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AMOA EXPO WRAP-UP

JOE DILLON “TRICK OR TREATING” AS SUPERTECH. SYMBOL OF | TAITO’S INCREASED DEDICATION TO SERVICE.

Quality, Integrity and Dependability, is what makes

BASKETBALL

and CRANE our Basketball GAMES and Crane Games IN THE

INDUSTRY

-G. SMART

j + oy / / \ if / { i , | \'/ . j 74 : ’ { We 220

1 HOOP AND 2 HOOP

¢ SINGLE UNIT ¢ SUPER SINGLE UNIT * NEW JUMBO 34”

SINGLE UNIT ¢ DOUBLE UNIT COMPARE THE STURDY, ¢ TRIPLE UNIT LIGHTWEIGHT AND COMPACT SOLID STEEL FRAME AGAINST THE FLIMSY CLEAN SWEEP . PLASTIC FRAME 42” JUMBO CRANE SINGLE UNIT SHOOT TO WIN II aul You To everyone involved with making

AMOA EXPO 89 such a huge SUCCESS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT YOUR AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR OR FOR REFERRAL CONTACT US.

Made in U.S.A.

1626 Delaware Ave.

Des Moines, lowa 50317

(515) 265-9900 1-800-553-2442 FAX (515) 265-3148

> |

ee POLL BALLOT

Please rate the games on a scale of one to ten, with ten representing superior earnings. Aspace has been allowed under each manufacturer’s name for awrite-in entry. Additional

space at the bottom accommodates any other equipment entry. Thank you for your participa- tion. Only with your help can we continue to provide an accurate game rating system.

VIDEO

American Technos: Block Out

Double Dragon Il WWF Super Stars

American Sammy: Omega Fighter

Atari:

Championship Sprint

Cyberball

Cyberball 2027

Escape From Planet of Robot Monsters

720 Degrees

Hard Drivin’

RoadBlasters

Super Sprint

Tetris

Bally Midway: Arch Rivals

Capcom: Capcom Bowling Dynasty Wars Strider

Willow

Data East:

Bad Dudes

Midnight Resistance Robo Cop

Sly Spy

Exidy: Showdown Yukon

Fabtek: Cabal Dynamite Duke

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Konami:

Bottom of the 9th Crime Fighters Final Round Thunder Cross S.P.Y.

Leland:

All American Quarterback

Team Quarterback

Super Off Road

Quarterback

Nintendo: Play Choice-10 Mike Tyson Punch Out Super Mario 2 Super Mario 3

Romstar:

Castle of Dragon Champion Bowling Final Blow

Ninja Warriors

Sega: AfterBurner Altered Beast Crackdown E.S.W.A.T. Gain Ground Golden Axe OutRun Shinobi

Super Hang On Super Masters Super Monaco GP Turbo OutRun

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Yankee Games: Grudge Match 123456789 10

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Seem ie Ye eee 123456789 10 Elvira/Party Monsters 123456789 10 Prehistoric Isle 123456789 10

Sky Ad io ea Transporter 123456789 10 |

y Adventure e802 00 Truck Stop 123456789 10 |

Street Smart 123456789 10

| | 12345678910 |

Super Champion

Baseball 12345678910 Data East: |

| ; ee 567 9 10 Time Machine 12345678910 |

S : Laser War 123456789 16 |

hi Playboy 12345678910 |

Golden Tee Golf 123456789 10 Monday Night Football 123456789 10 )

Taito: 12345678910 |

Big Event Golf 12.56.45: 6 7 8 9 10 Gottlieb/Premier: j

Chase H.Q. Veo 45°81 89 10 Bad Girls 12345678910 |

Crime City 123456789 10 Big House 12345678910 |

Double Dragon Les 0 Ot 2 10 Bone Busters 123456789 10 |

Nastar Warrior 123456789 10 Hot Shots 12345678910 ,

Night Striker 123456789 10 12345678910

Seis *seeceeet Operation Thunderbolt 123456789 10 alc ace ai

Operation Wolf 12345678910 Williams:

Plotting - 12345678910 Banzai Run 123456789 10 |

Superman 12345678910 Black Knight 2000 123456789 10 :

Twin Eagle 12345678910 Cyclone Pe 34 S:6°78.9 10 !

U.S. Classic 12345678910 Earthshaker Vee @ oO -O-7 @ 210 ,

12345678910 High Speed 123456789 10

Jokerz! 123456789 10

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mn aiden Pe ee) Oe Police Force 123456789 10 ,

_ Tecmo Bow! 129456789 10 Swords of Fury 12345678910 '

Williams:

NARC 12345678910 OTHER EQUIPMENT: |

12345678910 Mig. |

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|

|

NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED

@eeeeeeveesce | | eS, eR pc SR RY A TE ERT SRE

IN THE UNITED STATES

BUSINESS REPLY CARD

First Class PermitNo.954 |New Orleans, LA

POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE

PLAY METER MAGAZINE

PO Box 24170 New Orleans LA 70184-9988

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N= BULLETIN

™ The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied Red Barons’ motion for a rehearing in the case against Taito, upholding its decision to overturn a district court ruling in favor of Bill Beckham’s company. It appears, therefore, that Red Baron’s legal options have been exhausted, unless Beckham opts to petition the Supreme Court for a review of the case. Even then, the odds are not good that the Court would agree to hear the case, as only a fraction of cases are selected from a vast pool of petitions.

™ Oct. 1 isthe kickoff date for the “Coors Light World Series of Bar Games,’ a $2 million nationwide competition sponsored by Coors and four coin-op manufacturers: Arachnid, Grayhound Electronics, Valley Recreation Products, and Capcom USA. Sports Tournaments of America, located in Dallas, is promoting 15,000 local tournaments and coordinating 12 regionals, with more than $2 million in cash and prizes up for grabs. The regional tournaments will be held in major cities across the country, using 50 Coors Light English Mark Darts games manufactured by Arachnid for the dart competition. But electronic darts isn’t the only sport involved: there’s also pool, electronic basketball, and video bowling (on machines by Valley, Grayhound, and Capcom, respectively). The grand finale will be held at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas on July 5-10, 1990. A guaranteed $150,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded there. For more information on this massive “Superstars - type competition, call Sports Tournaments of America at (800) 327-5566.

™ On July 14, Kramer Manufacturing Co., the Lakewood, N.J.-based manufacturer of cranes, rotaries, video card games, and coin-op basketball games, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the purposes of reorganization. According to company president Craig Helfricht, the action was taken to protect Kramer’s assets for the benefit of all creditors. “Kramer continues to fully function and service our customers during this period of reorganization,’ he said.

m Best Mfg., a new merchandise supplier located in Waukesha, Wis., is offering quite an incentive to its customers. The company’s James Possi says that any customer placing an order by Dec. 31, 1989, will automatically be entered in a contest and eligible to win $1,000 in Best’s plush pre-paks. A Play Meter staff member will draw the winning name on Jan. 2, 1990. For more details, or to place an order, call Possi at (414) 547-5051; the FAX is (414) 547-0905.

m™ Jeff Walker, formerly the vice president of international sales for Data East USA, has left to begin his own manufacturer’s representative Company, Geoffco. He will be representing various manufacturers for the worldwide marketplace. The new address is 20465 Saratoga/Los Gatos Road, Suite D, Saratoga, CA 95070. The phone number is (408) 867-4622; the FAX is (408) 867-4684.

™ Betson Enterprises’ Big Choice cranes (one-, two-, three-player and Jumbo Top Choice models) and Action Claw cranes have been approved for sale and use in Michigan, according to John Margold, Betson’s director of redemption sales. “Michigan has been an important state for Betson’s crane sales during the past few years,” he said. “With the approval by the Michigan State Lottery Division, Betson is confident that Michigan will continue to play an important role in our business.” On the heels of this development, Betson’s Bill Siebert gave a troubleshooting seminar to operators at the annual meeting of the Michigan Coin Machine Operators Association (MCMOA), held Sept. 21-23. For more information about Betson’s ‘‘Michigan-legal” cranes, contact the redemption sales department at (800) 524-2343. Michigan operators can also call either of Betson’s two Michigan distributors: Atlas in Wyoming, Mich., or Cleveland Coin in Livonia, Mich.

™ Congratulations to Theresa and Brian Petaccio of Grayhound Electronics on the birth of their daughter, Andrea Marie. She weighed in at a healthy seven pounds, six Ounces.

™ RI Holdings Inc. has purchased Rowe International Inc. and its Triangle Finance Division, effective Aug. 31, according to a Rowe spokesman. Ri Holdings Inc. is a corporation organized by an investor group led by Merrill Lynch Capital Partners Inc. An earlier announcement of the purchase described a transaction structure involving additional parties. However, the transaction consummated on Aug. 31 dealt only with Rowe International. Bruce K. Cowles will assume the additional responsibility of chairman of the board of Ri Holdings and Rowe International, in addition to those he currently holds as president and CEO of the latter company. Other officers and management will continue with their current responsibilities. “We at Rowe are extremely pleased with this transaction and its structure,” Cowles said. “The opportunity to further build on Rowe's leadership position is certainly present and one on which we intend to capitalize.”

™ The fourth and final AMOA Regional Seminar for 1989 will be held at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, NY., on Oct. 28-29. Operators Frank Seninsky, Jim Stansfield, Charles Ross, and Mike Ralston conduct the information-filled seminars, which have garnered a tremendous response from those operators who've attended. If you register and pay in full by Oct. 6, you receive a $20 discount off the per-person registration fee. For information on prices, housing, etc., call the AMOA office at (312) 565-4602.

™ The Dynamo-sponsored National Air Hockey Championship will be held on Nov. 4-5 at Fame City, a family amusement complex in Houston, Texas.

