One of coin-op’s more colorful veterans, Ted Furkin of Allstar Music and Pyramid Technologies, died Feb. 20 in Mesa, Ariz., at age 88. The well-known salesman and entrepreneur had suffered from heart disease for years, and death was probably attributed to heart failure.
For most RePlay readers, Ted is perhaps best known for Silent Partner, computer software which was one of the first such programs allowing operators to manage the financial aspects of their route machines. (Silent Partner continues those efforts today under different ownership.)
Among Furkin’s many business pursuits was a foray into gray area games, a business which brought legal troubles on his shoulders back in the ’90s when it was fairly common to see these poker machines operated in bars and such. May he rest in peace.