twenty fifth annual Midwest Gaming Classic brings over 40,000 fans to the Baird Center | WUWM 89.7 FM

The Midwest Gaming Classic simply held its twenty fifth annual conference.

The gaming expo introduced greater than 40,000 folks to Milwaukee’s Baird Center over three days, providing every part from pinball and old style Nintendo, to tabletop puzzles and “Dungeons & Dragons.”

Lake Effect’s Joy Powers dropped by to listen to from among the classic gaming fans, pinball designers, dungeon masters and “Star Wars” duplicate builders who make up the Midwest Gaming Classic group.

Matt Wild from the Milwaukee Record has been coming to the Classic for over a decade, and he says it’s come a good distance since then.

“I’ve been going for at least 15 years, back when it was outside in the parking lot of the Brookfield Sheraton Hotel,” he says. “There was just, like, some tents out in the parking lot, some stuff in a couple of conference rooms, and now, obviously it’s just this huge, huge thing.”

Wild says it’s the pinball and the people who hold him coming again in spite of everything these years.

“I just love the atmosphere. I love the people. I love that everyone is here like under a common geeky, nerdy interest, and it’s a good time to hang out with my people,” he says.