Register here for AAMA’s 75-minute webinar on preparing to reopen your business, held May 5 at 10:30 a.m. Central time. The live Q&A will feature expert panelists Sheryl Bindelglass of Sheryl Golf, Jack Cook of Bob’s Space Racers, Frank Cosentino of Bandai Namco Amusement America, Mike Leatherwood of Bone Daddy’s House of Smoke, Jonah Sandler of Scene75 and John Gustafson, head of the biochemistry and molecular biology departments at Oklahoma State University. Check out AAMA’s first COVID-19-related webinar here and visit www.coin-op.org for more resources and information.
Author: Matt Harding
RePlay has been conducting a pair of surveys to gauge how exactly COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders have affected the industry’s route and arcade/FEC/LBE operators. We’ve already heard from about 75 of you, and we’d like to hear from more! Route operators, you can click here to take the survey; if you run an arcade, FEC or other location-based entertainment facility, you can click here to take yours. The deadline is Monday, May 4, so you have the weekend to respond. We greatly appreciate your candor, and while we’d like to quote you for our June issue, we want your honest…
With the coronavirus pandemic going on, there seems to have been an uptick in businesses refusing to accept cash because they fear there is a risk of transmission. However, scientific evidence points to cash being no riskier than handling plastic cards or cell phones, according to a statement released by the Consumer Choice in Payment Coalition (a group that has AMOA and the National ATM Council among its members). “In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and concerns over the spread of COVID-19, there has been a myriad of misinformation about the possibility of spreading the virus by simply handling currency,”…
Operating under shortened hours, Holiday Lanes Bowling Center in Oklahoma City will open today, May 1, with social distancing and other safety practices put in place. According to its Facebook page, the bowling center will institute employee temperature checks. If an employee has a temp of 100.4 degrees or higher, they’ll be sent home. They’ll require customer-facing employees to wear face masks, and “continue to use appropriate antimicrobial disinfectants.” Prior to opening, they said, the facility has been completely disinfected and so have bowling balls and shoes. While they noted there were already adequate handwashing and sanitizing stations at Holiday…
BPAA recently shared new guest messaging resources with its members, including their “Safe, Sanitized, Ready to Roll!” campaign and the “Ready for Some Good, Clean Fun!” campaign. The resources, available here, share front-of-house information with guests at your bowling facility. The Safe, Sanitized, Ready to Roll! campaign is about “letting guests know specifically what you are doing to maintain a safe environment.” Those things include required social distancing, temperature checks and appropriate PPE. The other message, they say, still focuses on making guests feel secure, and is more about making guests feel welcome. The messaging can be used as posters…
The deadline for IAAPA Expo exhibitors to submit their contract for this year’s show and receive the early-bird rate is May 15. The 2020 event is scheduled for Nov. 17-20 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., as usual. New this year, the trade show is expanding into the convention center’s West Hall. Click here to submit your online contract, or visit www.iaapa.org for more information. You can also email [email protected].
The New York Times reports that Indianapolis-based Simon Properties Group, America’s largest mall operator, intends to reopen 49 shopping centers across the United States this Friday, May 1. Many of the locations are in Texas, Georgia, Missouri and their home state of Indiana. Centers in Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alaska and Mississippi will also be opened, although individual stores can decide whether to unlock their doors or not. The Times got an internal memo from Simon which ticks off lots of restrictions employees must follow, such as roping-off every other urinal and sink in the restrooms.
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, a theme park in Hengqin, China, officially reopened today, April 30, and is capped at 30 percent of its usual maximum capacity. According to China Daily, visitors can purchase tickets and register online, are required to wear protective masks, carry valid identity documents, present a health QR code at the gate, accept body temperature checks and keep a safe distance from others. The indoor venues, such as certain animal aquariums, remain off limits to visitors.
Remember to Keep Your Cup Full By Amber Lambert One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was “you can’t fill anyone else’s cup if yours is empty.” This is not being selfish, it’s being pragmatic. If you can’t take care of yourself and your business and remain solvent during a crisis, you won’t be able to help anyone else. To take care of yourself, you need to do what you can to keep in touch with your customers so they don’t forget about you. You also need to come up with new ways to generate cash flow while…
After 38 years, Dottie Hopkins is retiring from coin distributor Van Brook. Her last day is today, April 30. “We’re super said to see her go, but happy she’ll be able to enjoy her retirement,” said Gibson Olpp, marketing assistant at Osborne Coinage. “She’s been selling tokens and coins since I was in junior high.” Ray Castro ([email protected]) will be taking over her accounts. He can also be reached at 800-488-2646 ext. 231. In other news, Olpp reported that TokensDirect (a division of Osborne Coinage) and Van Brook will reopen for business on May 4, per guidelines of the Ohio…