Actually, I believe that the last 7 Pinball Championships have been held in Pittsburgh. PAPA stands for the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association. One of the reasons the PAPA tournament is here in Pittsburgh is because there is a dedicated Pinaball hall in Carnegie. The pinball facility suffered extensive damage after the flooding in 2004. But they were able to rebuild in time for the 2005 competition. The facility has over 400 pinball machines.

The Pinball facility is only open to the public for tournaments and is located at 501 Keystone Dr., Carnegie, PA 15106. The Tournament runs all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday – August 15-17,2008. Click here for a detailed schedule.

According to the PAPA website there will be food vendors and there is wifi – perfect for bloggers wishing to cover the event. The tournament is free for spectators.

• Click here to watch the WQED OnQ segment about the tournament and facility.
• Check out Coinball.com for a website dedicated to pinball machines in the Pittsburgh area.

Here is some video from the 2006 Tournament:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VeTmHBitmM[/youtube]

Some Pinball Related Articles:

• Eight Most Innovative Pinballs of All Time [Pinball]
• Gameloft brings pinball to iPod
• Tilt: documentary about the valiant effort to save pinball by merging it with video games
• Photos: Pinball wizard offers look at machines’ innards
• A Look Inside the Last Pinball Factory in the World [Gaming]