A 30-minute championship air hockey production will be on ESPN2 this week as part of its Ocho Day, which celebrates “seldom seen sports.” Air times (all Eastern time zone) will be on Aug. 7 at 11 a.m. and Aug. 8 at 8:30 p.m. The show was filmed at the USAA World Air Hockey Championships in December 2021 at the University of Houston. Mark Robbins, former owner of Gold Standard Games, teamed up with Tim Weissman of Fish Window Cleaning and Moffett Productions of Houston to co-sponsor and produce the program. Additional support was provided by Tomball Bowl. For more information,…
Author: Matt Harding
Christian Michael Dean was born July 24 at 8:51 a.m. at 5 lbs., 10 oz. and 18.5” tall. He is the third child of Coastal Amusements’ Mike Dean and wife Laura. Christian joins his proud parents in the world as well as older brothers Collin, 7, and Landon, 1. Congrats to the Dean family!
Urban Axe Throwing opened on July 22 in Lafayette, Louisiana, at the site of a former kickboxing gym, according to KLFY. The axe throwing venue is suitable for birthday parties, team building events and more. Their facility has nine throwing bays equipped with a digital target system where you can throw axes and even ninja stars in a variety of games from tic-tac-toe to duck hunter. Learn more about the business at www.urbanaxeacadiana.com.
The golf-themed entertainment center and restaurant Fairway Social is headed to Fayetteville, Georgia, set to open there this fall. According to Atlanta Eater, like the first location in Alpharetta that opened in May 2021, this venue will have six golf game simulators, a putting green, a full-service restaurant and bar, a rooftop patio, darts, cornhole, ping pong and more. Learn more at www.fairway-social.com.
Firestone Financial, as directed by its parent company Berkshire Bank, recently suspended all future lending. The company called it “a strategic decision within the context of Berkshire’s BEST (Berkshire’s Exciting Strategic Transformation) plan to focus on its core community banking businesses within its markets.” They noted that the decision was not a reflection of the business performance of Firestone. To those with an existing loan, Berkshire will continue to honor those commitments and fully service Firestone loans for the remainder of their term. Activities outside of portfolio management, loan servicing and accounting will cease as of Aug. 26, according to…
The Game Exchange of Colorado has announced the return of Rob Thomas to their sales team. The company’s Rich Babich reports that Thomas will be the sales manager, directing all commercial and retail sales. Thomas worked in sales for the Game Exchange for nearly three years before moving to Nashville to support his fiancée Sam’s pursuit of a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University. He can be reached at 303-962-4655 or [email protected].
In its end-of-July newsletter, Laserforce welcomed a trio of centers to its family of centers operating their equipment. Quasar Norwich in the U.K., a 5,000-sq.-ft. standalone laser tag center upgraded Quasar to Laserforce’s Gen7 battlesuits and report that players are already enjoying Laserforce’s archive of game modes like Zombies vs Survivors. Lasertag Tension in Munich, Germany, has upgraded to Laserforce’s Gen8 system. The large, multi-attraction site boasts fun such as paint ball, mini golf and escape rooms in addition to laser tag featuring 50 Laserforce Gen8 battlesuits. Finally, Shepparton, Australia’s Fun Planet has upgraded to Laserforce’s Gen8 for its 3-story laser…
Stix Arcade Bar in Champaign, Illinois, which opened in February 2020, will shut down sometime in August, the company reports. “We want to thank everyone who has put in the time and effort to make Stix a fun place to hang out,” they wrote on their Facebook page. “We truly love this place, but the timing has been terrible from the start. We opened in February of 2020 to rave reviews and a packed house every night. But a month later everything changed. The pandemic hit and we tried to fight through. “We have been closed to the public for…
Finland-based VR maker Valo Motion is offering live, virtual demos on an ongoing basis of its new ValoArena group VR experience following the success of the virtual tours between Las Vegas and Finland at the recent Bowl Expo. The company boasts that its 6-player ValoArena offers unattended XR with no wearables, wires or controllers. Wrote the company’s North American Sales Manager Marissa Kiella, “ValoArena’s seamless body tracking technology, simple interface, and play mechanics proved interesting to bowling locations and FECs hoping to add more social, physical fun and capitalize on the burgeoning popularity of AR/XR/VR attractions. The entire experience can…
Charles Caplan, an icon of the distributing, bulk vending and redemption industries, died of lung disease on July 20, report friends and family. He most recently worked with A&A Global Industries, since the company purchased Play Time Toys. “Charles was a staple in the industry that he loved, garnering over 50 years of experience,” A&A Global said in a social media post. “He was respected and beloved by customers, colleagues and competitors alike.” He got his start in 1969 with Birmingham Vending, founded by the late Al Toranto. “Charles was my cousin, so a real part of my family but also…