NWS Ter eey *

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LAY METER

MAGAZINE

i

&] FOUNDER Ralph C. Lally Il &] PUBLISHER Carol P. Lally tal EDITOR Valerie Cognevich fee MANAGING EDITOR Bonnie Theard il NEWS EDITOR Christopher Caire a] ART DIRECTOR Jane Z. Nisbet ia CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Irving Blackman Charles Ross Frank Seninsky i TECHNICAL WRITERS Randy Fromm Mark Gavett rea EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT David Snook a ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Renee C. Pierson Ey DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Ron Kogos lid CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Carol Lea LeBell ee CIRCULATION MANAGER Renee C. Pierson S| EDITORIAL OFFICES 6600 Fleur de Lis New Orleans, LA 70124 (504) 488-7003 FAX: (504) 488-7083 al

PLAY METER, October, 1989. Volume 15, No. 10. Copyright 1989 by Skybird Publishing Company. PLAY METER (ISSN 0162-1343) (USPS 358-350) is published once monthly on the 1st of the month. Publishing office: 6600 Fleur De Lis, New Orleans, LA 70124: MAILING AD- DRESS P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184, U.S.A.; phone: 504/488-7003; FAX 504-488-7083. For Subscrip- tions: 504/488-7003. Subscription rates: U.S. and Canada—$50. Advertising rates are available on request. NO PART OF THE MAGAZINE MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION. The editors are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. PLAY METER buys ALL RIGHTS, unless otherwise specified, to ac- cepted manuscripts, cartoons, art work, and photographs. Second-class postage paid at New Orleans, LA 70113 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER Send Form 3579 to PLAY METER, P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184.

mo dels ~ ehiftins

yore ed wit? acre

PLAY METER

VOL. 15, NO. 10

CONTENTS Coinman:

Phil Benson 3 7

One of Montana’s favorite sons, Benson explains the drive and successful methods that resulted in the legalization of video poker games in his state. Montana is now considered a model for all other States seeking this positive step. Says Benson: ‘‘You have to be united when you go to the

Legislature or nothing will ever get Wildwood and

done.”’ the 89 season 4 3

The season has come to a close along the busy Jersey Shore. This follow-up to an earlier article on the pleasures of oceanfront communities with a knack for merchandising focuses on one of the most popular vacation spots in New Jersey. Play Meter chats with operators Angelo Nicholls and George Hamilton, Jr., both Wildwood veterans.

A Close-up of

AMOA Expo

Wrap-Up AMOA 7 How much space do you devote to a show the scope of this year’s sold- out AMOA Expo? Plenty. For a complete rundown of the surprises, and a look at all the new equipment, turn to our special section that’s chock-full of photos. There’s also seminar and banquet coverage, plus a second Frank’s Cranks column with game reviews.

OCTOBER, 1989

NEWS BULLETIN EQUIPMENT POLL FROM THE EDITOR LETTERS

UP FRONT

IN MEMORY

COVER STORY

NEWS

STATE UPDATE

GUEST COMMENTARY COMPANY PROFILE STATE MEETING

STATE SHOW

OPEN HOUSE

TEN YEARS AGO

ASK THE OPERATOR TOURNAMENTS & LEAGUES TAX TIPS

FRANK’S CRANKS TECHNICAL TOPICS MERCHANDISE MARKET NEW PRODUCTS TRADE ACCESSORIES CLASSIFIED

CALENDAR

THE LAST WORD

DEPARTMENTS

92 100 104 125 126

COVER: Joe Dillon good-naturedly

agreed to a caricature of himself

(with trademark bow tie) being used for the Supertech figure, a symbol

of Taito’s dedication to quality product. The company, which

brought us that most successful video, Double Dragon, recently debuted Night Striker and Crime Story at the AMOA Expo.

STEP UP TO COMPACT music! Pack it with today’s DISCS AND KEEP YOUR hottest CDs, and the VINYLS TOO-WITH astounding laser sound ROWE’S COMBOSTAR. will pack the house. Yesterday's vinyl And you'll still have the

vinyl favorites that every-

one loves to play. ComboStar has a $1

and $5 bill acceptor and

favorites, today’s laser sound, and an exciting eye-catching design:

ComboStar is the perfect

mix of past, present, and stacker to increase your

profits. ™' | music profits. And with ComboStar brings { the rotating CD disc

you more business than | display and excellent

a regular phono. The CD [ sound to attract customers,

ComboStar could even double your take!

All Rowe jukeboxes are available through your local music and rweefifrox

sound gives your customers more enjoyment, so they'll give ComboStar more play. And Rowe’s reliable

Te

record-changing mechan- ees 4 | oe ism makes it highly EAS Le 7 es — games operator. 1S 21 dependable. AS : Ss " © ComboStar’s laser erow technology gives you sound that’s crisp, sharp QUALITY LEADERSHIP INTO THE 215™T CENTURY

and clear—just like live

EINE EE INE

REE 2 PT aes STR ED yn PORE Daal phe a So A ell a oe os ‘a

Foetal POLL

Buying the right game is a ‘““make-or-break”’ monthly and ongoing analyses of game performance. This chart is designed to give the operator information he needs to guide his purchases. The “longevity indicator” will tell him how long the game has remained high on the chart. The number of months on the Top 10 is important, | as is the total number of months on the chart. Future months will include how long the game | was in coin-op before being released for the home market. Look to the chart each month for | additional polling information.

VIDEO & PINBALL COMBINED >

GAME

. Hard Drivin’ . Golden Axe

Earthshaker WWE Super Stars

. Crime Fighters

. Super Off Road

. Arch Rivals

. Cyclone

. OutRun

. Oper. Thunderbolt . Chase H.Q.

. Black Knight 2000 . Ninja Gaiden

. Taxi

. Jokerz!

. Turbo OutRun

. Super Hang On

. Final Lap

. High Speed

. Pinbot

. NARC

. Mechanized Attack . Super Sprint

. Bottom of the 9th . Super Mario 3

. Operation Wolf

. Double Dragon

. Sly Spy

. AfterBurner

. Cabal

. Shinobi

. Robo Cop

. Cyberball

. Roadblasters

. Banzai Run

. 720 Degrees

. Capcom Bowling . Big Event Golf

. Superman

. Bad Dudes

. Team Quarterback . Championship Sprint . Strider

. Dynamite Duke

. Quarterback

. Time Machine

. Ninja Warriors

. Altered Beast

. U.S. Classic

. Final Round

8 PLAY METER/October 1989

proposition for the operator, who must have both |

POINT MONTHS MONTHS LONGEVITY

MFG. VALUE ONCHART INTOP 10 POINTS Atari 9.59 6 6 292 Sega 8.86 3 3 142 Williams 8.80 6 6 290 AM. Technos 8.71 3 2 98 Konami 8.58 3 3 132 Leland 8.55 6 6 290 Bally 8.43 3 3 135 Williams 8.27 6 6 249 Sega 8.10 6 4 225 Taito 8.03 6 6 257 Taito 7.85 6 5 215 Williams 7.79 3 3 109 Tecmo 7.76 6 6 201 Williams 7.67 6 6 239 Williams 7.60 6 6 242 Sega 7.60 6 5 243 Sega 7.54 5 1 110 Atari 7.43 6 6 223 Williams 7.40 6 6 177 Williams 7.40 6 6 161 Williams 7.36 4 3 120 SNK 7.36 4 3 106 Atari 7.29 6 2 142 Konami 7.29 6 5 204 Nintendo 7.27 2 2 43 Taito 7.16 5 3 162 Taito 1.13 5 2 146 Data East 7.13 2 2 42 Sega 7.06 5 2 100 Fabtek 6.96 6 6 174 Sega 6.94 6 6 132 Data East 6.91 6 6 120 Atari 6.88 1 0 18 Atari 6.87 5 5 96 Williams 6.86 1 1 16 Atari 6.85 5 0 71

~ Capcom 6.81 6 5 89 Taito - 6.77 1 1 13 Taito 6.76 6 6 162 Data East 6.70 2 3 26 Leland 6.67 6 2 155 Atari 6.63 2 3 25 Capcom 6.63 2 2 52 Fabtek 6.60 1 1 7 Leland 6.56 2 0 13 Data East 6.54 6 5 128 Romstar 6.54 2 3 13 Sega 6.50 1 1 3 Taito 6.44 1 1 2

1 1

Konami

EQUIPMENT POLL

VIDEO KITS

Game

—_a — oc. — won Oo

OMAN OoahWDND =

. Golden Axe

WWE Super Stars

. Crime Fighters . Arch Rivals

Ninja Gaiden

. Turbo OutRun

. Bottom of the 9th . Super Mario 3

. Sly Spy

. Cabal

. Shinobi

. Robo Cop

. RoadBlasters

MFG.

Sega Am. Technos Konami Bally Tecmo Sega Konami Nintendo Data East Fabtek Sega Data East Atari

VIDEO DEDICATED

. Hard Drivin’

. Super Off Road

. OutRun

. Oper. Thunderbolt . Chase H.Q.

PINBALLS

ONAMAWND

. Earthshaker . Cyclone | . Black Knight 2000

Taxi Jokerz! High Speed

. Pinbot . Banzai Run

Atari Leland Sega Taito Taito

Williams Williams Williams Williams Williams Williams Williams Williams

POINT

VALUE Game

8.86 8.71 8.58 8.43 7.76 7.60 7.29 7.27 7.13 6.96 6.94 6.91 6.87

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Capcom Bowling Big Event Golf Superman

Bad Dudes

Championship Sprint

Strider Dynamite Duke Ninja Warriors Altered Beast U.S. Classic Final Round PO.W.

. Super Hang On

. Final Lap

. NARC

. Mechanized Attack . Super Sprint

. Time Machine . Swords of Fury . Hot Shots

. Laser War

. Transporter

. Playboy

Big House

MFG.

Capcom Taito Taito Data East Atari Capcom Fabtek Romstar Sega Taito Konami SNK

Sega Atari Williams SNK Atari

Data East Williams Premier Data East Bally Data East Premier

The question has come up as to when a game is a kit and when it is dedicated. If a game is released as dedicated, it stays that way until being released in kit form. A game may earn more as a dedicated game because of the new cabinet. Many conversion games look like old, shabby conversions. In many cases the older pressboard cabinet may never be made to look right. For example, a converted Pac-Man cabinet still looks like a Pac-Man. In the case of Sega’s Turbo OutRun, dedicated will greatly outearn an upright kit. The survey is just an indicator to guide the operator.

October 1989/PLAY METER 9

recently had the honor of speaking

at the Wisconsin and Minnesota operators fall conference. It was the first time the two associations had combined their fall meetings, and it was a tremen- dous success with a respectable attendance.

Joe Phillips, the executive director of WAMO, had asked me to speak about the future of the industry and where it is heading. While it may seem a simple task, as I pondered our fate, it proved to be somewhat difficult. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that since the industry began, so-called in- dustry experts have tried to predict the path the industry was headed. Even if they were right on the mark, disbelief abounded. Just as it isn’t easy now, it wasn’t that easy then either.

I remember very well attending a seminar given by Hanson Distributing’s Ray Hibarger. It was back in the early ‘80s, when the industry was at its peak. Ray warned operators that what goes up must come down and they should be prepared for it. His predictions were amazingly accurate in reflection, but at the time it seemed impossible that things would not continue to grow and prosper.

I also recall a speech by Sega’s Dave Rosen around the same time. He claim- ed that in the not-so-distant future, at least 65 percent of the video games sold would be kits. Those listening to him had to gasp because what he was saying

10 PLAY METER/October 1989

_ fa THE EDITOR

seemed so remote from reality that very few foresaw it as being possible.

