I would guess the waitlist is in the 400-600 range. I was in the 400’s last year.
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IIRC, it’s similar to that now. Only a 75% refund from day of purchase. That’s $32.50 plus fees forfeited.
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I see no issue with the system. If I didn’t get in I probably would have volunteered if the ReplayFX crew would have me.
The point of our “cabal” was that we got in together, me and my best pinball friends.
At noon I helped 5 other friends get in. I’m not ashamed of it. I want to play pinball with my friends, I want to cheer them on, and be there for them when they feel the pressure or disappointment. I want them there for me for the same reason.
Also this strategy is not without risk. There was an accidental purchase of two tickets for one person. So one ticket to the waitlist and a little extra scratch for ReplayFX on that return. 
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I would also add that last year I didn’t get on the waitlist until 2 days after ticket sales. Yet 32 players still got on the waitlist after I did.
Is there a classics comp during the 4 days?
And Sunday no comps? Free day?
No classics, AFAIK, but the Intergalactic tournament is on Friday, Sat, and Sunday!
https://replayfx.org/competitions/intergalactic/#1517858982636-e6b54952-4ef6
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I think the current system works OK.
The one major change I would make would be to offer a select group of top players - say, IFPA Top 100 by X date + A finals qualifiers from the previous Pinburgh, so in total about ~110 players most likely - an offer to secure entry before the tickets go on sale to everyone else. In reality, this would likely amount to around 80 players, since some in that group would turn it down.
I would not be close to this group, personally, but I think part of what makes Pinburgh special is it is perhaps the one “major” pinball tournament in the US every year, since PAPA is on hiatus. And that means you expect most or all of the top world players to be there, and you have a chance to compete against and benchmark yourself against them! Making a good showing at Pinburgh means something BECAUSE you are competing with so many greats.
This is especially imperative since the time til sellout has apparently been reduced from 30 seconds to 5 or less. I guess we’ll see who didn’t get in when the player list and waitlist gets posted.
I know there is often fierce opposition here and in other forums to giving any sort of preference based on rank or past performance but I have to think there must be a middle ground where tons of tickets are available to all and top players are still guaranteed to be there.
haha that’s a Johnny technic if i have ever heard one 
I don’t have an issue with some folks being gaurenteed a spot. If it were me I’d probably limit it to A finals and maybe the winner of each divisional final, so it’s 30 or less spots. I’m all for insentivising people to try their best.
My main issue has always been the restrictions, because I see those as an artificial floor for the best players. That said, I do like the changes made to the restrictions this year.
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Half the games in Pinburgh are from 1985 or older, so the overall tournament is heavily classics leaning.
Intergalactic typically includes several classics machines and is a mixed ticket system, so you can do well in it without qualifying on a new machine.
Sunday is WIPT and Intergalactic finals.
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A friend of mine who got his waitlist confirmation email at 12:03 just got his email and bought his ticket. I was also 12:03 so feeling pretty good about getting in.
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3 minutes past midnight, the hands that threaten Pinburgh.
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Does anyone know if there will be a pre-pinburgh pingolf tourney on Wednesday like the one they had at the clubhouse 2 years ago?
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They had it last year too. I think it is safe to assume it will happen again. There was also a pre-tourny at Kickback Pinball Cafe.
10 of us coming from the UK this year and unlike me some of them are actually very good!!!
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I believe there is also a cabal of UK expats living in Canada that will be attending again. This is turning into 1812 all over again.
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If we escape the waitlist, c’mon lucky 12:04!
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12:03 here. Got my email today and Pinburgh ticket purchased! BTW, there are still discounted rooms available at the Omni for $145 plus tax. Drury is sold out at $158, presumably because it is two blocks closer.
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Only two blocks? Omni feels quite a bit farther away than that.
Well I looked it up on Mapquest. Looks like Drury is about 2 1/2 blocks from the DLC and Omni is about another 2 1/2 blocks.