Brad Mark, co-owner and COO of Pole Position Raceway in Las Vegas, recently spoke with Virtuix CEO Jan Goetgeluk about how he attracts more guests with the VR company’s flagship Omni Arena. Mark said he uses several online ticketing sites to market Omni Arena, including Tickets.com, Expedia, and Vegas.com. He reports that after listing the attraction on Vegas.com, revenues increased by 53%. Mark adds that guests coming to Pole Position for the Omni Arena experience usually stay longer and add go-karting races. On the other hand, guests who come to race are also playing Omni Arena. Average spend per customer…
Author: Matt Harding
Following our recent newsletter item about pinball machines being banned in Los Angeles in 1939, Stern Pinball President Gary Stern shared some stories about pinball bans – and their reversals – around the country: Around that time, pinball was banned in LA, New York City, Chicago. See Pop Culture Panics by Karen Sternheimer, (Routledge, New York City, 2015) page 66. The most important and first event in the reversal of these pinball bans was the 1974 California Supreme Court case, Cossack v. City of Los Angeles, 11 Cal.3rd 726, wherein the Court ruled pinball is a game of skill. https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/11/726.html; scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/cossack-v-city-los-angeles-27830 In determining…
Bowling entrepreneurs Pat and Lisa Ciniello were recently featured in Business Observer, discussing their optimism about the future of the business and their investments in family entertainment. Pat, who’s also chairman of QubicaAMF, runs the Fort Myers, Fla.-based Bowling Management Associates with Lisa. The company is the parent brand over Bowland and HeadPinz Entertainment Centers. In June 2020, the pair also bought Zoomers Amusement Park. Revenue from all six of their bowling centers was up in Q1 2021 and is on pace to beat 2019’s numbers by about 15% this year. Regarding growing their customer base and market share, Lisa…
TrainerTainment will host its first in-person conference of 2021 from June 2-3 at the Aloft Hotel in Euless, Texas. The two-day training session, led by founder and CEO Beth Standlee, focuses on proven techniques that the company says enables participants to grow their business faster, run it more effectively and maximize its potential. “We couldn’t be more excited to reunite with other leaders,” Standlee said. “These two days promise to inspire, educate and encourage all in attendance.” Among the topics: goal setting, meaningful meetings, performance leadership and marketing. Click here to register. Cost to attend is $149 per person. Email [email protected]…
The Wisconsin Amusement & Music Operators Assn. got rolling with their annual dart tournament yesterday, May 20, drawing over 3,800 people to the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon, Wis. The event, which has a whopping 240 dart boards for the 10,000 entries, will run through this Sunday. Thanks to Colorado/Wyoming operator Bob Burnham’s photographic and news-gathering skills, we have this gorgeous shot of the setup and news that the association reports Team Darts is down about 8%, but Cricket Singles is up about 33%. RePlay will share the results when they become available.
The Colorado Amusement & Music Operators will convene for its second annual meeting on Wednesday, May 26, at 10:30 a.m. at The Summit at Thornton located at 580 E. 144th Ave. in Thornton (coffee and pastries will be available at 10 a.m.). Special guests will be AMOA President Greg Trent and CAMO state lobbyist Stephanie Fransen along with a surprise guest, a high-ranking state official. The lunch sponsors are Jim Roe of Moss Distributing and Rich Babich of the Game Exchange of Colorado; happy hour sponsors are Betson’s Steve Lamoreaux and Don MacBrayne of The Summit. The association will also…
For friends of the recently-deceased Kenny Anderson wishing to attend funeral services this coming Saturday, May 22, there will be a viewing from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Aztlan Mortuary, 7856 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa, Calif., with services and a reception to follow. Industry veteran Paul Jacobs shared some of his thoughts about his dear friend: “What do you say when you lose your best friend? That just happened to me when my best friend, Ken Anderson, passed on. “We first met when we were both branch managers for Wurlitzer Distributing Corporation – Ken in Los Angeles and me in Milwaukee. But our…
The Spokane City Council is considering a full and permanent repeal of a $25 license fee collected on all “amusement devices” in the Eastern Washington city. According to the Spokesman-Review, the decades-old fee is a “relic of a bygone era imposed on businesses that offer patrons entertainment from pinball to pool tables.” The state had recently waived liquor license fees, so System Amusements owner Bob Carroll asked the Spokane City Council in March to do the same with amusements. “I don’t mind paying, but let’s let business build back up,” he said. “We’re still maybe at 55% of normal revenue.”…
Nick Azevedo will soon launch Play2Win, a new arcade with more than 40 machines, beneath a movie theater in New Plymouth, New Zealand. The arcade is expected to open in June, according to the Taranaki Daily News. Azevedo, an operator with 25 years in the business, started off by supplying games to pubs in London. He was visiting New Plymouth for the day and happened upon the vacant shop near the movie theater. Within a week, he signed a lease. A U.K. national, Azevedo sold his operation there and moved to New Zealand in 2003. He and his wife also…
This week, Orange County joined its neighbor to the north Los Angeles in moving into California’s yellow tier for reopening, which means capacities for FECs and other businesses have been increased. According to KTLA, FECs can now open there at 50% capacity; bowling alleys can increase to 50% capacity as well but can also let more people in if they ask for a negative Covid test or vaccine record; and all bars can open indoors at 25% capacity. The state itself is expected to retire its tier system on June 15, when it will begin to follow CDC guidance on…