The AMOA State Council Meeting is scheduled for Jan. 20-22 at the Hilton San Diego Airport/Harbor Island. Registration is now available at www.amoa.com. The theme – “State by State. Better Together” – “will build upon the sharing and collaboration between state associations taking place at this event each year,” said the association’s executive vice president, Lori Schneider. The agenda will include a national legislative update from John Russell of DGA Group, a gaming update from Paul Jenson of Taft Law, individual state reports and an open forum discussion. Other specific sessions on the docket are: “At the Table: Building Legislative…
Author: Matt Harding
Smitty & Pearls, a 35,000-sq.-ft. dining and entertainment venue that opened Sept. 29 in High Point, North Carolina, did so with the help of Onesource Amusements. That Texas-based operator provided more than 50 arcade games and attractions, including 10 lanes of boutique duckpin bowling from US Bowling, virtual reality, racing games and a variety of crane and prize games. “Custom equipment created specifically for the location adds an even more personalized touch,” Onesource said. “High Point University-themed NBA Hoops games and an HPU-themed Air FX table celebrate the venue’s connection to the High Point community, while a custom Smitty &…
For Episode 15 of the RePlay Podcast, our host Randy Chilton spoke with Hawaii-based operator Linda Fernandez, who was inducted into the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame earlier this year alongside her late husband Kane Fernandez. Today, she operates 22 of their Fun Factory-brand locations. Though the Fernandez name in Hawaii entertainment dates back to 1903 (56 years before Hawaii became a U.S. state), when Kane’s father E.K. Fernandez (known as the “Barnum of the Pacific”) ran carnivals, Fun Factory started in the 1970s following a rained-out outdoor event. That led them to create an “indoor carnival,” which eventually grew…
Play Mechanix Pinball and Scorbit recently announced the release of Pulp Fiction Pinball game code v1.03, which includes Scorbit integration directly into the game. (The pinball game is development by Play Mechanix Pinball and manufactured and distributed by Chicago Gaming Company.) “When looking for the best way to add online play features to Pulp Fiction Pinball, Scorbit stood out among the rest,” said George Petro, president of Play Mechanix. “The Scorbit team is completely focused on adding connectivity to the entire pinball community. No other system comes close to Scorbit when it comes to the number of games supported. We…
Patriot Gaming & Electronics was recently appointed the U.S. parts distributor for CountR, a provider of automated cash-handling and payment solutions for the gaming industry. Under the partnership, Patriot Gaming said they’ll supply parts, inventory and parts repair and refurbishment for CountR’s CashIO self-service kiosks, TITA table-game terminals, and related components. CountR systems “streamline ticket redemption (TITO), player card management, multi-currency transactions and ID verification, helping operators reduce wait times and improve floor efficiency.” CountR has more than 20 years of experience and over 10,000 machines installed worldwide. “Becoming the U.S. parts distributor for CountR reflects our commitment to offering…
The LEXRA Summit 2026, a new meeting and marketplace event from the location-based XR industry association, was held last week in Dallas. In his recent newsletter, the association’s executive director Bob Cooney discussed one of the recurring themes of the summit – influence. “Most people hear that word and immediately think about social media influencers,” he said. “And that’s definitely one of the tactics that we discussed. But throughout the day the word kept coming up in ways I didn’t expect. Influence, it turns out, is everywhere. And getting influencers to experience the power of VR can drive your cost…
LAI Games’ vice president of sales Chris Brady participated in the Trek 100 charity bike ride in Glen Rose, Texas, on Oct. 10. The ride supports fundraising efforts for children battling pediatric cancer. “Being part of this ride was about more than cycling – it was about showing up for children and families facing an incredibly difficult fight,” Brady said. “I was proud to ride alongside others supporting Cook Children’s and the work they do to give these kids hope.” The annual event featured a 100-mile route, as well as routes of 60, 40 and 20 miles. You can learn…
Hitting cinemas on Oct. 16 is the new Street Fighter movie, set in 1993 and starring Andrew Koji as Ryu and Noah Centineo as Ken Masters. Their characters are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (played by Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament. Based on the Capcom video game, the film comes from Paramount Pictures and Legendary Pictures, and was directed by Kitao Sakurai. Among other cast members are Roman Reigns as Akuma, Cody Rhodes as Guile, Eric André as Don Sauvage, Orville Peck as Vega, 50 Cent as Balrog and Jason Momoa as…
EAG360, the recently rebranded expo in London that’s scheduled for Jan. 12-14, 2027, will be home to the Amuse Expo (“Serious About Fun”), CompSoc UK (“Serious About Play”) and the London Gaming Show (“Serious About Winning”). A new promo campaign for the event “builds on the platform provided by the ‘Smile Economy’ rebrand” unveiled in July, said EAG360 chairman Nick Harding. “The simplicity of the messaging reflects the status of EAG360 as the most important business event for the entire smile economy and courtesy of a January dateline – the very best way to start the year,” he said. “Many…
AMOA held their annual Mid-Year Board Meeting from Sept. 25-29 at the Margaritaville Hotel in Nashville and elected a new board and slate of officers for the 2027-28 year. Scott John of Amuse-O-Matic will be the association’s president; Jim Tartal of Scottdale Music Service will be its first vice president; Jeff Prescott of Valley Vending Service will be treasurer; and Bret Clostermery of Modern Gaming Company will be secretary. The vice president class of 2030 includes Ira Miller of Red Line Vending; Scott Renville of Board Machine Inc.; and Maria Trent of Back Alley Lanes. Filling two vacancies in the…