Since age 4, Nolan Kertis (below, right), a now 17-year-old who has autism, has loved Deal or No Deal. He found the arcade game at a local Chuck E. Cheese and has been hooked ever since. Since Nolan could no longer head out to the arcade during the pandemic, some industry leaders got the game to him.
As lockdowns hit the country, Nolan’s mother Amy hopped on Google and emailed companies that might have the game. SEGA’s Marty Smith saw the email and decided that he had to help. Since the game was no longer in production, he set out to find a used machine.
He reached out to Mike Springman from Betson, who located a Deal or No Deal. Dan Coppola at ICE, the game’s manufacturer, supplied parts at no charge. Betson’s service team reconditioned the unit to look like new and recently delivered the game to Nolan’s house.
“When I first read the email from Nolan’s mother it tugged hard on my heart,” Marty said. “I knew I had to try and help. I reached out to Mike Springman and with the help from all those involved we were able to make something wonderful happen for this family.” Springman added: “We were happy to help out to make this happen. “With everything going on with our industry right now, it’s a great feeling when you can help bring someone so much joy.”
Noted Coppola: “We at ICE are excited that one of our games will provide great entertainment for Nolan, his family and his friends. We appreciate Marty and Mike spearheading this terrific project and including us.”
