IAAPA members and non-members alike are encouraged to join up for an evening of networking at Bob’s Space Racers HQ in Daytona Beach, Fla. from 5-9 p.m. on April 25. Click here to register for the event, which costs $20 for members and $30 for non-members. The price includes a tour of the venue as well. For more information, contact Robert Baldwin at [email protected].
Author: Matt Harding
The Georgia-based bowling entertainment center chain Stars and Strikes is coming to Hoover, Ala. (a tad bit south of Birmingham), in the summer of 2020 with a new location, its second in the state. A 55,000-sq.-ft. facility, according to a recent press release, it will have 24 bowling lanes (including eight VIP lanes), a large arcade and prize store, multi-level laser tag, bumper cars and their custom 7/10 Grille and full-service bar. It’ll also have party rooms and a corporate event space that will seat more than 100 guests. Learn more at www.starsandstrikes.com.
OptConnect, a leader in wireless technology, has announced the introduction of its new Gemini antenna. Designed to operate on a 4G LTE network, company officials say the new device is aimed at a wide variety of applications, including ATMs, coin-op games, digital signage, vending machines and point-of-sale systems. As the name would suggest, the Gemini incorporates two antennas. Housed in a single casing, the unique dual antenna system provides greater signal stability, strength, and quality as well as improving upload and download speeds. Measuring in at a compact 2.1” x 2.7”, the new unit also incorporates a magnetic mount. For…
Boxman is a new arcade game created in a high schooler’s spare time that’s now on location at Time Out in Ames, Iowa, home to Iowa State University, where game maker Nathan Paskach is now a freshman. He told We Are Iowa that the idea first came to him as a 7th grader. “I came up with the concept of boxes falling from the sky and you are the little guy who has to climb on them and get to the top,” Paskach said. Paskach, now 18, is studying computer engineering and said he’s currently working on a pinball machine.…
The Georgia Amusement and Music Operators Assn. is sponsoring the 11th annual Southern Amusement & Entertainment Expo at the Atlanta Airport Marriott from Sept. 12-13. The Southern Expo brings together industry operators from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, and features the latest amusement machines and education seminars. There was a 10 percent increase in attendance in 2018, and is expected to increase further this year. Booth space is already 75 percent sold for the event, so organizers recommend visiting www.gamoa.org or contacting GAMOA executive director Christina Kaiser for more information. She can be reached at [email protected]…
The axe-throwing trend seen at some bars and other locations serviced by the amusement industry isn’t always on target, as evidenced by a viral video showing one flying back at a guest recently. Originally posted on Instagram by user @camdhuber, the video shows a woman throwing an axe that ricocheted off of the floor and straight back toward her head at the Denver Bad Axe Throwing location. She shrugged off the incident unscathed and with a laugh. As a YouTube commenter humorously noted: “Ax throwing skill: 0/10, Ax dodging skill: 10/10.”
Shaffer Distributing just announced Andy Howren as their new sales consultant, bringing with him more than 15 years of sales and business development experience. Based in the St. Louis office, the company says Howren has spent the last 12 years working in the technology and hospitality industries and “brings a great combination of sales experience, enthusiasm and a customer-first approach that makes him a perfect fit for the Shaffer sales team.” He can be reached at [email protected].
After a merger with publicly-traded Leo Holdings, Chuck E. Cheese’s parent company CEC Entertainment is returning to the New York Stock Exchange. Leo Holdings plans on changing its name to Chuck E. Cheese Brands. The company believes the valuation will be $1.4 billion. Private equity firm Apollo Global Management had purchased CEC in 2014 for $948 million. For fiscal year 2018, the company reported net sales of $896 million at its 750 venues across the Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza brands, according to CNBC. Chuck E. Cheese is also in the process of renovating its stores. The company…
Apple Industries is extending its donation offer to April 30. For every Face Place product sold, the company will give $1,000 to AMOA’s Coin-Op Cares Education & Charitable Foundation. The offer applies to purchases made by AMOA members only. Visit www.faceplacephoto.com or reach out directly at [email protected] for details.
The GameWorks Showdown tournament, expected to attract thousands of players at the company’s seven venues nationwide, will start May 12 and go through June 29, featuring one of the largest eSports competitions to date for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game. “The GameWorks Showdown competition features a large winners pool consisting of both cash and prizes valued at $25,000,” a recent press release reads. “This includes Alienware products, such as an Area 51M gaming laptop, culminating in a grand finals cash prize of $10,000.” Qualifier rounds will be at each GameWorks location on May 12, May 19, May 26 and…