And yet, here it is a good many years in the future, and both predictions hit home with precise accuracy. I think Rosen might have been a little low in his estimate of the percentage of kits. When laser video games were touted as the next level for the industry, there were those who saw past the hype and figured that laser was not going to be a salvation. They were certainly right.

It truly is impossible to give a crystal ball prediction about the future, but cir- cumstances, technology, attitudes, public acceptance, and competition all figure into the final outcome.

Right now our industry is competing with some very strong forms of enter- tainment. The movie industry tends to drop into a rut of rehashed movies until surprisingly a movie comes along that stimulates the paying public’s interest again. There are some fantastic movies out right now. I was talking with Pat Walton of Capcom and we both discovered that though we are not movie buffs, we have been to the show several times lately because the movies are so good.

Public attitudes about the industry are coming around but we seem to have a perception monkey on our backs that is hard to shake. But video games have become commonplace in the home, and parents aren't as intimidated by them in

Coin-op not about to give up the ghost

arcades or street locations anymore.

I am confident enough to know that this industry will not fade from ex- istence. After we run through the gamut of analogous games, something will emerge that will whet game players’ ap- petites once again.

At the Discovery Place Museum in Charlotte, I was treated to a laser ‘ ‘pin- ball’’ machine. It was so much fun, it was hard to walk away. The player tried to aim a laser beam, with the help of prisms and mirrors, at bumpers at each end of the game while avoiding the one in the middle. It was challenging. I wondered if we would see something like that in coin-op one day and deducted that we probably will, if not something even more appealing.

That’s just how this industry is. It Stagnates to a certain point and then somehow, somewhere, something comes along that brings us out of the doldrums. It has always happened before and I know it will soon. We need it. 1

afew Cbiprewceh

Valerie Cognevich Editor

ELECT HKK REE

BILLEAGLE”

; PORES ES

PINBALL: ! PALACE ::

Call or write for complete information VAN BROOK OF LEXINGTON, INC. P.O. BOX 5044, LEXINGTON KY. 40555 (606) 231-7100

Impressment Plus, Inc.

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If you can use trade-ups, be sure to order our Jumbo pre-paks. We have the best quality plush for the lowest prices.

JUMBO PACK 10-22” Average cost: $2.00-$2.50

12 PLAY METER/October 1989

a

Thanks Nintendo

With a sigh of relief and hope for the future, we extend a message of ap- preciation to Nintendo for giving us, as operators, the opportunity to make a few dollars with Super Mario 3 before it comes out for the home system.

We had just about decided we were dead in the water with Nintendo and were ready to convert all of our PlayChoice 10s to regular kits. When we found out about the lead time on Super Mario 3, we decided to give it a try. Everywhere we’ ve put it, earn- ings have increased dramatically.

Thanks, Nintendo, for honoring your commitment to the operator.

R.W. Kinney Bird Distributors Inc.

Quick response

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to your staff for the response to my letter. Past experiences with many publications have seen less than satisfactory service to their readers. You, on the other hand, take a positive approach to direct com- munication with those in the business.

I have enclosed a photo and short statement about our newest entry in- to the market, The Dragon Master, for inclusion into the New Products section. We also have three other games in development, two of which are in conjunction with major distribution companies. Our plans are to introduce these units before the IAAPA show.

The people at Perceptive Resources make the company work, and to them, seeing the results of their ef- forts in print generates excitement and a sense of accomplishment. Thank you again for the coverage provided.

C. John Neely Perceptive Resources

‘‘Old Hoss’”’

Better late than never! Please don’t feel I’m ungrateful I just seem to get Swamped at times.

My everlasting thanks to you, Carol, and the rest of the staff for your very fine article about ‘‘Old Hoss”’ [Coinman Interview, July 1988]. My kids got a big kick out of your magazine and they join in thanking you folks also.

Bob Breither Seeburg Corp.

Winners make players

After reading Bonnie’s editorial in the August 1989 issue, ‘‘Two cranes equal one bad impression,’’ I feel compelled to write. Our industry suf- fers from enough bad press as it is. When an operator runs a crane in a deceptive manner it injures all of us. You are right to call attention to this problem. Thank goodness it was you and not a state or local official who discovered this ‘‘rip-off’’ crane location.

We at Betson constantly remind our crane customers that winners make players. Not only is it morally correct to operate fairly, it is also good business. When people see happy players walk away from acrane with a prize it is more likely to bring addi- tional players. Giving a fair return to the players insures long-term pro- fitability in a location.

Talso concur with Valerie’s opinion stated in her editorial ‘‘Don’t do this to me again!’’ Poorly maintained equipment profits no one. I wish to thank both of you ladies for your diligence, and I hope for the day when it won’t be needed! [1]

John Margold Betson Enterprises

li FRONT

~Phobias grip

coin-op hearts

T he inordinate fear started before the AMOA Expo. First, dry throat. Second, constricted chest muscles. Third, clammy hands. Result: a Maalox Moment. It was all part of tradeshowophobia, the newest phobia in the textbooks.

We are all familiar with common phobias like claustrophobia (fear of closed-in or narrow spaces) and acrophobia (fear of heights). Accor- ding to Webster’s, a phobia is an exag- gerated, inexplicable, and illogical fear of a particular object or class of objects.

I’m nota psychiatrist, mind you, but I have been an acute observer of the coin-op industry over a four-year period and have some definite feelings about abnormal fears I’ve seen developing. All the hub-bub of giant trade shows like AMOA and the up- coming ACME produce a whole line- up of newly-discovered phobic reac- tions (a psychoneurosis in which the principal symptom is a phobia).

Of course, from the manufacturer’s viewpoint, the biggest fear is flopophobia, or a fear of introducing a dog of a game at the show after in- vesting mucho dollars in purchasing an island of booths. As one manufacturer put it, the island is well-named since it costs as much as the real thing.

14 PLAY METER/October 1989

From the distributor’s standpoint, in today’s coin-op world, it’s easy to develop extinctophobia, or a fear of becoming the last of a species. Caught in a bind between satisfying the manufacturer’s desire to send them big game shipments, and the operator’s reluctance to invest in new equipment until proven, the distributor is faced with a no-win situation.

For operators, the creeping feeling that mortgaging the family home is the only way to buy that big new driving simulator manifests itself in overex- tendedophobia. There’s_ also dreamonophobia, in which the operator makes grandiose plans after seeing exciting new games at the trade show and then remembers his collec- tions for last month.

Operators may also be stricken with constructophobia, or a fear of poor game cabinet construction and/or cheap parts, resulting in receding revenues and receding hairlines. This phobia really manifests itself more after the show when a game is receiv- ed with anticipation that sometimes fades to disappointment.

Big shows also bring on seminaro- phobia, whereby attendees try to hit every seminar on the agenda in order to be well-informed. The result is an exhausted attendee who may be

Spared, however, from toot- sieophobia, or a fear of aching feet. This phobia afflicts every level of the industry. It’s too bad the Dr. Scholl’s company doesn’t take a booth. The sales of Soap ‘n Soak (it works wonders) would be astronomical. It would be one of the most popular booths, especially at the end of the day. Another common ailment is smileo- phobia, in which the muscles around the mouth either freeze into a friendly grin or droop hopelessly at around 5 p.m. Desperate attempts to revive these muscles for the round of evening hospitality suites is directly related to the accessibility of Soap ‘n Soak anda scotch and water. Be sure not to waste the scotch on your feet by mistake! All of this leads us to the next phobia, which follows big trade shows like teenage boys follow martial arts games: openhouseophobia. I can already feel my throat getting dry.

Bonnie Theard Managing Editor

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_|" MEMORIAM

he industry lost a friend when Ozzie

Truppman, the man behind the DRA Price Guide, passed away on June 1. Oz- zie had gone into the hospital for heart surgery and died of complications shortly afterward.

The DRA Price Guide has settled in as the authority on coin-operated machine values. Even tax assessors look to the DRA when determining game values.

But Ozzie had been involved in the coin- op amusement industry long before star- ting the Guide. Prior to 1948, he served in the Air Force and was a part-time route collector, as well as a sometimes-salesman for Bush Distributing Co. in Minneapolis.

Ozzie moved to Miami in 1948, taking the position of sales manager for Bush Distributing. He was later transferred to Jacksonville and promoted to branch manager for Bush. Another promotion to general manager, supervising offices in Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville, brought him back to Miami.

In 1951, Ozzie and partner Ted Bush began acquiring routes and named their Operating company Advance Music Co. By 1953, Advance owned more than |] , 100 jukeboxes and games. The company had contracts with three naval bases in Jacksonville and several fast food chains in the Miami area.

When Ted Bush died in 1959, Ozzie ac- quired 50 percent of Bush Distributing (which was renamed Bush International) and all of Advance Music Co. In 196] , Oz- zie sold Bush International to the Canteen Corp., but stayed onas vice president and general manager of the Southeastern and Caribbean division for 13 years. This divi- sion became part of Rowe International, which was sold several years later to Triangle Industries. By 1965, Rowe had acquired 22 company-owned distributor- ships with huge inventories of equipment in the branch offices.

While running his route and distributor-

16 PLAY METER/October 1989

Ozzie Truppman

ship, Ozzie soon realized that no one was willing to accept responsibility for setting a pricing standard for used equipment. The problem continued to escalate, so Oz- zie decided to step in and do something about it.

Ozzie owned a small consulting firm called Distributor’s Research, and through this company he started investigating the problem. He soon realized the problem didn’t need a one-time solution: rather, it needed an ongoing procedure. The DRA Price Guide was born, consisting of only 10 pages of games and jukeboxes. Rowe was its sole subscriber.

Interest remained modest until 1974, when along came Ralph Lally and his new magazine, Play Meter. Ralph was work- ing for a distributor that used the DRA as its guide for trade-ins. Said Ralph, ‘‘When I first started Play Meter, the number one request I got from my readers was to print a price list for used equipment in each issue.

‘In response to the requests for a price list, I finally ran an editorial explaing that Play Meter just was not set up to research and publish a price list,’’ he continued. ‘‘I highly recommended the DRA Price Guide, which was already respected by

those familiar with it as the authority. And we printed their address.”’

Ozzie got such a response from the editorial that he called to thank Ralph. They became friends and realized that they had some mutual, though non- competitive, interests. So the dual subscription was initiateda—DRA Price Guide and Play Meter—for a reduced price. This dual subscription is still offered 15 years later.

Lally was killed in an automobile acci- dent five years ago. Play Meter has, however, continued to support DRA’s efforts.

