The AAMA’s charitable foundation has extended its deadline for people to sponsor the Honor Roll fundraiser for this year’s Amusement Expo International until today, March 4, at 3 p.m. Eastern time. They’re closing in on their $37,500 goal, which is the aim before the end of the trade show, March 28 in Las Vegas. The AAMA helped raise $112,500 in 2018 and supports various organizations like Children’s Miracle network and The Sunrise Association. To support the fundraiser, regardless of the sponsorship deadline, visit www.coin-op.org and click Honor Roll Fundraiser under the AAMA Charity tab or call 847-290-9171.
Author: Matt Harding
Jamie Sura, senior vice president of sales for TouchTunes, will be recognized as AMOA-NY’s “Man of the Year” on May 7 from 6-9 p.m. at Patrizia’s in New York. Sura has been with TouchTunes since 2009 and helped the company build its network to more than 65,000 locations. In addition to honoring Sura, the organization will host a yet-to-be-named “Jukebox Artist of the Year.” Last year, it was C.J. Ramone of The Ramones and Dick Manitoba of The Dictators. Past artists include B.J. Thomas, Tony Orlando and Dianne Warwick. Guests will also take part in a 13-course dinner at the…
Columbia, S.C., is getting its first arcade bar soon, but first, the owners are introducing themselves to the community through a series of free pop-up events. According to The State, Transmission Arcade + Bar doesn’t yet have a location or open date (a lease is currently in the works), but business partners Josh Rainwater, Bradley Randolph and Cam Powell will start by bringing their classic pinball machines and video games to various places in Columbia, starting March 20 at Craft & Draft, a craft beer store. “Arcade bars are in kind of all the big metro areas, except there’s not…
The headline’s the new name being used by the Family Entertainment Group’s supremo George Smith at his FECs, and now his newest “In The Game” will get its official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 13. The swank place is located at 535 Lowell Street in Peabody, Mass. Cocktails and a buffet dinner will spark the affair, and free games to add to the fun.
The arcades at night, are big and bright… deep in the heart of Texas. It doesn’t get much bigger or brighter in Texas than at Gators Fun Factory in Early, Texas – smack-dab in the center of the state. Now, the FEC is temporarily closing its doors (as of March 9) to facilitate a move to the adjacent city of Brownwood, where it expects to open with new attractions at the end of summer, according to the Brownwood Bulletin. The new Gators Fun Factory will be located in the former Diamond P Enterprises warehouse, a roughly 27,000-sq.-ft. building next to…
With the VR market expected to grow more than 33 percent between 2018 and 2024, according to Research and Markets, the technology has proliferated across many industries. In the construction biz, for example, China’s State Grid utility recently completed a pilot program in Shanghai using wearable tech with the goal of providing real-time, remote assistance safely to maintenance workers – no hands required. The wearable, RealWear HMT-1, has a high-resolution video camera that the worker operates by voice. Its noise-cancelling capabilities allow it to be used at loud sites. Being able to use hands-free technology has become imperative for State…
Equipped with state-of-the-art HTC Vive headsets and controls, a new virtual reality arcade has sprung to life in Londonderry, N.H. Action VR, started by wife-husband duo Jennifer and Joe Dunne, offers 13 VR gaming stations in a 4,000-sq.-ft. space spread across two floors, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. The company says it has a library of more than 100 games and access to 300 through Springboard VR. While already operating, Action VR will hold a “grand opening” on March 9. More information about the business is available at www.actionvrgaming.com.
Last Thursday at Duffy’s Restaurant in Stuart, Fla., three patriarchs of the amusement game business got together to break bread and chew the nostalgic rag (though, the only one with food in front of him is the guy on the left…hmm!). Trade vets will surely remember that guy… former Benchmark Games’ chief Al Kress (left) dining with Atlas Distributing’s Jerry Marcus (center) and Rowe International’s former sales top Jerry Gordon (right). The common denominator between these dudes (who sport at least 150 years of combined trade experience) is, in fact, Rowe. Kress distributed the line when he ran a dealership…
In its ongoing efforts to encourage membership in the association by FEC owners and operators, AAMA held FEC Connect – Dallas, an information and networking event, on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at Pinstack in Las Colinas, Texas. (Pinstack, readers may remember, was the winner of AAMA’s 2017 FEC of the Year Award.) The Dallas-area event comes on the heels of last month’s successful “FEC Connect – Boston,” which was held Jan. 16 at member George Smith’s Bonkers FEC in Peabody, Mass. (a northern suburb). AAMA Exec VP Pete Gustafson said, “Both events were attended by a mix of current AAMA member…
Emporium, a small arcade bar chain with three Chicago locations and one in San Francisco, is adding another across the bay in Oakland that shares a building with the historic Fox Theater. The new location is smaller than other Emporium’s, according to San Francisco Eater, but still has 5,000 sq. ft. with about 30 arcade and tabletop games, pinball machines, air hockey and Skee-Ball lanes. It will also have an extensive selection of beer, wine and cocktails, as well as a full kitchen. Emporium Oakland celebrated with a “first look party” on Feb. 27 and will have regular hours soon.…