What’s billed as a “100 percent interactive” LED laser tag arena was recently installed by Lasertron for Santikos Entertainment’s facility in San Antonio, Texas. The newest Santikos location is 87,000 sq. ft. and the new multi-level laser tag arena measures nearly 4,000 sq. ft. They operate the attraction with 48 new LT-12.5 pro vests, which allows the center to run one group of 24 while another group is suited up and prepped for the next game, increasing throughput substantially. The facility also features an arcade, 16 bowling lanes and 12 movie theater screening rooms. More information about the companies is…
Author: Matt Harding
The nation’s bars might get busier if NPR’s recent news report citing an uptick in consumer interest in boozeless beer is true. For example, they say when the Athletic Brewing Co. offered its nonalcoholic Double Hop for online sale last week, it sold out in 32 seconds. They also say a bunch of other craft brewers are focusing on making the product, including Bravus Brewing Co., with their customer liaison Michael Hayes claiming: “We can’t make the stuff fast enough.” One survey, NPR says, found that around 22 percent of millennials say they’re drinking less alcohol for health reasons. But…
Jim Chapman has been added to the Elaut Group USA sales team, officially starting June 24. “We are delighted to have Jim accept a sales position with our company,” said Tony Maniscalco, executive vice president of sales. “Jim’s in-depth knowledge of claw crane merchandising and operation is unparalleled in the industry.” The company says even as it continues to consolidate its New Jersey and Florida operations, sales of cranes, ticket redemption equipment and plush remain strong. Their new 78,000-sq.-ft. facility in Lake Worth Beach, Fla., is in the final stages of completion and should be ready by late July. Learn…
More than 4,000 pool league players from 29 states, six Canadian provinces and eight other countries converged in Las Vegas May 23-June 1 for VNEA’s 39th Annual World Pool Championships. Teams from Canada did quite well at the tourney. The Women’s Master Team going by the name Stay Down won that trophy (along with a $4,000 prize). T.B. Eh! won the Open Intermediate Team trophy (plus a $6,000 prize). Both teams were comprised of players from SML Entertainment in Alberta. Numerous other teams and individuals competing in 56 unique divisions from every skill level took away prize money. Five people…
Heading to Bowl Expo next week with their Virtual Rabbids: The Big Ride attraction, LAI Games will be showing off three new experiences for the VR piece for the very first time. Stop by Booth #133 to see it for yourself (or click here to get a sneak peek). The new experiences – Kitchen Catastrophe, Coaster Calamity and Space Skirmish – will all be in the Virtual Rabbids lineup in early August, according to the company’s website. Kitchen Catastrophe lets riders experience “mammoth fun from a pint-sized perspective” as they drive a toy car to escape from a “Rabbid Chef” in his gigantic kitchen. Coaster…
Get ready, Bandai Namco says it’s coming to the Bowl Expo with a new redemption title “utilizing a huge brand IP.” The game, which will be located at Booth #601, will be getting its global unveiling at the show. The company will also be showing Jumbo Jumpin’, which is based on their original redemption game Jumpin’ Jackpot. It is a virtual jump rope game featuring a high-resolution LCD display as well as different modes of gameplay. Go to www.bandainamco-am.com for more information.
The Sacoa debit card system team will will be at Booth #808 for the Bowl Expo trade show next week in Las Vegas (June 26-27 at the Convention Center). They will be showing the possibilities of integrating their system with the terminals of Switch Bowling. Using the Switch terminal, credits can be stored in a customer’s playcard as payment, and balances can be checked in real time. The company’s Online Sales Module allows registered guests to recharge their playcards online. Visit www.sacoacard.com or head to Booth #808 for more information on the products.
Class #49 from Foundations University, held July 16-18 in Chicago, will provide attendees with not only great industry info, but exclusive discounts, products and promotions currently valued at more than $40,000 through their “Buyers Power” Purchase Program. That value is attributed to promotion ideas from the supporting sponsors, which could grow before the event – meaning even more value for the location-based entertainment educational program. Agenda topics include: How to Market Your FEC with university founder Frank Seninsky; Taking the Guesswork Out of Project Financing with Jerry Merola; Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality with Kevin Williams; and Contractor Selection with…
Launch Entertainment Park in Richmond, Va., just installed a 20-player Helios Pro laser tag system by Zone Laser Tag at their trampoline park and entertainment center. “It’s our desire to provide a relevant family entertainment experience in which all ages, from 2 to 92, are able to come together and make memories that last a lifetime,” said LaShawanda Moore, managing owner of Launch Richmond. “Laser tag is an attraction that affords gaming, while at the same time allows for physical activity. One of the reasons we opened this type of business is to get more people moving, all while having…
The team behind Chaos Jump, a multiplayer virtual reality platform for location-based entertainment, has announced a distribution agreement with Betson Enterprises, designed to expand the adoption of multiplayer VR attractions in the amusement industry. Established in 2010, Minority Media offers turnkey, small footprint attractions. “Minority Media is thrilled to partner with Betson with their strong presence and unprecedented history of excellence in the amusement industry,” said Michael Zaidan, VP of business development and global sales. “With Betson’s reputation and reach, we are well-positioned to accelerate the rollout of Chaos Jump attractions to amusement locations across America and Canada.” Under the agreement,…