WAUWATOSA — Daniel Loosen doesn't just have arguably the best basement in Wisconsin, but he also has the best job. He gets paid to play pinball machines and arcade games... well sort of.
"One of the things that's really true with pinball and arcade games is that if you don’t play them and look at them regularly they break, and so it's much better to have them set up," he said.
Loosen's actual job is that he is the co-founder of the Midwest Gaming Classic. There are literally hundreds of arcade games and pinball machines on display at the expo, which means that one of Loosen's job responsibilities is making sure all the games function properly, or in other words, he has to keep playing them.
As to how his basement factors into this, well, a good chunk of those games are stored in his Wauwatosa basement.
"My basement has the unique I guess fun-ness is it's full of stuff we do at the show," he said.
He couldn't fit all of the games in his basement since there are just so many at the convention every year.
"Talking pinball machines we should have over 150. Arcade games we should have over 100 arcade video games. Home consoles probably over 200," Loosen said.
The rest are in a storage facility not too far from his house.
All of those games are about to come out of storage to be put on display. The 20th edition of the Midwest Gaming Classic is happening this weekend from Nov. 5-7 at the Wisconsin Center.
"The goal of it really is to bring divergent communities online that they meet up again for their passion for gaming, and then this is the place where they can meet in real life to share that passion," Loosen said.
Along with the arcade games, consoles, and pinball machines, there will be hundreds of tabletop games, board games, and card games. Plus, there will be a Magic The Gathering Tournament and a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament.
"Anything a gamer could want is something we’ve got," Loosen said.
However, this isn't just for the die-hard gamer. This is a family friendly event. Along with individual tickets, they sell two-day passes for $60. Customers can play as many games as they'd like to their heart's desire. There is no limit. It's the perfect opportunity to take a trip down memory lane to play some of your childhood games, or it's an equally good chance to try something you've always wanted.
"I'd suggest coming to try it out because the truth of it is it's not the hard core players show that a lot of people think that it is," Loosen said.
You can get ticket and more information by clicking here.