DRA will continue under the direction of Ozzie’s nephew, Ted Bush Jr., and Dot- tie McGee, who has been at DRA for over 16 years. Her husband also worked for Ozzie for many years.

‘With the passing of Ozzie Truppman on June 1, a leader of the industry is gone,’’ Bush said. ‘‘He brought to the DRA over 40 years of experience in the coin machine industry. Speaking for Dorothy McGee and myself, we feel that the best tribute to him is to keep publishing the DRA under the same concept that he used. It served him well as the publisher for 25 years, and we hope to do as well.”’

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President Joe Dillon.

Taito listens to operators

Service manager

Buck Rzonca (standing) with service technicians

Angelo Ruggiero

and Paul Torres.

tk

Left to right: Sales manager Jim Chapman, vice president of sales Rick Rochetti, executive vice president Yoshi

Suzuki, and marketing manager Natalie Kulig.

18 PLAY METER/October 1989

n 1953 Michael Kogan established

Taito Trading Co. Ltd. and started to manufacture and sell small-sized automatic vendors. The company has since spent over 36 years expanding its product line and establishing itself as a leader in the coin-operated market.

Taito Japan’s president, Kasey Hasegawa, has a positive direction for the company, which includes pursuing creativity, challenging the future, and con- tributing to society.

Its line-up of video games reads like a who’s who of the industry. Operation Wolf and Double Dragon are just two Taito games that restored operators’ faith that video games can make them money and have a fair return on investment. And who could forget a game that started it all, Space Invaders.

Last year, Joe Dillon was named presi- dent of Taito America. He brought a wealth of experience and an admirable rapport with operators to the position. He believes that operators are important and looks to them for suggestions. ‘‘Many of our ideas come from operators,’’ he said. ‘“We listen very closely to what they have to say. If they aren’t healthy in this in- dustry, no one will be healthy.

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In NIGHT STRIKER, periodic deci- sion points allow the player to map his own course and choose each mission. The available courses take the player through cities, suburbs, factories, ancient temples, canals, the sky and even the open sea to search out and destroy the leader or “boss” villain in each mission. The player’s arse- nal includes rapid fire and guided missiles, using the control grip for direction.

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And Taito’s Continue Play feature allows the player to continue until the entire mission has been faith- fully executed.

— STORY

‘‘Operators demand fast service and when they call they want action,’’ explain- ed Dillon. ‘‘We have made it even easier for them to get what they need. If manufac- turers don’t make extra efforts to satisfy operators’ needs, they are missing the boat.”’

Taito’s latest creation is ‘‘Supertech,’’ a symbol of its increased attention to customer service and renewed dedication to creating a quality product. Operators can call Taito’s Bulletin Board Service seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Taito has made it possible for operators to earn a free modem by accumulating coupons, which are packed in each Taito dedicated game and kit, beginning with the Plotting and Night Striker dedicated games.

Taito is positive about the future of the coin-op industry. Although the company is involved in the home consumer market, it hasn’t hurt operators with quick home releases. One example is Operation Wolf. It is just now available for the Nintendo system. ‘‘We know that operators are disillusioned with manufacturers that in-

_troduce the home version of a game too soon after the coin-op version. Our policy will be to give the coin-op version a respectable lead time,’’ said Dillon.

Taito has not changed emphasis of its R&D resources. Taito continues to dedicate the majority of its R&D to coin- operated developments.

Since Dillon is so attuned to operators’ suggestions and criticisms, Taito has in- creased its efforts on quality in response to operator demand. Bob Hayskar has been added to the staff as director of engineer- ing to ensure outstanding quality in dedicated games, including cabinet design and construction.

Dillon also emphasized that there have been additions in service and parts person- nel to supplement “‘Supertech”’ activities for excellent customer response.

Taito’s philosophies, its experienced staff, and positive goals promise to keep Taito at the top of the heap for a long time to come. |]

c

Left to right: Director of engineering Bob Hayskar, production manager Larry Stalmah, and vice president of produc- tion Ben Rochetti.

Rich Zver, controller/treasurer (I) and Jim Miskell, general manager.

» N Left to right: Kit production manager Wicktor Augustyn, assistant shipping and receiving manager John Pipp, and manager of shipping and receiving Dave Kuhrt.

October 1989/PLAY METER 21

we Ve 2

x * MEAS “AL

Z a ht ‘ i a aGe rt tligle a * -

From left: Bob Fay, Clyde Knupp, Dave Patterson, Gil Pollock, and Frank Cosentino.

AAMA/AMOA amuse Olympic athletes

AAMA and AMOA recently sponsored

| an arcade-style game room to entertain | Olympic hopefuls during the U.S. Olym-

pic Festival, held in Oklahoma City on Ju-

| ly 21-30. Sixteen pieces of the latest in | coin-op amusement equipment were set on

free play for the athletes. The game room was officially opened at

_ | a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by

AAMA president Gil Pollock, AAMA ex- ecutive vice president Bob Fay, and

| AMOA president Clyde Knupp.

The two associations worked in con- junction to sponsor a similar game room last year in Los Angeles. Athletes and staff

| were entertained during their three weeks

of final processing before leaving for Seoul, Korea, to participate in the 1988 Olympic Games.

‘‘Our equipment is a terrific diversion from the pressures of competition for the athletes,’ Pollock said. ‘‘Last year’s room was so successful that we were really enthusiastic about a second annual Olym- pic game room at this year’s festival.”’ Knupp added, ‘‘We would like to make this an annual event and hope to be able to take the equipment to the ‘92 Games.”’

Dave Patterson of SunBelt Amusement and Vending in Oklahoma City donated his services to deliver, set up, and maintain the equipment.

NAMA opposes tobacco legislation

Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey has introduced a bill called the ‘‘Adoles- cent Tobacco Prevention Act,’’ and the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) is vigorously op- posed to it.

The bill would authorize, for five years, $100 million in incentive grants to be distributed through the existing preventive health block grants program. It’s for states that enact and enforce three laws: (1) establish 18-or-older as the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products; (2) limit the sale of cigarettes in vending machines

} to places where minors are not permitted;

and (3) prohibit the distribution of free tobacco product samples.

NAMA’s attorney Richard Funk, in a letter to Sen. Lautenberg, said that the first two ideas were irrelevant because 47 states already have laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors. A just- completed study of teenage tobacco pur- chasing habits by NAMA shows that of teenage smokers who buy cigarettes, on- ly one in 11 frequently buys from vending machines.

Funk went on to say that in this era of massive federal deficits, such useless in- centives go beyond the realm of responsi- ble legislating.

Belam on the move

Vic and Mark Haim have sold their ownership of Belam to the Corton Beach group in England. Corton Beach is a diver- sified, aggressive, and acquisitive public company that is seeking further penetra- tion in their business. It owns Suzo in

Holland, the largest European supplier of 1

parts to our industry, and Deith Leisure, a major English distributor.

Belam has hired new personnel and ex- panded its product lines. Simon Deith has been named as a key salesman, and Ran- dy Boreman was added as service manager.

Belam’s international sales penetration was strengthened by adding the Sega, Data East, SNK, and Rock-Ola lines to its list of factory distributions. In addition, Namco has appointed Belam as the exclusive distributor of Winning Run, its sophisticated but expensive driving simulator.

Also, Belam has moved into a new, ex- pansive facility on Long Island, renovated to suit its increasing requirements.

Plans underway for Nightclub & Bar Expo

Show organizers are planning the seventh semi-annual Nightclub, Bar, and Restaurant Expo, to be held at Chicago’s Rosemont/O’ Hare Expo Center on Feb. 5-7, 1990.

Sponsored by Nightclub & Bar Magazine, the expo serves professionals in the nightclub, bar, restaurant, and hotel industries. The show features a wide range of exhibits, workshops, and seminars for hospitality professionals.

‘*This is the first time the expo has been held in the Midwest,’’ said show producer Ed Meek. *‘The site was selected based on a national survey, which indicated strong

interest in Chicago because of the leader-

ship role this market has in the industry. We expect to have the largest attendance in the history of the exposition.”’

For more information, call (800) 247-3881 or FAX (601) 236-5541.

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Jeff Peters

Tommy Lynn

SNK adds Peters, promotes Lynn

Jeff Peters has joined SNK Corp. of America as the software manager. His responsibilities will be to provide the necessary information for market testing and to work with the software engineers in Japan on updates and refinements. He will also assist the consumer division with customer service.

Prior to joining SNK, Peters was in- volved in various aspects of the amuse- ment industry. He created the first U.S. National Video Game Team and competed worldwide. He also created ‘‘Video Game Player,’’ a consumer magazine dedicated to the sport of video playing. Most recent- ly, Peters was owner/operator of JCS Design, a graphic design company in Southern California.

“Jeff's abilities as a video game player, and his past experience in different aspects of the video game business, will be a great

addition to our ongoing dedication to the coin-op market,’’ said John Barone, vice president of the coin-op division.

In another personnel move at SNK, Tommy Lynn has been promoted to ser- vice manager of the coin-op division. He joined the company a year ago as a service technician, performing job repair and technical support.

In addition to heading up the parts and service department, Lynn will also pro- vide support to engineering and produc- tion, reporting to Neal Zook, director of operations.

‘“Tommy has demonstrated an excellent rapport with the distributors and operators who call in, and his organizational skills are exceptional,’’ Zook said. ‘‘We feel that Tommy has contributed greatly to SNK’s recent success.’’

Sympathy extended to Ballouz family

We join with the rest of the coin-op in- dustry in extending our heartfelt con- dolences to Frank Ballouz, president of Fabtek, on the recent loss of his mother.

Frank’s mother suffered a heart attack during her sleep and died on Aug. 21. Fabtek’s Drew Maniscalco said his

24 PLAY METER/October 1989

mother, who lived next door to Frank’s mother, realized something was wrong and called the police, who broke down the door to Mrs. Ballouz’s home.

Funeral services were held on Aug. 26 in New Jersey. L]

Landsberger joins Williams/Bally

Russell Landsberger has been named to the position of vice president of material management and purchasing for Williams and Bally Midway. He previously held the same position with Reliable Electric Co., a manufacturer of telecommunication phone network equipment. Landsberger directed material and purchasing functions within the company’s five U.S. plants.

Ken Fedesna, vice president and general manager of Williams and Bally Midway, said, ‘‘Russ has impressive credentials and vast experience in management resource planning, just-in-time procedures, and total quality control, which will help us greatly as we start implementing these pro- grams here.’”’

Landsberger will be responsible for planning, directing, and controlling all ac- tivities related to material planning, flow and control, scheduling of materials, and purchasing. His duties also include the many related aspects of distribution, in- ventory control, scrap reporting, and con- trol of associated material management systems.

