersPremiumFoo FightersLimitedFuture SpaGhostbustersProGhostbustersProGodfather, TheLimitedGodzillaPremiumGrand LizardGuardians of the GalaxyProGuns and Roses (JJP)StandardGuns and Roses (JJP)Guns and Roses (JJP)LimitedHellraiser (custom)Hobbit, TheIndependence DayIndiana JonesIron MaidenPremiumJawsProJawsProJohn WickPremiumJohn WickPremiumJohn WickProJonny MnemonicJoustJunk YardJurassic ParkPremiumJurassic ParkPremiumJurassic Park (Data East)KissLimitedKissLabrynthLabyrnthLed ZepplinPremiumLegends of ValhallaLights Camera ActionGottliebLooney TunesMandalorian, ThePremiumMaverickMedieval MadnessMetallicaPremiumMetallicaPro (Pinball Refinery custom)MetallicaMaster of Puppets LimitedMetallica RemasteredPremiumMonster BashMunsters, TheProMunsters, ThePremiumMunsters, TheNASCARNo FearOrbitor 1Party Zone, ThePirates of the Caribbean (Stern)Pirates of the Caribbean (JJP)LimitedPistol PokerPlayboyPopeyePrimusPulp FictionPulp FictionLERevenge from MarsRipley’s Believe It or Not!Road TripRoboCopRockyRoller Coaster TycoonRushLimitedScared StiffScooby-Doo Where Are You!Shadow, TheSimpsons Pinball Party, TheSopranos, TheSpring BreakStar Trek (Stern)ProStar Trek (Stern)LEStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar WarsPremiumStar WarsPremiumStar Wars Comic BookProStarship TroopersStranger ThingsLimitedStriker XtremeTales from the CryptTales of the Arabian NightsTaxiTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesPremiumTheatre of MagicTime FantasyTommyToy Story 4LimitedToy Story 4CETronProTwilight ZoneTwisterUncanny X-Men, ThePremiumUncanny X-Men, ThePremiumVenomProVenomProVenomPremiumWalking Dead, TheWarlokWhirlwindWhite WaterWilly WonkaLimitedWipe Out!Wizard of Oz, TheWorld Cup SoccerWWE WrestlemaniaX-MenPro There were many pinball celebrities in attendance, including Gary Stern, George Gomez, Dwight Sullivan, Keith Elwin, Brian Eddy, Christopher Franchi, John Borg, Steve Ritchie, Mark Ritchie, “Spooky Luke” Kastner, Corwin “Bug” Emery, Morgan “Squirrel” Emery, David van Es, Eric Meunier, and Cary Hardy. Gary Stern and George Gomez There was a group match-play style tournament, limited to 104 players, which was designed to allow the players to have time to also enjoy the show and the beach. It took place in a meeting space in the main lobby building of the Island Grand. The match-play style tournament is underway Trophies for the tournament winners The A Division champion was Shannon Stafford (FL), second place was Dave Daluga (WI), third place went to Deborah Tahlman (OH) and in fourth place was Eric Leon (FL). In the B Division, first place was Malik Berger (VA), second place was Jason Reeder (OK), third place was Daniel Curran (TN), and fourth place was Joel Cohen (FL). One assumes this may become an annual event, but time will tell. Most people I spoke to would come back next year. The show atmosphere this year was assisted by the warmer than normal temperatures, with highs around 80F rather than the normal 73F. The view from the hotel That made the beach experience and the pools very appealing. Finally, here’s a look around the main games room, The Pavilion, showing the machines and the vendors.
