Close Menu
  • CURRENT ISSUE
    • Cover Story
    • Profiles – Companies, Products & People
    • Spotlight Feature
    • VR Spotlight
    • Favorites & Special Reports
    • Bob Cooney Special Reports
    • Editorial
    • Datebook
    • Columns
      • Q&A with AMOA
      • Q&A with AAMA
      • NOW TRENDING by Howard McAuliffe & Nick DiMatteo
      • George McAuliffe’s GAMEROOM GURU
      • Adam Pratt’s ENDGAME
      • Jack Guarnieri’s JERSEY JACK
      • Beth Standlee’s PARTY PROFESSOR
      • Clint Novak’s PRIZE PATROL
      • FUN ACROSS AMERICA
      • Frank Seninsky’s FRANK TALK
      • Tom Fricke’s REDEMPTION & THE LAW
      • Randy White GUEST ESSAY
  • INSTANT REPLAY
  • PODCASTS & VIDEOS
    • The RePlay Podcast
    • Machines, Myths & Legends
    • Older Audio/Video Archive
  • GET REPLAY
    • Subscriptions
    • Sample Copies
    • Order Back Issues
    • Index
  • ABOUT
    • About RePlay Magazine
    • Meet the Team
    • Cookie Policy
  • LINKS
  • CONTACT
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Trending
  • First National Darts Day Rousing Success for BullShooter
  • VNEA Names Mike Wiltse New Executive Director
  • QubicaAMF Launches New Scoring System
  • K1 Speed Opening Kansas City Location
  • Semnox Makes First Install in Finland
  • IAAPA Expo Asia Continues Growth
  • Darnelle Simmons Joins Zooom Studios Team
  • Valo Motion Installs 100th ValoArena
X (Twitter) Facebook RSS Instagram YouTube
RePlay Magazine
  • CURRENT ISSUE
    • Cover Story
    • Profiles – Companies, Products & People
    • Spotlight Feature
    • VR Spotlight
    • Favorites & Special Reports
    • Bob Cooney Special Reports
    • Editorial
    • Datebook
    • Columns
      • Q&A with AMOA
      • Q&A with AAMA
      • NOW TRENDING by Howard McAuliffe & Nick DiMatteo
      • George McAuliffe’s GAMEROOM GURU
      • Adam Pratt’s ENDGAME
      • Jack Guarnieri’s JERSEY JACK
      • Beth Standlee’s PARTY PROFESSOR
      • Clint Novak’s PRIZE PATROL
      • FUN ACROSS AMERICA
      • Frank Seninsky’s FRANK TALK
      • Tom Fricke’s REDEMPTION & THE LAW
      • Randy White GUEST ESSAY
  • INSTANT REPLAY
  • PODCASTS & VIDEOS
    • The RePlay Podcast
    • Machines, Myths & Legends
    • Older Audio/Video Archive
  • GET REPLAY
    • Subscriptions
    • Sample Copies
    • Order Back Issues
    • Index
  • ABOUT
    • About RePlay Magazine
    • Meet the Team
    • Cookie Policy
  • LINKS
  • CONTACT
RePlay Magazine
You are at:Home»Current Issue»Editorial – December 2019

Editorial – December 2019

0
By RePlay Editor on December 1, 2019 Current Issue, Editorial

Editorial

Eddie Adlum
Eddie Adlum, Publisher

After all the advanced hoopla about the recently-concluded IAAPA show, it’s hard to believe there are hundreds of amusement operators out there who’ve never even heard of IAAPA much less attended this gigantic trade event. These are people who rarely if ever visit a distributor in their region and when they do, it’s to pick up a part or two and then scoot.

I’m talking about those small operators, occasionally only part-timers, who work pretty much beneath the industry’s radar. Their routes often serve locations that “regular” trade people shun because there’s not enough money in it, or the owner is a mean drunk, or the place is in a neighborhood even the cops don’t like to visit.

Years and years ago, the Japanese video game company Capcom (the Street Fighter folks) held a distributor conference in Atlantic City. I went, like always, to get a story on the new goods they were previewing for their dealers. One night, some of us went out to a neighborhood bar for some beers, which is where I met such an operator for the first time.

This guy’d come in, did his deal with a messed-up machine, dumped a couple of cash cans, and then sat down on the stool next to me. Naturally, I grilled him about who he was, what his company was like and which of the machine distributors on Broad Street in Philly he preferred to deal with (that street was the “coinrow” for operators in Southern Jersey back in the day).

“Who you talking about” the guy asked. I rattled off places like Active Amusement, Banner Specialty, David Rosen, Inc. and Eastern Music. “Never heard of them,” was his response. Okay, now I had a real story going. But as I learned over the years, this fellow wasn’t all that unique. He’d gotten most of his machines from other operators and even sometimes from ads in the paper. He learned how to fix the stuff mostly by trial and error or using a basic electro-mechanical course given by a trade school. He didn’t have any staff to speak of and he never heard of any of the trade magazines.

But what he did do was a miniature version of what the big guys did. And he made a living. I remember that his big earner was a well-used Space Invaders video he’d gotten his hands on in some strange way involving a relative. To say he never bought anything brand new is to tell you something you’ve already figured out. But, do guys like this serve a purpose in the overall scheme? They certainly do, by filling in the blanks and bringing coin-op fun to a lot of citizens who’d otherwise miss out on pool, darts and the rest.

So, though they’ll probably never read this unless one of their operator buddies gets RePlay, I want to wish these dudes good luck, and maybe I’ll keep a lookout for a used Street Fighter for them. (By the way, I never did a story on that guy. My bad!)

– Eddie Adlum

Eddie Adlum
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleRePlay’s Black Friday Sale; Save 50% On Subscription
Next Article Howard McAuliffe’s Now Trending – December 2019

Related Posts

Prize Patrol – July 2025

Endgame – July 2025

Jersey Jack – July 2025

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.







RePlay Logo

RePlay Magazine is a monthly trade publication covering the game center and route business. Since 1975, RePlay has been reporting on the equipment, people and trends that have made "coin-op" a fun and exciting business.

Get the FREE Instant RePlay Newsletter

Sign up and receive newsletters to keep you in the know.


© 2025 RePlay Magazine - All rights reserved. For permission to reproduce content, email editor@replaymag.com.
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Contact

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.