In this month’s print edition: Coin-Op Compass Points to Vegas » pg. 37 The Ides of March are fast approaching (March 15) when this year’s Amusement Expo kicks off at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Produced jointly by AMOA and AAMA, this wingding runs an educational program on the 15th, followed by a full trade show the next two (March 16-17). AMOA’s agenda will also find affable route operator Gaines Butler assuming its presidency, picking up the baton from outgoing chief Jerry Johnston, who concludes an extremely busy year for the group. Lotza Expo stuff inside! Peck Bros.-Style Family Fun …
Author: RePlay Editor
Editorial Just like in politics, most everything in the amusement machine business is local. A route operator in Idaho or an FEC manager in Kansas are far more concerned about what’s happening in their states, counties or, more importantly, their towns that would affect their businesses than what’s doing in other parts of the country. That’s one reason a lot of people don’t see the need to leave home to go to a business affair that requires a plane ticket and hotel reservation. They weigh the economic “discomfort” of making the trip against the possibility of seeing or learning something…
Marketing Your Arcade in 2016 Reaching the Locals One Post, Event or Groupon Promo at a Time by Adam Pratt, Game Grid Arcade & ArcadeHeroes.com When I first opened my mall arcade back in the Summer of 2008, I was approached by a number of salespeople offering different services. Some offered data processing services; others marketing. From the beginning, I know that it was important to get the word out about my business in order to generate clientele, but going about it was not my strong suit. Both Facebook and Twitter offer “Boost Post” features where you can target locals…
Listen to the Experts? Find Your Own Middle Ground: Learn from Success As Well As Failure by Jack Guarnieri, Jersey Jack Pinball & PinballSales.com Our world is seemingly filled with problems and “experts” at every twist and turn telling us how to do something the “right way.” Social media sites, bloggers and the guy at the hardware store are all experts. Everybody is Cliff Clavin (Millennials can Google him), and if they don’t know how to dazzle you with their brilliance, they can baffle you with their…well, (Millennials can Google that, too). How do we navigate through all of these…
Passing the Baton Johnston Readies to Welcome President Butler Q: What advice do you intend to pass along to your successor? A: Gaines will be great as AMOA President, but he DOES need to work on his short game and the way he addresses the ball when he’s teeing off!’ Seriously, Gaines has been preparing for his term for a long time. He is more than ready. He has served on virtually every committee — some of them multiple times — and been elected or appointed to leadership positions in our working groups on numerous occasions. No one has worked…
Gearing Up for Expo AAMA Chief Fills Us In On FECs & Show Plans Q: How was the AMOA States Council Meeting in San Antonio and how is the Expo shaping up? A: I thought the meeting went very well. During the years I’ve attended, the program has drifted to be more of an interactive sharing between the operators, which I think is a real positive. They spent a good bit of time talking about what’s working for them and what’s not. Something they did this year that I enjoyed was that they set up different panels for discussion on…
Virtual Reality’s Third Wave Is the Third Time the Charm? by Bob Cooney Virtual Reality is hot. Lava hot. Kate Upton hot. Ryan Reynolds hot. But for those of you that don’t remember, we’ve been here before. In 1991, as I was getting ready to debut Laser Storm at the IAAPA show in Orlando, I received a call from my biggest customer (Okay, they were my only customer at that point). Andy Halliday was the president of Edison Brothers Mall Entertainment, and they had a new product they wanted to debut at the show, but there was no exhibit space…
Picturing the “Wow” Factor Apple Industries Has Its Eye on a Ground-Breaking Deluxe Booth Apart from making passport pictures, the major reason people use photo booths is to goof around and have fun. Yes, some folks who’ve gotten all dressed up for a heavy date will pop into a booth to immortalize their magnificence. But generally speaking, photos of buddies giving each other the horns and giggling girls all squished together are what pop out of the machine’s slot. With that in mind, Apple Industries began shipping a truly inventive photo machine designed to ratchet the fun factor up and…
George Smith (right), the “Amigo” with the biggest credentials in coin-op, gave his principle presentation to the 130 assembled FEC operators on the second and last day of the F2FEC conference in San Diego. He provided his lists of key games, providing an excellent reference to the money-makers of the moment (he breaks them down into “Premium” and “Economy”). Smith, the supremo of the Family Entertainment Group, does revenue sharing, as well as owns some FECs outright. He’s been around forever and knows his subject. “Develop your passion for this business, hire people who share that passion and make a…
The International Association of Trampoline Parks Board of Directors met with committee chairs and members last week in New Orleans to discuss the group’s plans for 2016. With a huge year for the industry ahead, and over 135 global additions to come (the IATP is expected to have 868 facilities by the end of 2016) the meeting outlined comprehensive and detailed ideas to push their efficacy as a trade organization. Safety, commercial success and expansion were the most discussed issues at the meeting. With the tremendous growth in the industry, IATP said it has become evident that they must implement membership…