Today, July 2, is the second day of the two-day Bowl Expo trade show in the Washington, D.C., area. The annual convention itself concludes tomorrow, July 3, with a series of educational sessions and a keynote luncheon featuring former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

The trade show itself featured a surprising number of game debuts from the coin-op industry, which usually uses the Bowl Expo event to show their honed Amusement Expo or previous year IAAPA Expo games. Among the newly-introduced machines were Knock ‘Em Blocks from Smart Industries, Smurfs Goals Champs from Elaut Group, NASCAR Pit Stop from LAI Games and Unlock Mania from JET Games. Other new games were featured, too – many of them just now shipping or almost ready to go. A full report on these and other Bowl Expo items of note will be in the August print issue of RePlay.

BPAA Executive Director Frank DeSocio gave a full rundown of the bowling industry, noting another solid Bowl Expo show. “The industry is very healthy. I still believe people are cocooning. I think people are staying home and staying with family, which is good for us.”

He expects the continued growth of bowling entertainment centers – more families, kids, social outings and corporate events instead of solely organized league play as it was in decades past.

DeSocio, by the way, was among those inducted into the BPAA Hall of Fame. He was also awarded the Victor Lerner Memorial Medal for his lifetime of service in the bowling industry. 

Bowl Expo 2026 is set for the same time next year at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville. Plans for Bowl Expo 2027 and 2028 are in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for more in our upcoming issue and visit www.bowlexpo.com in the meantime.