A leading in-app mobile payment service for unattended retail (and games, too), PayRange recently announced its platform has powered more than 100 million mobile transactions. The payment app is quick and efficient, making for a better vending experience, the company says. With laundry, for example, consumers can view machine timers in the app and receive cycle completion notifications. Similarly, the app makes an effective change to traditional vending, wherein if a product fails to dispense, the user can be alerted that the malfunction was detected and automatically refunded. “While macro trends are in favor of more automated and self-service retail, lack…

A former Portland, Ore., route operator has joined the art world in a rather familiar way to folks in the coin machine business. Dick McNicholas, who has worked in the industry for 43 years, recently started producing and selling pinball machine backglass artwork printed on canvass, mounted on wood frame and available as gifts from his PINball Art USA company. So far, he’s gathered and restored images of 93 pinball backglasses to create the art pieces, and is licensed by manufacturers like Gottlieb, Williams, Bally and Midway. His archives include game art going back to the 1930s and extending up…

Laurie Jean Britton is a laser tag enthusiast and blogger from upstate New York who will complete her journey to play laser tag in all 50 states once she visits Laser Quest of North Richland Hills, Texas, on March 28. She’ll be joined by laser tag inventor George Carter III, who opened the first laser tag attraction in the Dallas area on March 28, 1984. The world celebrates it as International Laser Tag Day, making Britton’s visit coincide with the 35th anniversary. Laser Quest will have $5 laser tag games from 5-9 p.m. that day, along with refreshments and a…

The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) has announced that credit card giant Visa is sponsoring scholarships for 10 industry professionals to the association’s International ATM Operators Certification programs. The online courses offered through the ATMIA Academy are designed for ATM operators doing business in regional, national and global markets. Content draws on the collective knowledge of the association’s members and is based on extensive research into the operating practices and procedures of ATM businesses worldwide. According to association officials, the five courses detail ATM operator responsibilities with several short, interactive and highly informative sessions. A learn-at-your-own-pace approach provides flexibility for participants to move through…

Industry expert Frank “the Crank” Seninsky will present a free webinar on the IAAPA FEC Benchmark Report Tuesday, March 19, at noon Eastern time. “After dealing with more than 1,000 FEC financials over the past 30 years, I can offer you my opinions how to best interpret the data collected in the IAAPA FEC Benchmark Report,” he wrote. “In this webinar, I will provide you with the tried and true AEM (Amusement Entertainment Management) FEC financial benchmarks.” IAAPA members can download the report for free and non-members can purchase it for $499. Either way, interested parties can sign up for…

A Texas movie entertainment center chain, Film Alley, is about ready to open its third location in Terrell on March 15. Owner Schulman Theatres, which has been in the theater business for 90 years, first debuted their Film Alley concept in 2016, according to Narcity.com. Other locations are in Bastrop and Weatherford. Film Alley locations have screening rooms with reclining seats and dine-in service, arcades and bowling alleys. The other Schulman concept, City Lights, has Texas locations in Georgetown, Hudson Oaks and Palestine. The first 100 visitors at the newest Film Alley location at 5 p.m. on grand opening day…

The Dallas, Texas-based chain Cinergy Entertainmenthas a tentative April 9 opening for its new Tulsa, Okla. location – the company’s first outside of the Lonestar State. Jeff Benson, founder and CEO of Cinergy, said some construction setbacks affected the project, but it is nonetheless gearing up for a spring opening, according to the Tulsa World. Originally scheduled to open in February, the 60,000-sq.-ft. entertainment center is a $10 million project with a dizzying array of attractions: a 90-game arcade, eight movie theatres featuring luxury recliner heated seats, 14 lanes of boutique bowling, five immersive escape rooms, virtual reality experiences and…

Early registration has opened for the 3rd Annual EU Conference & Trade Show, held May 19-21 at the Maritim Hotel in Berlin, Germany, and hosted by the International Assn. of Trampoline Parks. Before April 16, registration is $179 for IATP members and $429 for non-members. Those rates jump to $229 and $479, respectively, ahead of the trade show. Education session details will be updated on the website before the event. A networking boat tour for an extra $25 will be held the evening of May 19. A full list of registration information is available on the IATP website at www.indoortrampolineparks.org.…

Asian operators and amusement experts are all set for another China Attractions Expo (CAE), which is coming to Beijing April 1-3. The Expo, put on by the China Association of Amusement Park and Attractions (CAAPA), is said to be the largest business-to-business fair in Asia, and 2019’s event will be hosted in a new, larger exhibition center ready to handle the over 50,000 buyers that attend. Any interested attendees or exhibitors are encouraged to contact Patrick Liang at [email protected] or 778-957-3308. Learn more by visiting www.chinaattractionsexpo.com.

Everyone loves a good game of pinball, but do you love it as much as Jersey Jack diehard Andrzej Kamiński? At the Jersey Jack Pinball Flipper Club’s tournament in Bytom, Poland, Kamiński cut his hair to read “JJP,” recognizing the pinball machine maker. RePlay would love to hear from readers to what lengths your diehard players have gone. Designs in hair? Tattoos? Crazy costumes? Email [email protected].