In another company news, Larry Kesselman has been named to the position of vice president of business development.

Russell Landsberger

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Judge upholds ruling

On Aug. 9, U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts, sitting in Santa Anna, Calif., issued an order enjoining the replication and distribution of unauthoriz- ed and infringing copies of Quarter Horse video discs. The discs, made by Disctronics Inc. at the request of Canada’s Century Electronics and California’s Broadcast Edit, a production studio, were found to be illegal. The illegal discs are on a LaserVideo label titled ‘‘Deluxe Edi- tion.”’

Judge Letts’ order again upheld the

ownership rights of Dale Rodesch, copyright holder and developer of the game. Rodesch has sued companies that have replicated unauthorized versions of the copyrighted discs.

As reported earlier this year, Rodesch obtained a substantial monetary settlement from a Detroit federal court, as well as in- junctive orders for versions there and in New York.

Arjay Export Co. of Hyannis, Mass., is the exclusive marketing agent for the Quarter Horse game.

SS

At the Paris unveiling of Black Knight 2000, (I to r): Marty Glazman, Didier Salmon, Steve Ritchie, and Ed Boon.

French toast a knight to remember

Williams Electronics’ Black Knight 2000 pinball received a grand unveiling at a recent gala in Paris. The event was lavishly staged by Didier Salmon and his company, Player Special Diffusion, Williams’ exclusive French distributor-

ship. The festivities included a Lido-type extravaganza that lasted well into the night, replete with cheeky female dancers.

In related news, Williams announced that its pins now make up over 60 percent of the French flipper game market.

Capcom donates home video equipment

Realizing that video games are excellent therapy for young patients confined to the hospital, Capcom has developed a com- munity program called the ‘‘Capcom Children’s Corner.’’ The company will donate $50,000 worth of video equipment and games to children’s hospitals and pediatrics wards in California over the next year.

26 PLAY METER/October 1989

Says Capcom’s Joe Morici, ‘‘This is an opportunity for us to contribute to the quality of children’s lives and make a dif- ference.”

The project was launched at Children’s Hospital of San Francisco. It included video game enthusiast Paul Kantner, leader of the legendary and recently reunited rock band Jefferson Airplane.

Perceptive Resources ships 500th game

Perceptive Resources, a manufacturer of games of skill, has shipped its 500th Quarterflash game. President John Neely has announced two new games to follow the success of Quarterflash and Robo Claw: Dragon Master and Garbage Pals. Both were released in September, and a third game will be introduced in October.

Perceptive Resources also supplies elec- tronic and mechanical parts, service, and research to many other manufacturers in the amusement industry.

For more product information, call (813) 379-9100 or (813) 379-9200.

Nintendo forms NES network

Nintendo of America has established an ‘“NES Network’ division to develop and market entertainment and informational network products. Jerry Ruttenbur will assume the newly created position of vice president of network products.

Ruttenbur comes to Nintendo with ex- perience in both the entertainment and technology industries. He will be respon- sible for the design, marketing, and sale of products for the NES Network.

‘This position is a critical step toward the evolution of the burgeoning home entertainment systems category, as we ex- pand the use of the Nintendo Home Enter- tainment System beyond traditional home video game play,”’ said president Minoru Arakawa.

Nintendo plans to incorporate a modem, and proprietary software will provide ser- vices such as stock purchase and trading, as well as home banking. In addition,

‘Nintendo video players will be able to compete one-on-one with players around the country using the NES Network.

Said Arakawa, “‘By the end of 1989, more than 20 million U.S. households will have the NES, and in 1990, each of these households will have access to the NES Network..’’

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28 PLAY METER/October 1989

pel UPDATE

Florida

Kathey Fanning, coordinator for the Florida Amusement/Vending Association (FAVA), reports that the long-simmering crane issue has, for the most part, been put to rest. Operators in Florida were forced to play a wait-and-see game as to the crane’s legality until July 3, when the Department of Business Regulation issued its final guidelines for legal operation. Both sides appear to be happy with them. Let’s hope operators comply with the guidelines, because Lord knows they don’t want to open this can of worms again.

Unfortunately, though, the same guidelines deemed penny fall/coin pusher machines strictly games of chance and therefore illegal in licens- ed locations where alcoholic beverages are sold. Fanning said FAVA is working with the legal staff at the DBR, trying to establish some new guidelines for the machines’ operation in the future. But again, as of now, they are strictly taboo in the aforementioned locations.

In other news concerning Florida, FAVA’s Fifth Annual Vending Show has been scheduled for Feb. 2-4 at the Omni Expo Center in Orlando. The show’s theme will be ‘‘Positioned for the *90s.’’ Call Fanning at FAVA headquarters, (904) 878-3134, for general or exhibiting information.

Georgia

The city commission in Buford, Ga., has voted to legalize coin-op amusement and cigarette machines, with the stipulation that operators ob- tain licenses and pay fees to the city. Operating cigarette machines and jukeboxes carries an annual license fee of $250 per machine, while videos, pins, pool tables, and like devices have a yearly tariff of $500.

The new ordinance overturns a 1960s Buford law that outlawed pin- ball machines. They were banned because of concerns that teenagers would congregate around them, ac- cording to Commissioner Phil Beard. Formerly, the machines were located in nearby areas, but not within the Buford city limits. ‘“‘We had them; we just didn’t have them in places where we would’ve been responsi- ble,’’ he said.

New York

Operators and distributors in Niagara Falls, N. Y., have received a reduction in their amusement license fees, a move that signals a spirit of cooperation between them and the city clerk’s office. The city had, in previous months, become more diligent in its collection of over- due license fees.

The new amusement ordinance, passed by the city council, eliminates a $100 distributor fee, a $2 fee for machine seals, and a $50 fee for six or more games. The yearly license fee for each game is $27, though that fee was reduced to $23 if operators mailed in their licensing applications and fees for each location by Oct. 1. The maximum fee for one location, with an unlimited number of games, is $500.

‘“Last year, too much office time was spent asking people to pay license fees,’’ said City Clerk Elsie Paradise. ‘‘It appears that the only way to ex- pedite payment is through the citation process, which will be implemented when unlicensed machines are found. This office has worked with the coun- cil members to ease the license fees, and we look for cooperation in return.’ LJ

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ee INTERVIEW

Christopher Caire

Phil Benson

With the controversy over video pokers still swirling, we thought it an opportune time to talk to Phil Benson, owner of Montana Music Rentals in Missoula, Mont., since 1980. Benson, a former president of the state association and a current AMOA vice president, was an instrumental partici- pant in the push to legalize video pokers there in 1985 (known as the Montana Video Draw Poker Act). In fact, Montana is looked upon as a model for those states seek-

Let’s start with a_ little background. What were the condi- tions in Montana that prompted the video poker legislation you have today?

Myself and a couple of other operators in the state were the ones who decided that we had to go after this legislation. The gray area market was in tough shape; our state Supreme Court had ruled that video poker was not a game of skill. They were therefore considered illegal, and we were told to get them off the street. But we decided that there was enough potential in- come to make us happy, and the technology was there to make the state happy, too.

How were you able to get legislators to vote for this?

We presented a bill to the Legislature that was squeaky clean. One of the keys to passing the legislation was tying it to an on- premise, all-purpose beverage license. You can’t just put a video poker machine in a drug store, for example. But even so, we barely got the bill through both houses of the Legislature.

ing to pass video poker legislation.

The integrity of the count that was going through the poker machines was going to be there via the triple redundancy on the meter readings. At first, our own state operators were against going on-line. We wanted to go on-line phone modem with the machines, so that they would be on-line back to a computer in our office. That computer would’ve been hooked to a master computer in the capital city of Helena. But the coin machine operators didn’t want to do it, and neither did the Bar (tavern) Owners Association.

So what procedure was finally agreed upon?

The state has applications that you must fill out. They do a background on you and your partners, if there are any. You then are okayed as a coin machine operator to do business with video poker and keno. The state is paid a yearly fee of $1,000. Plus, when we send the applications into the state, we also include a check for $200 for each machine. The state turns around and sends $100 of that back to the city or county.

October 1989/PLAY METER 31

eo. INTERVIEW

Next, the state sends us back the applica- tions. We goto the bar locations and have them fill out the form, put the liquor license numbers on there, and so on. The machine serial numbers are put on the form and sent to the state, along with an audit ticket. They send us back a little decal that we put on the machine. The machine is then placed in a location.

Every week, the collectors go out and collect the money from the machines. We take out two audit tickets, one for the loca- tion and one for ourselves. The soft meters are then matched up with the hard meters to make sure they’re working right. This is done for 13 weeks, or one full quarter. At the end of the quarter, we, through our computerization, subtract and divide out all of the money that went through the machine during the entire quarter. We also note all of the money that was paid out. The ‘‘awarded’’ and ‘‘played’’ meters allow the state to determine whether or not the machine is paying at least 80 percent.

Phil Benson (r) at the AMOA Government Affairs Conference earlier this year with Toni Peters of A.H. Entertainers and

Randolphe Flowe of Greenwood Music Co.

Our law says a machine has to pay at least 80 percent, but nobody’s going to play one that pays only 80 percent. All of our machines are paying right around 90 per- cent, some even higher than that.

For example, if there was $200 in a machine and $100 paid out, the net would be $100. Of that net, 15 percent or $15 would go to the state off the top. The col- lector brings in that $15, which goes into

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a trust account at the bank. The other $85 is split 50-50 between myself and the location.

Did the state relent because of a need for revenue, putting any ‘“‘moral’’ opposition to gaming aside?

Oh, goodness yes. Montana is the fourth largest geographical state in the country; it’s 800 miles wide and 600 miles deep. But we’ve got just a hair under 800,000 people living here. Also, there’s 56 separate counties with some form of coun- ty government. They are all broke, the cities are broke, and lots of federal money has been taken away.

How is the money distributed among the state and the various counties/cities?

Two-thirds of the money given to the State is sent back to the city and/or county where the machines are located. The state keeps one-third plus the licensing fees, and the money goes into the general fund. The county or city is free to spend the money however it decides. The funds aren’t dedicated to a specific purpose.

In fiscal year ’87-’88, the city of Missoula got back $545,000; the county got back $145,000. The map will tell you there’s about 33,000 people, but the greater Missoula area has 70,000 people, which includes the city and the county. In fiscal year ‘88-’89, which ended in June, my city got back over $700,000. The county received over $200,000. It is a volunteer tax that the players themselves

are paying; they aren’t being assessed that as individuals. This helps to offset some of the extremely high property taxes leveled in Montana.

