Finding a dedicated fan base for your unique video game offerings is important, operators. But good luck finding anyone as dedicated as German soccer fan Sepp Hedel, who is the new Guinness World Record holder for playing the interactive PC game Football Manager for 333 virtual seasons. According to UPI, he started chasing the record in late 2017 when he was working in Africa. Far away from home, he really got into it (obviously), playing roughly 1,940 real-life hours to hit the achievement. He eviscerated the previous record, which was “only” 221 seasons, set in December 2017 by Michal Leniec.
Author: Matt Harding
The cashless technology provider Intercard recently joined forces with party expert Dorothy Lewis, who contributed to the company’s development of its Shindigger party planning and reservation software. “Shindigger is priced to beat competing systems, and subscribers will also get a party business pro as a valuable additional resource,” Lewis said. “There’s so much that Shindigger can do beyond just booking reservations.” Lewis has worked in the amusement industry for more than 25 years, and began her career with Al Kress, co-founder of Benchmark Games, before going on to work with Fun Station Associates and others. “She played an important role…
The first of the regional events for BullShooter’s 35th annual tour took place Sept. 13-15 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort in Florida, co-sponsored by Betson Florida, Legacy Coin and Premier Amusements Inc. The second was Sept. 27-29 at the Jackpot Junction Casino & Hotel in Morton, Minn., co-sponsored by AVS Companies and Moss Distributing. The BullShooter 35 Finals will take place May 21-25, 2020 in Chicago. A total of $12,000 was awarded to winners during the Florida stop, plus entry cards to win a G3 home game at the finals. Among the winners were: Paula Murphy, who took home three…
Smaaash Entertainment USA, with its $12 million, 40,000-sq.-ft. go-karting and virtual reality gaming attractions closed in late September at Minnesota’s Mall of America, “seemingly overnight,” according to Twin Cities Business. The magazine reported that a mall employee walked by the business on a Monday and saw patrons playing in the high-tech arcade, which was completely shuttered the following day, its signs removed from the façade. The India-based Smaaash is no longer on the Mall of America’s website and its own U.S. website is no longer active. Last year, it was reported that the Minnesota Vikings were suing the company for…
It’s the start of another holiday season, and Digital Centre wants to make sure its customers are covered. The photo booth manufacturer continuously updates their products with new themed frames and collages to support different holidays and festivities like Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Easter and more. Digital Centre’s creative department has been hard at work making the latest frames and collages for Halloween – now less than two weeks away. “These designs are there to help the customers capture all the spooky and frightening moments this Halloween,” the company said. Owners of DC photo booths will be able…
With its 10th biannual Business Coaching Conference, TrainerTainment will be at the Max Bowl BEC in Humble, Texas (near Houston) next week from Oct. 23-24. The 2-day training session “focuses on proven techniques that enable participants to grow their business faster, run it more effectively and maximize its potential.” Topics to be covered include: Building a foundation with core values; creating a vision and sharing it with your team; predicting success by developing scorecards; mastering the art of effective meetings; and hiring only the best team members. “Many operators know where they want their business to go but not how…
Free-roam VR experience provider SPREE Interactive recently installed an attraction at Airtime Trampoline Park in Nuremberg, Germany, which celebrated its grand re-opening on Sept. 20. Their VR Arena is the anchor attraction at that venue’s brand-new VR-dedicated space. It allows up to 20 players at the same time, and Spree boasts the platforms as “the highest throughput location-based VR system on the market.” “We are very happy to provide this brand-new attraction from Spree Interactive to our customers,” noted Anne Busch, marketing lead at Airtime. “We were able to serve over 50 birthday parties in one day, with an average…
In a recent blog post, Betson detailed how and why you should host a Stern Army event. To be brief – pinball is hot! Betson noted that the attendance at pinball events worldwide rose from a mere 12,527 in 2009 to 133,767 in 2018 (that, according to the International Flipper Pinball Assn., which keeps tracks of global attendance at tournaments and other events). Most of the Stern Army gatherings are at arcade bars, but they’ve been held at FECs and other locations as well. “An FEC in Tempe, Ariz., has over 50 players in their Tuesday night leagues and has…
In a test of video game skill, Big Buck Hunter players returned to the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas recently to compete in the 12th Annual Big Buck World Championship tournaments. The main event featured the top 64 hunters in the world (19 of them new to the event). Play Mechanix “upped the ante” on them by debuting all-new paths for its animals, doing away with any advantage players may have gained from memorizing hunting sites. “The World Championship was now a true test of speed and skill,” event organizers said. Andre Rivas and Phil Beaupre both found themselves…
Games from the 1970s, 80s and 90s will soon be making their way to Bartari, a new (old) arcade bar in Scranton, Penn., scheduled to open Oct. 21, according to WBRE. John Heim, a co-owner of the biz, said it’ll have all the classics like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Galaga, Space Invaders and Asteroids, plus some slightly more modern fare like South Park pinball. Heim is working alongside his father, John Sr., on the endeavor, which includes not only a bar but a restaurant as well. More information is available at www.facebook.com/Bartari570.