Put a Ring IN it! Smart’s Ticket Crane Craze Hikes It Up a Big Notch with Ticket Rings Sometimes, you’ll find that the person with the original idea doesn’t really hit it out of the park, and that it’s someone looking from the outside, seeing the potential, who smacks the grand slam. This might be the best way to describe what Smart Industries has done, first with its Ticket Time crane and now with its Taj Mahal giant crane and Ticket Ring cranes. As Sales VP Jim Dupree explained of the original concept, which debuted in the fall of 2015, the…
Author: RePlay Editor
Pre-Reveal Games Entertainment or Gambling? by Tom Fricke We all know the catechism: No chance, no gamble. Right? Well… On Tuesday, July 17, in the middle of the morning, along (I’m sure) with a fair number of “tradesters,” I was watching television. It was a different kind of As the World Turns soap opera. It was oral argument before the Florida First District Court of Appeal in the matter of Gator Coin II, Inc. & Blue Sky Games, LLC v. Florida Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation, Div. Of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. Those watching could see the law that…
Too Much vs. Not Enough Thoughts on When & If You Should You Ramp Up for Higher Sales Volume by Jack Guarnieri, Jersey Jack Pinball & PinballSales.com A recent article in the Wall Street Journal headlined “Parts shortages crimp U.S. factories” was of interest to me. It talked about various factories in several industries that are being hurt because of a lack of parts and supplies to fulfill orders. It seems that while suppliers appreciated the orders, many didn’t react by ramping up production and staff enough to actually fill them. Other articles and news reports note that many suppliers…
FEG Is Breaking the Mold Game Room Designer, Operator Aims to Stay Modern & Push Ahead by Matt Harding George Smith, founder and president of Family Entertainment Group, has spent more than 30 years in the amusement business, but he’s just getting started. Looking at the scope of what he and his company take on regularly, that might seem a bit surprising because it’s already quite substantial. His company owns or operates in 40 locations with a total of 800 employees in 20 states throughout the country. FEG’s primary business is with Great Wolf Lodge and other water parks, building…
Past Party Outreach Jumpstart Sales of Future Events Now! By Beth Standlee, CEO, TrainerTainment One of our favorite clients created the term PPO as the acronym for their past party outreach. I love it. Past party outreach seems like a logical thing to do, but I get a lot of blank stares when questioning others about their PPO efforts. You know, it’s a lot easier to retain a client than to obtain a new one. Existing guests already know and hopefully LOVE you. Call them today. I suspect you may have a PPO program that relies more on email rather…
An Arcade Book “Sequel” Passion for Games & Teaching Leads to Game Alamanac by Adam Pratt, Game Grid Arcade & ArcadeHeroes.com One of the motivators behind my blog work (Arcade Heroes), has been one born of a desire to teach. While I have never served in a public education setting, I was a trainer for several years at a call center that handled technical support for eMachines/ Gateway and Costco. It was a lot of fun teaching people how computers work in a classroom setting. I was able to blend my love of gaming into the classes for slightly more…
Breaking New Ground Looking for Something New In Your Community-Based FEC? By George McAuliffe, President, Pinnacle Entertainment Group Back in 1979, I took a temporary job managing an arcade. I didn’t plan to stay long, but I found the challenge appealing. It seemed there was always something new: from video to redemption to cranes, from mall-based arcades to stand alone FECs, from single to multiple attractions. You get the idea. I think the challenge of managing change is a big part of what keeps me around these days. The typical FEC is community based, serving a fixed audience within a…
New Daytona Championship USA cabinets are rolling out of the Sega factory, offering a 42” cabinet with a smaller footprint that fits in more locations. The cabinet, featuring the recognizable Hornet car as a marquee, is wrapped in graphics from race sponsors and has colorful LED edge lighting. “We had many customers asking us for an inexpensive compact cabinet for their location, so we answered their wishes with this spectacular new model. In developing this game, we maintained all the winning aspects that make Daytona Championship USA one of the top driving games on location. We also found ways to…
Since it was founded in 2014, Zero Latency proudly says its games and arenas have racked up over half a million game plays worldwide. The arena-scale VR pioneers have 19 venues dotting the globe, where players don VR headsets, immersive headphones and realistic props to enjoy multiplayer, free-roam VR. “Half a million game plays is a significant milestone, and it’s exciting to see such a large number of people, from different countries, enjoying our unique social experiences,” said its CEO Tim Ruse. “It’s also great for our licensed partners, and it reinforces us as the premier free-roam, multiplayer VR package,…
Pennsylvania Rumblings Why Can’t They Trust the Courts? by Tom Fricke For the casino industry, an analog to RePlay Magazine is a periodical called CDC Gaming Reports. In its June 12 issue, it announced that the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Senate Community, Development and Recreational Development Committee, Mario Scavello, is bothered by payouts of games of skill. The CDC reports that Senator Scavello is considering legislation that would bar prize payouts except when operated in a casino. I wish that the policy makers in the Keystone State would try to understand the existing law that applies to such activity. Last…