Louis Marx’s interview with Tournament Director:
Greg Poverelli
Writer’s note:
My original intent with this series was to conduct and write four of these interviews per year. Well, life happens and unfortunately, I suffered a stroke earlier in 2019. I am thrilled to be alive. However, most of the work in pinball that I do is done as a volunteer and thus, this series was put on hold. I greatly appreciate Josh Sharpe for his understanding and genuine concern he has shown. I also appreciate your patience and understanding of the delays. Going forward, I won’t guarantee a specific timetable, but plan to continue this interview series as often as I am able.
So NOW, I am starting again. I couldn’t have gotten a better Tournament Director to interview. Greg was flexible with his schedule and quite frankly, was fun to chat with.
To follow this interview, all primary questions are numbers.
Greg’s answers have a “G:” at the start.
Any follow-up questions from me have an “L:” at the start.
- Let’s start with biographical info:
L: Where are you from originally?
G: NY City, Specifically Queens
L: Where do you live now and how did you end up there?
G: I recently moved to Astoria, but prior to that Flushing for 28 years.
- Before we get into the history and background stuff, let’s talk about the big events. What’s the largest tournament for which you are a Tournament Director?
G: Without being official, I’ve been an assistant at a bunch of the circuits I’ve travelled to – helped Daniel at Free Play Florida as an example. We don’t have the space for larger events in NYC. So Pre-NYCPC – Tribeca this year was one of the larger turnouts with 56 players.
I’ve also helped at a lot of circuit events. I’m the most active player and the primary NY Tournament Director but we also have a great player base. I play 10 circuit events per year; I run the monthly Sunshine League and the Tri-State selfie league as well. I ran the inaugural Long Island Pinball Open and gave away a pinball machine. I also do the Stern launch parties. Probably more than 20 total events per year.L: How do you squeeze in 50+ players with only 15 machines?
G: It was a match play format with strikes. Played it safe and left some wiggle room as you can fit 60 people. As the people were eliminated, it opened up games for play. This was a special location with a fantastic view. Drew a nice crowd from all over, not just New York, and even a couple of Canadians. The guys that run NYCPC are Neverbeef Productions, Levi Nayman, Tim Sexton, Paul Caras, and Austin Smith. They all had a role in my coming up as both a player and a Director. I met Tim in 2014 and we became quick friends and we ran some tournaments together. This was at a time when we were both up and coming as players. Levi was on my pinball team in NYC. I learned a lot from him and Frank Romero in casual tournaments. I collaborate with Stephen Keeler with Rock Fantasy. Also Al, the Pin-Aholic, Cihak. I’m not just trying to name drop here, but all of these people were influential in my growth in pinball.L: What’s the largest single challenge for each of you in running this tournament?
G: It always varies but the most common on an ongoing basis is that I am usually competing. It’s very hard to play your best while you’re running things. That’s why its so important to have a good support system and I have an excellent Co-Director, Erik Swedlund and my friend Nick Zendejas. Many believe that Tournament Directors that play have an unfair advantage, but it’s quite the opposite. It ends up being a distraction that affects quality of play but you must have the backup because you should not rule on your game. When I am lucky enough to go to events run by top players, I expect them to compete, especially when they are volunteering their own time to run the events. - Moving to some more biographical info, what’s your oldest pinball memory?
G: My brother snuck me into a bar when I was 20 because he wanted me to play the Spider-Man inside. When I turned 21, I joined the bar league in NYC and it never slowed down from there. One of my first non-league tournament wins was actually the 2016 NY State Championship which gave me the chance to go to Vegas for nationals very early in my run. - I see that you travel a lot for pinball. What do you do in everyday life that allows you the opportunity to travel for pinball?
G: By day I am a Property Manager (residential). I think that smart utilization of my time off, AMEX, and Delta Sky Miles all contribute to the travel. I look at the pinball ventures as pseudo-vacations because it’s a gathering of friends that you don’t see on a regular basis. - What’s your favorite tournament pin?
G: Right now I like Deadpool a lotL: What about “player’s” pin (for just having fun outside of tournaments)?
G: Its always a hard answer, I’d say Attack From Mars.
- What’s your favorite domestic tournament to play in?
G: Another hard question as an avid player, but my absolute favorite would have to be the 24 Hour Battle at the Sanctum. It is a more than just a marathon of playing pinball but it’s also a test of endurance, of staying on your feet and keeping conversation going. You go through moments feeling like you’re about to pass out, but also bonding with all of the other players.L: International?
G: I’ve been out of the country for pinball a couple of times. I’ve been to Denmark for the IFPA World Championship a couple of years ago and the European Pinball Championship this year. I’ve been to Toronto as an alternate. I have to say that I love Copenhagen, Denmark and will go back to the European Championship again. It was the single best WPPR result I’ve had but it was also an impressively run tournament. EPC moves every year, but the group of people involved tends to be the same. - What’s the craziest ruling you’ve had to make as a Director?
G: I don’t know that anything sticks out as bizarre. It wasn’t a ruling that I didn’t know how to make but it was an unfortunate situation that I learned from. I was involved in a game of Ghostbusters in the finals of a tournament. The game reset when I had a huge lead. They opted to change games. I learned that it’s never a bad idea to take pictures in critical moments so score won’t be lost. I try to keep a record after each ball. - How often do you deal with participants get belligerent and have to be removed/disqualified from a tournament?
G: Very rarely; thankfully we don’t come across too much bad behavior in NYC. I kind of try to be a friendly authority but stick to my guns. I’ve given yellow cards, including to my wife, but I’ve never actually ejected someone. One thing I say, “Do not ask me to make a ruling after the fact or several turns later. It needs to be done at the time of the Occurrence.” If I’m playing, find a Co-Director. If they are playing too, please wait a moment. - How do you market your tournaments to bring in more participants? Do you have any secrets to share?
G: I’ve always looked for local sponsorships and venue support. I’ve used Facebook, social media, and podcasts. I am very thankful to my friends and local regulars who have always supported my events. There’s a lot of word of mouth and at this point, the show almost runs itself thanks to how great everybody is.
- How many participants did you have at your first event that you were the Primary Director for? How many participants do you have at normal events now?
G: First event had 24 players and today we have 25-40 on average. - What is your preferred or favorite tournament format both as player and Director? Why?
G: As a Director, match play qualifying with PAPA style finals is most efficient to maximize in four player groups. Sunshine pinball league’s format has 5 rounds of matchplay every week. Then they alternate playoff formats from PAPA style to head to head (best 2 of 3 single elimination) every month. As a player my favorite is pump and dump (best score) because I love playing for high scores and I am a dedicated player. Even when I’ve already qualified, I keep playing wanting to continue to raise my score. While I don’t consistently beat the top 25 players in the world, I do get high enough scores to qualify with them.
- What haven’t I asked that you feel the pinball community might want to know?
G: My wife said to me, if we don’t have kids, then we can own pinball machines, LOL. I want a lot of my local players that love pinball and come out to a lot of the local leagues and events to take the plunge and try travelling and playing at a larger show and event. That feeling of vacation and community will bolster the love as well. I think its natural for people to be intimidated in knowing right of the bat that they are not going to win but the only way to improve and learn more is to go play with the best of the best. B Division is not anything to be ashamed of as a goal as a lot of the best players in the world started off playing in B Division. Also, in regards to the IFPA fees, I feel so rewarded for the dollar fee, as a Director, because that rewards the state and national pools for the people who earn it, thus adding value to the time we give as volunteers. I do think that TDs deserve compensation if there’s a way to do it without taking it from the players.
