Eddie Boasberg, son of Louisiana trade legend Louis Boasberg (New Orleans Novelty), has died. Besides his father’s distributing business, Eddie worked in video game manufacturing (e.g. Atari) for a time back in the Golden Age. Former Atari president Gene Lipkin said Eddie worked for him back in the company’s pinball days where he brought his valued knowledge of flipper games learned during his days with Louis and Joe Boasberg. “He was a true Southern Gentleman,” Gene said. A visitation, originally planned for March 16, has been postponed because of concerns over the virus. RePlay will post details when we get…
Author: Matt Harding
The New York Police Department is looking for a pair of determined thieves. After failing to steal an ATM from a Brooklyn bodega, the pair tried their luck at the nearby Dusk ’til Dawn Bar and Lounge at 193 Marcus Garvey Boulevard in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. It was at the bar where the two men managed to drag the ATM out to the street. According to local reports, the unit contained about $1,000. The brazen robbery is just the latest example of an uptick of ATM crime in the Big Apple. While New York City’s ATM operators are…
So says a recent article on Wired’s website, but what piqued our interest even more was the subhead: “Why does every damn place – even old-school corporate offices – have to be fun and full of foosball?” In the piece, written by Arielle Pardes, they say the perks and office style that once used to be limited to Silicon Valley have been found far and wide, creating a new organizational mindset, one that reduces the barriers between work and life. You can read the whole piece here, but a key takeaway for our industry isn’t how you might change up…
Day #1 of the Amusement Expo 2020 trade show is in the books, and showgoers are already back on the floor for Day #2 as this newsletter hits industry inboxes (that is, as long as Bourbon Street didn’t leave them a bit groggy this morning). While some remarked attendance seemed a little light this year, many commented that those who are at the New Orleans show are enthusiastic buyers – an observation shared by operators and manufacturers alike. They also appeared to stay on the floor later in the day, too. Game manufacturers and other exhibitors are, as usual, out…
The International Assn. of Trampoline Parks has cancelled upcoming international events in Amsterdam, Manchester and Barcelona due to coronavirus concerns. Its annual conference and trade show are still scheduled for Sept. 20-22 in Las Vegas. “We have been closely monitoring the concerns regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus), and the impact of this global health issue we are all facing. It is with deep regret that we are forced to make the decision to cancel our upcoming events in Amsterdam, Manchester and Barcelona,” the association wrote. “The safety and well-being of our members and supporters is our top priority.” They also shared…
Join Kevin, Stuart and Bob as they embark on their journey around the wheel! That’s the simple spin on Bay Tek Entertainment’s new game Minions Carnival Chaos, based on the hit film franchise. “The Minions license is so popular right now and has been since Despicable Me debuted in 2010,” said Sammy Harrison, Bay Tek’s brand manager. “There’s also another Minions film being released in July of this year. We wanted to provide our customers with a no-brainer option … proven gameplay plus the brand awareness and reach of Minions.” Bay Tek says the license is popular across age groups,…
Boxblaster VR recently announced that they’re expanding into their second franchise location of Big Air Trampoline Park, the California-based FEC chain with locations across the U.S. The first install was at the Spartanburg, S.C., location in January. Now, owner Dustin Pelletier is also bringing Boxblaster VR to the Big Air location in Branson, Mo., where he’s a partner in the franchise. “We were really impressed with content, performance, support and operations of the Boxblaster VR attraction,” Pelletier said. “It was an obvious choice for us to replace our Exit Reality attraction and upgrade our Missouri location to Boxblaster’s content and…
Before you leave the trade show floor today, make sure you’ve stopped by Booth #406 to take a tour of Embed’s latest in cashless technology. They’re showing their Mobile Wallet, which launched at IAAPA Expo 2019 (and won an AMOA Operator’s Choice Award, by the way). About the product, they say, “Delivering the next-generation in cashless payments for the FEC industry, Embed is the only FEC business solutions provider to partner with Google and Apple to gain compliance approval for Embed’s readers, a breakthrough that makes Embed the only non-banking finance payment or loyalty card business and brand card that…
Craig and Nancy Ferger have opened their third Pizza Ranch restaurant – this one in La Crosse, Wis., and their first with a FunZone Arcade. The grand opening was Feb. 17. According to the La Crosse Tribune, FunZone Arcade space in the restaurant with have 23 games, plus a prize counter for redemption. “Other Pizza Ranches that we know of that have FunZone Arcades are doing well with them, so we thought we’d try it out,” Craig said. Pizza Ranch/FunZone Arcades are franchised; in total, the Pizza Ranch chain has 212 locations in 14 states. Learn more online at www.pizzaranch.com. Or…
With Amusement Expo in town, the coin-op capital of the world is undoubtedly New Orleans this week. That was also true ahead of the show last night, March 8, as many industry leaders gathered at Broussard’s Restaurant in the French Quarter for the AMOA Presidents’ Dinner. Outgoing president Emily Dunn led the special get-together, and officially welcomed Greg Trent as the new AMOA president. Past presidents and AMOA’s entire board of directors were also recognized and thanked for their contributions. Speaking of those many contributions, Dunn also presented a $10,000 check on behalf of AMOA’s Coin-Op Cares Foundation to…