Flight Adventure Park’s 13 locations partnered with local charities to raise more than $5,000 this September in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The money went to GG The Warrior (Bakersfield, Calif.); Courageous Kidz (Charleston, S.C.); South Carolina Cancer Alliance (Irmo and Sandhill, S.C.); Tom Coughlin Jay Fund (Jacksonville, Fla.); St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Manchester, Conn.); Friends of Karen (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.); and Chance for Life (Springfield, Va.). Flight’s five Canadian locations (branded as iSaute), partnered with Foundation Charles-Bruneau. “As a two-time cancer survivor, this cause is very close to my heart,” said Steven Yeffa, CEO at Flight Adventure Park.…
Author: Matt Harding
LAI Games will be at IAAPA Expo Booth #1000 and is set to be the first stop on IAAPA’s “Trade Show Floor Tour: Virtual Reality Suppliers.” The company says they’ll be showing off their award-winning Virtual Rabbids: The Big Ride. “We want operators interested in adding VR attractions to their venues to know that they can offer a premium, unattended VR ride to their guests in a small footprint and for a low cost,” said Allison Timberlake, LAI Games’ Senior Marketing Manager. Representatives from D-BOX will be on hand to explain how their premium high-fidelity haptics system in the attraction…
To honor Elvira’s 40 years as a pop culture icon, Stern Pinball will release a special 40th Anniversary Edition Elvira House of Horrors pinball game. Limited to 199 machines, the Elvira game will come with an exclusive autographed trading card mounted to the game. Each purchase will also include an autographed copy of her autobiography, Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark. The 40th anniversary machine is being manufactured with custom Paranormal Purple Sparkle powder coat, says Gary Stern. Elvira also gave Stern her dagger to mold a custom Elvira Dagger Shooter Knob into the game. Like…
In partnership with VRsenal, VRstudios is ready to “unleash the fury” with its IAAPA Expo debut – the FURY, an unattended 2-player attraction designed to deliver high throughput and physically active VR experiences in a small footprint. Part of their Real-Sport Esports lineup, the FURY attraction is bundled with the company’s debut title Hoops Madness, a competitive VR basketball game designed for the LBE environment. “The FURY is designed to transform any FEC into a VR esports destination encouraging casual players, sports fans, spectators and VR enthusiasts to get in the game,” said CEO Kevin Vitale. “With amazing VR basketball gameplay,…
St. Joseph, Missouri’s Belt Entertainment Center held its 8th annual Strike Out Cancer event on Sunday, Oct. 24. According to News-Press Now, organizer Kitty Karr has raised about $78,000 for Mosaic Life Care over the course of the event’s eight years. “I’m happy to bring this back for our eighth year because this does so much for the community,” Karr said. “We’ve seen how much of an impact can be made by this event and it’s also a great way to get people involved. “All the money stays local. It helps people in the community, or even if they are…
This year Britain saw the closure of London’s premier FEC, Namco Funscape, after 25 years, and Sega World in the Trocadero had closed prior to that. Gary Flower reports that the Capital now has a new FEC, Funland, opening in the iconic grade 2 listed Brunswick Centre in central London’s fashionable Bloomsbury district, which offers both retail and leisure facilities. The Centre was in the news in 2018 when it hosted the launch of Stern’s Beatles pinball machine hosted by the UK’s Stern distributor, John Stergides and Electrocoin. Preparation for the opening started in August but was delayed by supply…
The Houston Area Arcade Group will hold their 19th Annual Arcade Expo from Nov. 12-14 at the Marriott Westchase. According to their website, there will be hundreds of classic and current coin-op pinball machines, video games, penny arcades and console video games available for attendees to play – or buy for their home. The event will feature tournaments, workshops and entertainment, too. Learn more at www.arcadecenter.com.
Bowlero at Tysons Galleria in McLean, Va., opened Oct. 18. The new venue includes bowling, an arcade and restaurant. According to Tysons Reporter, Bowlero took over the basement of the mall’s former Macy’s. Their facility features a 26-lane bowling alley, plus an additional 10-lane section, along with more than 70 arcade games, a bar and restaurant. A classic Ford Mustang is on display at the center of it all. The 39,000-sq.-ft. space began construction this spring. More details are available at: www.bowlero.com/location/bowlero-tysons.
The Omni Arena from Virtuix recently went viral. A TikTok video featuring the attraction at Cinergy in Odessa, Texas, got more than 20 million views. A comment on the video mentioning Cinergy Odessa as the attraction’s location had more than 100,000 likes. In the weeks following the video, revenues for Omni Arena at the location were up over 50%. “We’re thrilled that our Odessa location got this level of attention,” said Todd Maunsell, Vice President of Cinergy Entertainment. “We’ve seen a jump in Omni Arena plays and guest traffic in these last few weeks.” Added Virtuix founder and CEO Jan…
Effective Nov. 1, Jakob Wahl will be IAAPA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, according to the association. In the roles, Wahl will oversee the regional operations of the global association for the attractions industry as well as global sales. “Jakob is a dedicated and passionate leader who has increased membership and consistently expanded attendance and participation in the EMEA region’s events, including IAAPA Expo Europe,” said IAAPA president and CEO Hal McEvoy. “As IAAPA and the attractions industry emerge from the impact of the global pandemic, Jakob is the right person at the right time to help us…