AMI BUYS NSM Most Prominent European Jukebox Maker Is Now Part of the AMI Entertainment Network In a surprise Feb. 9, 20017 announcement, AMI’s CEO/President Mike Maas revealed that his company has purchased the assets of the NSM Music Group Ltd. and will continue their European manufacturing and marketing activities in an uninterrupted fashion. Clearly, however, design synergy between the two jukebox producers will happen downstream, as might certain changes in personnel and distribution. At present, Maas intends to keep everything in place in the European market, as well as in the U.S. where Tony Lantz and his staff have…
Author: RePlay Editor
From Handwritten Notes to Tonka Trucks A Look at Changes in How We Communicate & Play by Jack Guarnieri, Jersey Jack Pinball & PinballSales.com Do you write letters or cards? The holiday season is over and I wonder how many of you still take pen to paper and write out a card. My wife gets a Valentine’s Day Card and a special funny poem that I write that morning with the latest events that happened in the last day or so. How about a handwritten thank you note. Perhaps with Jimmy Fallon doing Tonight Show segments on thank you notes…
“How Long Will This Last?” Looking at the Booming FEC Market’s Potential & Threats by Howard McAuliffe, Partner, Pinnacle Entertainment Group The family entertainment center portion of our business is in the middle of a growth period. I hear a lot of the legends in our industry asking how long will this last and speculating about whether or not there will be contraction. The truth is that nobody knows the answer, but I think we can look at trends in our industry to create a standard “SWOT” analysis (a look at Strenghts, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). In this month’s column,…
Up-Sell Without the Hard Sell! Help Your Guests Throw the Best Party Ever & Increase Profits By Beth Standlee, CEO, TrainerTainment When it comes to parties, up-selling can be a piece of cake. However, your staff may feel differently about this type of sales process. This month’s up-sell article focuses on the challenges and benefits to the consumer, the business and the individual employee. Selling is all about helping others. My hope is that this installment of the Party Professor will be a resource to increase sales during the coming months. Where does the reluctance come from when asking for…
A Final Push LaFleur Talks About the Coming Expo & Reflects on His Presidency Q: Before we get into a look at your term as AMOA President, how is the Amusement Expo shaping up? A: It’s going to be great! AMOA and AAMA, along with show manager Brian Glasgow, have taken huge steps in creating an even better show experience for this year’s event. You’ve probably already noticed a fresh new look in Amusement Expo International’s promotion materials. We’ve also brought technology to the show website at www.amusement expo.org so that it now features an interactive exhibitor floorplan. Shortly we’ll be launching…
And to demonstrate that there’s proof in Cooney’s VR pudding, VRstudios, a global VR company based in Washington, announced Jan. 31 its exclusive partnership with the classic theme park Knott’s Berry Farm and its parent company Cedar Fair. The collaboration will result in the installation of a free-roam VR experience at Knott’s slated to open the second quarter of this year. “Our collaboration with VRstudios to develop a new custom-built, immersive amusement experience at Knott’s Berry Farm is exciting for our customers and consistent with the memorable experiences they expect from our parks,” said Christian Dieckmann, Cedar Fair’s VP of…
RePlay contributor and virtual reality aficionado Bob Cooney hosted a webinar on Jan. 31 for nearly 100 people, breaking down the “third wave” of virtual reality and emphasizing that “this time, things are different.” According to Cooney, virtual reality (and a little further down the road, augmented reality) is going to be a role-defining technology. He likened it to smart phones, with many finding the tech unnecessary and gimmicky when they were initially debuted to the public, and no one expecting the world-changing impact that such a seemingly innocuous technology has had. Also, Cooney emphasized that the place for…
AMOA’s State Council Meeting was held Jan. 26-28 in Tampa this year, bringing over 60 industry members representing 28 states to the Paramount Hotel for productive meetings discussing the state of states with, without and working toward an industry association. According to Lori Schneider, EVP of AMOA, the numbers were near the same as year’s past, but those at the meeting saw some new faces from Indiana and Alabama, and heard a lot of talk about a new state organization potentially forming in Colorado. “We always have such a spectrum, we’ve got states without associations who want them, some that…
Thursday, Feb. 2, presents a golden opportunity for operators and technicians to get down to the CEMA Spotlight show and chat face-to-face with folks from just about every important game factory in the business. Got a technical question? A marketing one? Chances are the people manning their new machines at this event might be able to help you. The show is being held at the Holiday Inn just on the east side of Rt. 5 in La Mirada (14299 Firestone Blvd., La Mirada; phone: 714-739-8500). A TouchTunes service school runs from 8-11 a.m., an association meeting then goes 11:30-noon and…
More On Ohio & Skill Games What’s Proposed and Why I Believe It’s Important Outside the Buckeye State by Tom Fricke In the July 2014 issue of this column, I offered warning that regulation of skill games for prizes is coming and that the regulations would be problematic. In the November 2016 issue, I provided information about the draft regulations in Ohio now out for comment by industry stakeholders in the state, and how you can participate in (and maybe influence) the rulemaking process. When a major state takes a sharp turn towards a new and troublesome form of regulation,…