The 7th annual Amusement-Attraction, Park-Recreation Exhibition (ATRAX) held this year in Istanbul, Turkey from Feb. 14-16 hosted 173 companies from 21 countries. Already set for Feb. 13-15, 2020 at the Istanbul Expo Center, ATRAX says it’s the sole specialized exhibition in the nearby region for the entertainment industry. “Happy Cities” was the theme this year, which aimed to bring to the forefront attraction projects that “create more opportunities for socializing.” More information is available at www.atraxexpo.com.
Author: Matt Harding
A new virtual reality headset from HP with inside-out tracking is scheduled for a late April release, according to the company, which showed the product at last week’s Amusement Expo. The HP Reverb pro edition, priced at $649, features a whopping panel resolution of 2160 x 2160 per eye and a 114-degree field of view. It weighs in at 1.1 pounds, has integrated Bluetooth, headphones with spatial audio and dual microphones for a “greater immersive experience.” It supports Windows Mixed Reality and Steam VR. “With more than 2,500 VR experiences available and counting, Windows Mixed Reality continues to serve as…
Celebrating the upcoming 27th birthday of the text message, first sent by engineer Neil Papworth on Dec. 3, 1992, LAI Games is back with a sequel to its Textminator game. Textminator 2 can be set up for ticket dispensing or amusement only, features stunning LED lighting and gameplay “as habit-forming as any app.” It has four built-in games and more in development, according to LAI. The first, Generation Gap, will be a hit among the older crowd, racing against a clock as they try to interpret modern acronyms. Another, Selfie Time, will judge if players take good selfies, based on…
Starting today, April 1, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, CinemaCon dubs itself as the largest and most important gathering for the worldwide motion picture theater industry – with attendees from more than 80 different countries. The event features presentations from big-name studios like Walt Disney, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers, a special screening of the upcoming film Long Shot, and the Big Screen Achievement Awards presented April 4 at the Colosseum to stars like Jamie Lee Curtis, Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron and Steve Buscemi. For the trade show, held April 2-4, Sacoa will be on hand to…
To recognize the 35th anniversary of laser tag’s debut on March 28, 1984, enthusiast and blogger Laurie Jean Britton completed her mission to play the game in all 50 states. She was joined at the Laser Quest of North Richland Hills, Texas by laser tag inventor George Carter III. Carter is widely regarded as the founder of the laser tag industry, and was presented with a plaque in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of opening the first laser tag location for his game Photonin the Dallas area 35 years ago. Britton, according to the Laser Tag Museum, is the first…
Colin Cummings, a student at Baylor University, recently won his 4th USAA title at the 2019 World Air Hockey Championships at Rice University, held March 15-17. Sanctioned by the U.S. Air Hockey Association and sponsored by Gold Standard Games and Valley-Dynamo, second place went to Vince Sauceda of San Antonio, third place to Jacob Weissman of Houston, fourth place to veteran competitor Andy Yevish of Philadelphia, fifth place to Avery Yebernetsky of Houston and sixth place to Brian Quezada of Chicago. At only age 19, Cummings “is already becoming one of the all-time greats in competitive air hockey’s 40+ year…
Friends Paul Jacobs of Gold Standard Games and Tony Maniscalco of Andamiro USA carve out time each spring for baseball and this year was no different. The pair have attended a New York Mets spring training game in Port St. Lucie, Fla. for the past five years since Maniscalco moved to the area. “Tony and I plan to keep this annual tradition alive for many years to come!” Jacobs wrote to RePlay.
On Monday of Expo week in Vegas, Lawry’s Restaurant opened its doors to AMOA’s past presidents, plus assorted officers, directors and friends of the national operator group for the annual dinner. Here’s a swell shot of some of those who “drove AMOAs boat” over the years taken at that prime rib factory:
Friends of RePlay’s ad director Barry Zweben will be saddened to learn that his dad, Stan, passed away Sunday afternoon, March 31, at Silverado, a memory care facility in Calabasas, Calif. Barry and his own son Adam were at his side when he died. After services on April 4, Stan will be buried alongside his wife Myra at Mt. Sinai Cemetery in Burbank. May he rest in God’s peace. (barry@replaymag.com).
The site of the 2020 Amusement Expo has been chosen and this year’s Vegas show attendees certainly sounded excited for the change of pace and place – heading down to the Big Easy next March. After those record numbers from this year’s event, organizers expect another great turnout next year. In fact, Brian Glasgow of the W.T. Glasgow management team said five companies have already signed up, including a big-name distributor that plans on increasing booth size. Want to hop on the ball alongside them? Visit www.amusementexpo.org to get those early-bird rates ($20.95/sq. ft.), good through June 3. The 2020…