A 188-acre farm in South Haven, Mich., recently had an eco-friendly mini-golf course designed and installed by Adventure Golf & Sports. Also at Lake Arvesta Farms is an aqua park with water slides, floating obstacle courses, kayaking, pickleball courts, shuffleboard, air hockey, and the longest Disc Golf course in North America. “The mini-golf course is on a big man-made hill that took 280,000 yards of clay to build,” explained owner Brian deBest. “We have the capability of running cement trucks up, but it would have been a lot harder. I know clay moves and I just like the concept that…
Author: Matt Harding
A new immersive experience recently opened its doors in the U.K., bringing life-size Pac-Man entertainment to Manchester. Bandai Namco Entertainment, in collaboration with Little Lion Entertainment, launched the “Pac-Man Live Experience” at the city’s Arcade Arena. The attraction puts participants in a life-size, interactive Pac-Man maze – an augmented reality and multi-sensory adventure. The game features 12 thrilling levels. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce the world to our latest innovation,” said Little Lion Entertainment CEO Tom Lionetti-Maguire. “This is a game-changer in immersive entertainment, bringing the classic arcade experience to life in an entirely new way. Whether you’re…
Betson Imperial Parts & Service has announced a strategic partnership with 25/7 Digital Labs, which will allow them to distribute high-quality LG monitors for the amusement, vending and gaming industries. “We are thrilled to expand our offerings by partnering with 25/7 Digital Labs,” said Richard Zayas-Bazan, president of Betson Imperial Parts & Service. “By integrating LG’s cutting-edge technology into our product lineup, we’re empowering our customers with versatile and dependable solutions to enhance their operations and achieve exceptional performance.” You can visit www.betsonparts.com/lg-monitors to learn more. For additional info about 25/7, head to www.257digitallabs.com.
The Florida-based Elev8 Fun brand recently announced that a food hall concept called Elev8 Eatz is being introduced to their facilities. WKMG reported that the food halls will welcome brands like California Pizza Kitchen, Mr. Beast Burger, Great American Cookies and Ballpark Bites. Elev8 Fun’s managing partner, David Goldfarb, posted on LinkedIn that all locations will have Elev8 Eatz by this month. To learn more, visit www.elev8fun.com.
Conroe’s Incredible Pizza Company in Texas has a new 9-hole indoor mini-golf course at their location thanks to the team at Creative Works, who designed and installed the attraction. It was an overhaul of an existing mini-golf course. The course is “Blast from the Past” 1980s themed. “We vetted the project for about a year and met with a few other creators,” said Mario Valadez, the managing partner of Conroe’s. “In the end, we liked the plan Creative Works presented. The design is beautiful, fun and fits the budget we had established. “With our original mini-golf, guests walked by not…
Family Entertainment Group leader and 45-year industry veteran George Smith has made his way into the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame. He’s been involved in all facets of facilities operations and management. Smith started his industry career in 1978 in Boston with Dream Machine, which operated amusement facilities in malls and vacation locations along the eastern seaboard. In 1992, he joined a national operating company as their vice president of operations, later being promoted to VP of business development, where he was responsible for all facets of day-to-day facility management including the operation of nearly 500 stores. In that role,…
The mall arcade visionary behind the famed Time Out brand was inducted into the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame. Tico Bonomo’s grandfather, Albert, had a candy business started in 1897 in Coney Island, N.Y., reported AAMA Executive VP Pete Gustafson at Bonomo’s induction. “They sold saltwater taffy and hard candy to park visitors. Albert’s son, Victor, invented a new confection called Turkish Taffy, which quickly became one of the country’s most popular candy treat. People loved to crack the taffy to pieces before opening the wrapper.” Albert’s son, Tico, sold the family business in 1970 to Tootsie Roll and began…
There’s a new indie movie about our industry’s Walter Day, but its focus isn’t so much about the Golden Age of video games and chronicling high scores as it is about unrequited love and never giving up on your dreams. Called “Arcades and Love Songs – The Ballad of Walter Day,” the movie was screened March 28 at The Art Theater in Long Beach, Calif., and RePlay was there for the showing and following Q&A session with Day and producer/co-writer Ed Cunningham. Even video game record-holder Billy Mitchell was on hand, along with many of Day’s long-time friends and fans.…
Two Bit Circus’ Brent Bushnell will be pitching his Dream Park idea to the Sharks on the popular business funding show in an episode airing tonight at 8 ET/ 7 CT on ABC. Dream Park is a mixed reality, “downloadable theme park” where players simply don a headset and then walk right into standard locations that have been mapped out for play. In Santa Monica, Bushnell runs it right outside his Two Bit Circus arcade on the Third Street Promenade where players grab coins, punch blocks and kick baddies out of the way in the Super Adventureland game. Unlike a VR…
Betson Enterprises has appointed Stuart Wood as their new director of export consultant for the Middle East, U.K. and EU, according to the company. Wood brings more than 28 years of experience in the family entertainment sector, most recently as the vice president of arcades at HB Leisure. He’s also a former international sales manager for Bandai Namco. “In this new role, Stuart will be responsible for driving international sales of the Raw Thrills product line through established and emerging distribution channels,” said Betson President Bob Geschine. “He will also play a key role in growing Betson’s global footprint and…