My mayor is very religious. He wants no part of gaming and has told me that if he had his way, we wouldn’t have video poker. But after the first checks came in, he called me to say we were right. Our ci- ty is going to run well now that the revenue hole has been plugged. The chief of police, the county commissioner, the city council, and the Chamber of Commerce all feel the Same way. We’re partners now; it’s not like we’re the bad-guy coin machine operators any more. _

Tell us about a recent district court ruling in Pennsylvania and its im- plications for video poker.

State and federal people are starting to look at gray area poker machines, which is Causing serious problems in some areas of the United States. The western 23 coun- ties of Pennsylvania are going through a bad time. District Judge Jerry Weber rul- ed, point blank, to get them off the street. His ruling was written in such a way that to fool with pokers at all violates the federal law for interstate transportation of gaming equipment. The ruling, unfor- tunately, may have a domino effect for other states, not just the western half of Pennsylvania.

“There are about 35,000 video poker machines in western Pennsylvania that are in jeopardy. ”’

Here is an industry that last year generated $13,290,000 for the state. The interesting thing is we, the coin machine operators developed this industry at no cost to the state, cities, or counties. We are maintaining it with our dollars and the tavern owners’ dollars. It doesn’t cost the government one penny to implement or enforce it; we’re self-sustaining.

As of this minute, there are only three States that are running video pokers.

Nevada is full-blown, New Jersey has it in.

the resort areas only, and Montana has it statewide. On Sept. 20, South Dakota is going on-line via their lottery, but the coin machine operators are still going to have control of the poker machines.

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It all started five or six years ago, when someone there asked for an opinion on video pokers. This judge is in failing health, and he was literally cleaning materials out of his closet that he hadn’t gotten to yet. He signed his name to it and went into the hospital.

There are about 35,000 video poker machines in western Pennsylvania alone that are in jeopardy. I know of coin machine operators turning them in to the FBI by the truckload. As I said, the ruling is going to have far-reaching implications. The operators there are in big trouble.

Even though Montana is con- sidered a ‘‘model’”’ state for video poker legislation, do you think a more populous state—say Califor- nia or New York—could extrapolate yours as is, or would changes have to be made?

California has so many operators, whereas Montana only had 50 when we started out. In fact, we had trouble trying to get 50 operators together. California and Pennsylvania, with their thousands of operators, are going to have troubles get- ting legislation through. You have to be united when you go up to the Legislature, or nothing will ever get done. The first thing the legislators notice is a group that’s split within its ranks.

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Let me give you some figures. In Mon- tana, with a population of 800,000, the operators, tavern owners, state, cities, and counties split up $88,600,000 worth of profits. That’s $111 per year, per capita spending for every single person in Mon- tana. Compare that with what Penn- sylvania, for example, could potentially earn. They have a population of 11,850,000. Multiply that by $111 per capita spending, which is probably low because of our smaller economic base, and what you produce is $1,315,350,000 in profits!

So, continuing the example, if you ex- trapolate that into our law, the state of Pennsylvania would get 15 percent of the net. That comes to $197,302,500 that could be split between the state, cities, and county. Two-thirds to the cities and coun- ties, one-third to the state. The potential there is incredible. They’ve got over 60,000 poker machines there, compared to 8,687 machines in Montana.

What’s been AMOA’s role or posi- tion concerning poker legislation?

Former AMOA president Wally Bohrer came to Montana during his presidency and looked at how successfully we were running our industry. He could not believe it. The number one question he had during his presidency was what’s going to be done -about video pokers or gray area equipment in general. Wally decided to form an ad hoc committee for AMOA, and he put me as the chair.

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The purpose of this committee—the Truth In Amusement Committee—is to develop model legislation for coin- operated gaming devices. This model legislation is to be made available, along with the expertise of committee members, to any state requesting assistance. The committee is one of the best things that could’ve ever happened to the operating industry.

So in fact, what AMOA is doing is com- ing out of the closet. It had always decid- ed not to take a stand on it, but now we’re willing to join in and help operators get legislation passed. I’m very pleased with AMOA’s role. AMOA attorney Elroy Wolffin Washington, D.C., has been try- ing to coordinate all of the different legisla- tion coming in.

It seems operating gray area pokers leaves operators at the mercy of law enforcement’s whims, never know- ing when they’re going to spring a raid.

Let me tell you a story. R.R. ‘‘Whitey’’ Schroth was a former AMOA director and vice president; he was also mayor of a lit- tle town outside of Portland, Ore. He on- ly had 42 machines on the street. About five years ago, the feds came in under RICO and picked up every one of his machines. This was a Sunday morning; he came home from church and found the feds surrounding his house.

They read all of the ‘‘in’’ meters on every one of his poker machines. So let’s say he’s got a machine that had 150,000 run through it for the year. They

‘You have to be united when you go up to the Legislature or nothing will ever get done. ’’

But getting back to the individual states, there’s lots of factors that come into play from one to the next. Some counties in a State may be dry (no alcohol), so you couldn’t have pokers there. Some have strong opposition to gambling from the Bi- ble Belt, while others have different age requirements for playing the machines. You have to be 18 in Montana. When you take all of these variables into account, you see why it would be hard to adopt our law as is, without tailoring it to the needs of the state, city, or county.

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multiplied those meter readings by 25 cents and slapped him with a big tax bill. ‘“You owe us this much money,”’ is what they told him, and of course Whitey didn’t have it. He couldn’t say that he was paying out on the machines, because then he’d have been admitting to violating federal laws by paying out ona poker machine. He ended up losing everything, and it got drawn out in court so long that Whitey ended up getting very sick and passing away. That’s how strong it is.

I’m a coin machine operator running poker machines legally. If I was operating the same number of them gray area, I don’t think I’d make it another five years, because I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

It may sound simplistic, but why don’t the operators leave the machines unmodified, without the knockoff switches? At least that way they wouldn’t risk having the machines confiscated.

They’d catch less heat, but who’s going to play them? You won’t get anybody playing a poker machine for amusement only. Besides saying you cannot install a knockoff switch or extra metering on a machine, Judge Weber’s wording pro-

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hibits the manufacturers from manufactur- ing a potentially modifiable machine. So his decision would wipe out even those machines that haven’t been tampered with.

What risks or penalties do operators face from law enforce- ment? Seizure, destruction, fines, jail time, etc.?

I know ofan operator in Tennessee who signed a piece of paper with the feds, say- ing he’d never do it again. They let him off, and he did it again. After signing the paper swearing he wouldn’t do it a third time, he turned right around and did it anyway. Business was so good that he kept doing it. The fourth time, which was just recently, they fined him $1 million and gave him six years in jail. A couple of others were sent to halfway houses.

Look at what happened to Whitey in Oregon; they took literally everything. When you get the feds and RICO involv- ed, you’re in trouble.

So what it boils down to is this: either a state association comes up with video poker legislation and becomes partners with the state, or its operators risk having law en- forcement show up out of the blue to take everything away.

Exactly. That’s why I was saying I couldn’t sleep at night if I was still operating gray area, because I’d never know if some county attorney or some sheriff might get mad at me. They might decide one day to get me off the street and start a crusade to do it. So not only do you have problems with the feds, but there’s all kinds of local problems to deal with. They can come pick up your machines on a whim.

Some critics of video pokers argue that they’re simply slot machines without a payoff slot, and that the ‘“‘for amusement only’’ sticker is merely a facade. How do you respond?

Well, itis a facade, but nobody wants to talk about that. That’s what AMOA is say- ing. We’re trying to develop model legislation, and though it’s not perfect, it’s a hands-on tool for convincing your state

38 PLAY METER/October 1989

association that the grass is greener on the other side (legal versus gray area). Because then you’re partners with the state and with law enforcement.

As long as you’re running clean, you don’t have to worry about the IRS, RICO, or anything. Your tavern owners love you and your employees love you because you're able to pay them more money. When I was running gray area, I had eight or nine employees; now I have 16. I’ve got another truck. There’s a lot of paperwork involved, having to send this and that to the state, but Idon’t care. When something is working this well, you have to work a lit- tle harder, but it pays off.

I compare it to a fine piece of gold: .999 pure. There’s less than one-tenth of one percent non-compliance with the law in Montana. That’s why it’s been so suc- cessful. We make sure the state stays hap- py with us. Now that we’ve come this far with the video poker legislation, it would be unbelievably foolish to start cutting cor- ners and try to sneak something past the State.

parts of the route, now that they see how much money video poker

brings in?

No, not that I know of. But in this last legislative session, we had to fight because we had a new governor who wanted to get us for 50 percent of the net profits. I mean, talk about killing the goose that laid the golden egg. We fought down to 25 percent and then luckily got it maintained at 15 percent.

We were able to show that just on a natural growth basis, we as businessmen were able to make our industry grow. When have you ever seen a bureaucratic organization of any kind grow without it. costing them any money? This industry has grown and provided income for the State, counties, and cities, yet we haven’t cost them anything. When a video poker machine is out of order, that’s the number one priority for my technicians and most other technicians across the state. You can’t let it stay down for three or four hours, because that costs both you and your city money.

“IT don’t think I'd make it another five years if | was operating gray area, because | wouldn’t be able to

Sleep at night.’’

What kind of reading do you have on the number of states presently trying to pass video poker legislation?

Up until Sept. 20, there were 41 states running video poker machines. Only three States are operating them legally: Mon- tana, New Jersey, and Nevada. South Dakota came on-line on Sept. 20, and Oregon is coming on, but I don’t know the date. That’ll give us five, which leaves 36 States running gray area. I know Ten- nessee is making a big effort to educate their operators and their legislative body as to the prosperity in Montana. The big- gest problem these states face is educating from within, teaching their own coin-op associations.

Have there been any operator com- plaints in Montana concerning the IRS or the state snooping into other

Giving the state control of the pokers would kill it. The machines have to remain in the hands of the private sector.

Now that Montana operators are do- ing so well with video pokers, have the other parts of their route ex- panded due to the increased income?

Yes. What’s happened with me, for in- stance, is I’ve been able to allocate money specifically for jukeboxes. When I first bought the route the jukeboxes were in horrible shape. I spent my money on the videos that were doing well, which didn’t leave any for jukeboxes. But we’ve since beefed up the jukeboxes, and that’s impor- tant, because jukeboxes are the backbone of a route.

One thing that has happened to us is we ve lost some of our smaller pool loca- tions. We’ve put enough poker and keno

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into a location that there isn’troomforthe — “‘ Thare’s less than one-tenth of one percent non-

tables. The state has allowed five poker

machines and upto 15 kenos inalocation. COMpliance with the law in Montana. That’s why it On Oct. 1, we willbe ableto put 1Opokers fag heen So successfu!. a3

and 10 kenos, or two pokers and 18 kenos. You can’t have over 10 pokers in a location.

As for video games, I’ve started buying a lot of kits and converting them rather than purchasing dedicated pieces. It’s tough to pay for dedicated in Montana, as opposed to larger metropolitan areas, where it’s easier. But in the long run, pokers have given me a lot more money to grow. L]|

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the public performance by video game operators of gray market/parallel video games.

In a straight forward opinion, the 4th Circuit found that the performance of a video game in a video location constitutes a “‘public performance’’ of the game

UEST COMMENTARY

under the 1976 Copyright Act. The right to publicly perform a copyrighted work and to authorize others to publicly perform the work is one of the exclusive rights granted U.S. copyright owners.

The Court found that Taito had not granted Red Baron the right to perform the Double Dragon video games, and express- ly rejected Red Baron’s attempt to infer such a right, as a result of the sale of the game in Japan by Taito. The court also re- jected Red Baron’s attempt to rely on the first-sale doctrine, set forth in Section 109

Gil Pollock

AAMA president

An open letter to the industry

(a) of the Act, to excuse its unauthorized public performance of the Double Dragon game.

The Court emphasized that the first-sale doctrine does not limit a copyright owner’s ability to preclude the unauthorized per- formance of his work.

Manufacturers now have the clear right to restrict the unauthorized public perfor- mance of any of their copyrighted video games. L]

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42 PLAY METER/October 1989

‘gal METER

Bonnie Theard

Wildwood operators share thoughts on the ‘89 season

esos Ne

Looking down the boardwalk in Wildwood, where sun and sand join with arcades and shops. |

New Jersey’s shoreline has become a playground for East Coast residents. The state gave birth to the concept of boardwalks almost 100 years ago when high- collared vacationers shunned sand in their high-button shoes at the beach in Atlan- tic City. Now, boardwalks dot the entire New Jersey coast. Businesses that developed along the boardwalks in these resort cities make a major contribution to the state’s economy.

October 1989/PLAY METER 43

-_eeee——————— eee

p*" METER

he season has come to an end along

the Jersey Shore. It’s time to take down all the big amusement rides on the piers, assess the season, evaluate equip- ment in the arcades, and plan ahead for next year. In Wildwood, one of the most popular resorts along the Atlantic Ocean, two arcade owners shared some of their feelings about this summer’s traffic and business in general.

Supercade Arcade, Nicholls Midway Pier

According to Angelo Nicholls of the Supercade Arcade and Nicholls Midway Pier, ‘‘business has been off this season. ’’ Nicholls points to a larger crowd of ‘‘day- trippers,’’ or one-day visitors instead of week-long visitors. ‘‘The motels are over- priced,’’ says Nicholls. ‘‘I think they are feeling the drop-off too. Add to this a cold, rainy June and more rain in August that af- fected beach visitors.’’

Nicholls also pointed to scares over beach closings. When announced in the local media, the words ‘‘beach closings’”’ make potential visitors think it means all the beaches and all the other attractions along the beach.

Wildwood and the other resort cities of- fer more than just pretty beaches. At Nicholls Midway Pier, which encom- passes an entire city block and stretches out into the Atlantic Ocean, visitors delight in the well-known Castle Dracula and The Dungeon, both haunted houses featuring live actors. Castle Dracula is a one-of-a- kind, walk-through of several monstrous- ly scary rooms with close to 20 actors (drama students) in costume. The Dungeon is a ride-through with live actors and mechanical creatures.

Nicholls pays careful attention to safe- ty in these two special attractions. All employees carry a flashlight, and there are frequent fire drills. There’s also a sprinkler system, smoke detectors, and emergency lighting systems. The Pier holds 20 rides that include The Dragon roller coaster, bumper boat rides that hold three people in each boat, and kiddie rides.

“We're family oriented,’’ explains Nicholls. *‘All our rides are engineered so that an adult can ride with his child. We’ve

44 PLAY METER/October 1989

seen more families visiting this year. We used to get more kids, but since the drink- ing age was raised to 21 a few years back, our clientele has tended to be more families.’’

This is quickly surmised by the mix of redemption game prizes offered at the Supercade arcade, a 5,000 Square foot facility with a mix of 50 percent redemp- tion games and 50 percent video.

Nicholls’ prizes include more ap- pliances and household items to meet the influx of family players. Higher-priced toys for children, like radio-controlled cars, and specialty such as Nintendo Entertainment Systems and game car- tridges are all in the merchandise mix.

‘We offer just about anything you could desire,’’ says Nicholls. ‘‘Tools for men, personal care items and jewelry for women, and a wide array of watches. You name it and we probably have it.”’

Combining staffs for the Supercade and the Pier, Nicholls lists over 100 employees at the peak of the season. Supercade employees wear red shirts and Pier employees wear blue shirts. Patrons can instantly find help by spotting employees in their company shirts.

supply next spring and summer. Moving games is a constant occupation. ‘Sometimes a fighting game doesn’t do well by a driving game,”’’ notes Nicholls. ‘“We have to adapt.”’

One of his most successful games is the horserace Supercade Derby that gives out the prized Pumper Beaver. The little stuff- ed beaver wears a shirt that says, ‘‘Pumper Beaver, pumping out the prizes. Bip, bop, bippity boo.’’ The promotion of this game has resulted in a great demand for the priz- ed beaver. It’s one of the ideas that has made Nicholls’ operation a thriving one since 1976.

Reflections Arcades

George Hamilton of Terminal Amuse- ment Co. has operated Reflections Ar- cades in Wildwood for 12 years. His four locations along the 2.5 mile-boardwalk total 40,000 square feet of amusement space. Hamilton also has Reflections Ar- cades in Atlantic City and Avalon, plus street locations and bowling centers in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Con- necticut, New York, and Pennsylvania.

His philosophy for success is simple: ‘We are ina people business. Long hours

Business has been off this season. Overpriced motels and lots of rain have resulted in more day-

trippers.’’

Closing time for both locations is usual- ly around the end of September. Then, the tedious job of taking down all the rides begins. Everything is reconditioned, re- painted, and packed for storage over the winter. The equipment is reassembled again in the spring, when the two locations open on weekends — starting Palm Sun- day weekend. The everyday schedule starts with Memorial Day weekend. When everything is assembled again, it is sub- jected to several state inspections before the rides actually resume.

And what about the game equipment? Nicholls stocked all-new videos this season. Many will be sold now that the season is Over to make room for a big new

and dedication are requirements. People are in our locations to have a good time and we want to add to it. We start with courteous service, a clean location with a good floor plan, and quality equipment. We’re only selling time. We treat customers like we would like to be treated. People are here to relax and have fun.’’ Hamilton is known for his annual ‘“special attraction’’ in Wildwood. One year it was a classic ‘57 Chevy that grac- ed the entrance to one of the four Wildwood Reflections Arcades. Last year it was a Lamborghini (his own), and next year it might be a limousine. It makes his location stand out, and patrons return each year to see the new conversation piece.

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Once inside, players are treated to a well- arranged floor with a variety of top-notch games.

Hamilton believes in moving games constantly and changing the floor layout to keep the interior of his locations fresh. He does not believe in non-productive areas. He puts it succinctly: “‘If it isn’t working, it shouldn’t be out there. If it’s a piece you re not proud of, take it off the floor.’’

Keeping customers happy is the name of the game. ‘‘Getting a quarter today is not the answer,’’ says Hamilton. ‘‘I hate the words ‘no refunds.’ I’d rather give away more to get a customer to come back. When he returns, he will look for your ar- cade. If parents are happy in your location, they will stay longer with their children. ”’

Hamilton believes in going the extra mile. An example is giving a cranky youngster a small plush toy to keep him happy while other family members enjoy the games. Such little niceties go a long way in customer satisfaction and come

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Big-scale amusement rides are found at the many piers of Wildwood.

back two-fold in future patronage.

According to Hamilton, customers don’t want to come into a hot, sticky, dim place that’s noisy. The atmosphere is im- portant. He places his strongest pieces within the first 20 feet and plans areas specifically around different types of games. This includes tailoring areas for the family crowd using equipment such as bowlers and air hockey. Then there’s an area for the video crowd, which likes more noise and music.

‘Older people want to concentrate,”’ says Hamilton. ‘‘We provide areas with quieter music and carpet where practical. Our games are not placed in straight lines, but rather in circles to provide more free space. We highlight areas with neon. We provide seating for the video games, as well as other equipment that has seats for player comfort. Seats are also available for parents to take a break.”’

Hamilton’s mix of equipment in his ar- cades goes like this: 25 percent table

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games, 50 percent video, and 25 percent redemption.

Table games take up a lot of square footage, but are very strong at Reflections.

What’s also very strong is internal organization. Hamilton rotates equipment every week, even the last week in August as the season winds down. Even if he on- ly gets two weeks on a newly-received piece, he takes advantage of it. It’s not unusual for him to move 100 pieces a day from the shore and turn them around in other locations. All the equipment is checked, encoded with a security number, cleaned, and locked before going out on the street the next day. The goal is to have a warehouse that is empty. This means that all the games are ‘‘earning’’ on location.

How has this season in Wildwood shaped up compared to those of the past? ‘“We’re even with last year,’’ is the reply. ‘*Tt’s acycle. This has been the best sum- mer weather, even with the rain. Wildwood has changed. Some adults are staying away because of the $1.75 slice of pizza and the $140 a night hotel room. We can always tell how long customers have been in town by the size of the bills they use. When they are down to $5s and $1s, they are at the end of their stay.”’

On the practical side, Hamilton explains that visitors are paying an expensive price because it is seasonal. “‘If it was a year ‘round business, the cost of everything would drop. In some cases, arcade owners have to eat that equipment all winter, pay for it, and hope to get their money out of it the next year. The season is basically 10 weeks and we have to burn up a lot of labor in that time.”’

At the peak of the season Hamilton has 45 employees in Wildwood. He goes through a lot of potential candidates by observing how courteous they are and how well they handle people. Many staff members started out with a summer job, were trained in-house, returned to college, and moved into management positions when they graduated. All employees dress in casual uniforms with different colored shirts for various jobs. For example, managers wear pink shirts and changers wear orange shirts. Every shift change means equipment changes, such as new balls for the pool tables and new pucks for

48 PLAY METER/October 1989

the air hockey tables. Every detail is considered.

Wildwood enjoys a healthy Canadian clientele; even a number of area motels are named for Canadian cities. While other towns are losing beaches, Wildwood gains as the water coming around Cape May pulls up sand in the Sound and puts it on Wildwood Beach.

Even though the season is a busy 10 weeks, internally business is all year. After Sept. 10, Wildwood closes down from the north end to the middle by mid- October, depending on the weather. Hamilton’s games quickly find homes in new locations. They go directly from the boardwalk to bowling centers and other amusement spots.

States Hamilton, ‘‘In the winter we work for the summer. We change carpet and the floor layout. It’s a major job. It takes about three months to close down totally. All game boards are removed in the winter. Boards deteriorate quickly. They must be cleaned, vacuumed, silicon- ed, packaged, and brought up to company headquarters in Oaklyn, N.J., to be kept in a heated building.

“In March, it’s time for shore locations to go into a weekend schedule. We need the weekdays to get ready for the summer season.’’

Hamilton has to have the right mentali- ty for his shore arcades and the diversity of his other locations. Although Atlantic City is on the shore, it is vastly different from Wildwood. **Atlantic City is host to peo-

ple from all over the country,’’ he explains. ‘‘It’s a very good crane town. Many visitors have never seen a crane. The clientele is primarily slot-machine oriented.’’

A totally different type of customer is found at the Reflections Arcade in Avalon. Also a seasonal town, customers are basically regular residents. Kiddie rides do well there. Hamilton strives to give them games they won’t see at any corner store.

He constantly watches his customers and learns from observation. ‘“‘If we get opinionated and try to force something on the public, it won’t work. We can’t force people to take something they don’t want or we'll be out of business. ”’

Hamilton carefully sees what games parents steer their children to. He would like to see a “‘little guy’’ pedal on some driving games. There’s a market out there for those young future drivers. His views on the ideal game: *‘To find the right lear- ning curve so anyone can play it—that’s the trick. A game with too many instruc- tions doesn’t make money. Nobody wants to be a loser—just a winner. That’s why we put scores on games. Any game that puts the player down, even in a humorous fashion, doesn’t seem to work.’

Constantly changing with customers’ tastes, and giving them pleasant en- vironments in which to enjoy themselves, is important at Reflections Arcades. Satisfied customers are repeat customers, and they keep us all going. LJ

en

VIRA AND THE PARTY MONSTERS" © 1989 Midway Manufacturing Co\ManutacturersofaBallyamusementcames@All rights reserved Mmmm MidWay,Manufacturing co: | : BAOTNNCaliforniavAve. Chicagonlldo0618}m(312))26722240)

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Shooting 3 balls into the Skull Cave energizes the Crypt kicker, and suddenly, the entire playfield is veiled in a shroud of darkness. When the ohantom organist breaks into a wild solo, the brilliant light show begins, spirits yell, “PARTY!” and one...two...three balls soar out of the crypt, fly through the air and come in for acrash landing in the “Jumper Bumper” zone. Players who really know how to party can collect the Party Monster Jackpot! It starts at 1,000,000 points and keeps building during multi-ball madness. Players must have at least two balls in play and make both ramps to collect their prize.

Guess what! These caps jump up and down with high-powered solonoid action. I'm the first to giv players the vertical action they've been waiting fc While building the “Boogie Bonus’ Jumper Bumpe add to the score and keep players coming back for more!

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OMPANY PROFILE

Customer satisfaction gets

top billing at HMS Monaco

ervice is your right,’’ claims a new

commercial for an automobile manufacturer. In the amusement industry, HMS.Monaco already follows that credo by making customer satisfaction a top priority. Add to this philosophy the cons- tant introduction of new product, and it’s easy to see why the company is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of costume jewelry for the amusement industry.

HMS Monaco pioneered the concept of jewelry as prizes in cranes, which rose to popularity among operators in the mid-’ 80s. The company proves to its customers daily that cranes are not on the downslide at present; the best days are still ahead. Creativity and quality product are essen- tial. That’s exactly where HMS Monaco comes into play.

Proof of the company’s dedication to the industry is evidenced by the opening of its new 4,500 square foot factory in Green- ville, R.I. The facility incorporates

manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and:

storage. Rhode Island is the center of costume jewelry manufacturing in the United States. HMS company head- quarters are in New York City in a 6,000 square foot office at 135 West 20th St. There are 21 employees in New York, five in Rhode Island.

HMS Monaco is a family business that was started by the Paleias family nine years ago. Beginning as a small manufac- turer specializing in mail order jewelry, it slowly and steadily expanded to become a multifaceted jewelry manufacturer serv- ing many industries.

Ira Erstling (I), vice president, and Andrew Paleias, president.

In 1984, Ira Erstling joined the company as director of marketing and Andrew Paleias joined as director of production. Ira’s sales and marketing expertise, com- bined with Andrew’s knowledge of manufacturing, propelled the company in- to high gear. In 1988, the two became part-

ners, with Ira becoming director of marketing, design, and product develop- ment, and Andrew becoming director of production and finance.

A former customer, Steve Schulman, joined the company as sales manager in 1988. His 15 years of experience manag- ing a 1,200-game route for Mondial Inter- national has added more strength to HMS’ marketing and sales division.

While servicing arcades along the Jersey Shore in the early years, Ira witnessed the introduction of the modern triple cranes. He convinced an arcade owner in Seaside Heights to try HMS Monaco’s boxed jewelry in the center bay of anew crane. That first summer proved so successful that other arcade owners decided to place jewelry in their cranes. Over the years, the Jersey Shore has been a company testing ground, since it offers players a wide array of cranes, rotaries, and redemption equipment that lends itself to jewelry prizes.

Keeping customers pleased has always been important at HMS Monaco. ‘*We value everyone’s business and their patronage,’’ said Ira, ‘‘and we hope to continually keep them happy in the future. Most of our customers are repeat customers.

‘‘When I first started in this business I always asked customers for the negatives so we could improve our product. I found out what worked, what didn’t work, and adapted the product to make it work pro- perly.’’

One of the biggest steps the company has taken to accommodate the industry is

October 1989/PLAY METER 53

= = PROFILE

the introduction of its Plush Mixer Globe, a plexiglass capsule filled with jewelry, watches, and novelties. The idea behind this product is to help operators who want to mix other prizes with plush.

HMS Monaco offers an extensive line of rings, bracelets, watches, necklaces, ear- rings, keychains, money clips, and other jewelry items, all packaged domestically. ‘“We make merchandise suitable for every machine in the marketplace,”’ stressed Ira. ‘“We introduce new product every week. We also do custom designs. Our in-house designer will gladly work on any specific idea presented.”’

The company takes pride in packaging, taking special care to present every item in the most appealing light. Presently, HMS is marketing its Halloween and Christmas kits that include such items as pumpkin pins, ghost necklaces, Santa watches, and

ne

Christmas tree pins. Steve Schulman, sales manager, with items from the David Toledo, stock manager. What’s next? According toIra, nexton MS Monaco Christmas Kit.

the horizon is a whole new line of coin jewelry featuring coin replicas in necklaces, keychains, and other items,

available in antique gold or silver finishes. bé We va lue eve ryone q S business and t heir

Ira, Andrew, and Steve will gladly con-

sult with operators on the use ofjewelryin Patronage, and we hope to continually keep them cranes, dozers, rotaries, and in display happy in the future. Most of our customers are

cases for redemption games. HMS has just a published a new catalog of its jewelry [ epeat customers. lines. To obtain a copy, call (800)

777-0901 or (212) 691-9000. 1

Indi Budhoo at the computer. Howard Green, shipping department.

54 PLAY METER/October 1989

‘‘Dressed”’ for success

How to set a crane with boxed jewelry

The key to successful crane operation is in the choice and presentation of quality mer- chandise with player appeal. HMS suggests recapturing lost players by changing from plush prizes to boxed jewelry. ‘‘Dressing”’ a crane with all jewelry is different from dressing it with other product. The company offers the following six point strategy for turning your crane into a store showcase window.

1. Provide an attractive base for the jewelry. Be sure the floor of the crane’s bay is solid, free of holes or cracks. Fill the bottom with an attractive bedding material such as gravel (colorful fish tank gravel is perfect), beads, plastic pellets, or tokens. Check the lower compartment — many new cranes come with a bag of this material. Lay a base two or three inches deep for the jewelry boxes to rest on.

2. Secure the jewelry in its con- tainer. Stretch a small rubber band (#8) around the bottom half of each jewelry box to insure that the pad holding the jewelry does not pop out of the box. The rubber band should also be fastened over loosely-held jewelry, such as pendants, to prevent them from turning over.

3. Arrange open jewelry boxes in the bottom of the bay in rows or any other eye-catching manner, keeping the merchandise in full view of the player. Leave enough space between the boxes so that if the claw drops a jewelry box, it will not upset the other boxes.

4. Be sure prizes are obtainable. Check to see if the claw drops to the proper depth to grab the boxes. If not, lengthen or shorten the string to the correct length.

Next, percentage the claw. The claw fingers should close completely; if not, ad- just. Then regulate the strength of the claw by turning the potentiometer on the board either up or down. For best results, a win percentage should fall between 25 and 35 percent, depending on the type of location. Remember the old adage: Winners make players.

5. Maintain the appearance of your crane. This is even more true with a jewelry box crane because you can only put in 25-50 prizes at one time. The more full the crane looks, the more enticing it will be to play. The greater the selection of prizes, the more customer play you will get.

Cranes should be refilled regularly, as merchandise is won. Jewelry boxes that have been turned over should be placed right side up to neaten the bay’s appearance.

6. Analyze your clientele. Take into consideration a customer base of ladies or men, boys or girls. Are players white collar or blue collar? Ask your merchandise sup- plier for assistance in choosing jewelry to match your players.

HMS states that if their selection isn’t ef- fective for you, the company will gladly replace it with other jewelry better suited to your needs. (1

OMPANY PROFILE

Se

Close-up of a crane bay filled with HMS Monaco boxed jewelry.

ARE YOUR CRANE REVENUES DOWN?

/

Larry B., CA: Boxed jewelry doubled our crane revenues this Summer in our Amusement Park.

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LET HMS MONACO SHOW YOU HOW TO REGAIN THOSE PLAYERS

CALL 1-800-777-0901 FOR GUARANTEED RESULTS

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October 1989/PLAY METER 55

grate MEETING

Wisconsin and Minnesota

Roger and Ruth Westmont won New Orleans creole seasonings at the Mardi Gras-themed party.

Clyde Knupp, AMOA president, presents a gift to Tami Norberg-Paulsen.

Play Meter’s Valerie Cognevich shares her thoughts on the future of the coin-op industry.

56 PLAY METER/October 1989

n late August, the Wisconsin

Amusement and Music Operators (WAMO) and the Minnesota Operators of Music and Amusements (MOMA) gathered in Eau Claire, Wisc. to get to know each other and share thoughts on the industry.

The 100-plus attendance made everyone realize that it was a long-overdue meeting. WAMO president Jim Stansfield Jr. said, ‘It was an experiment that worked very well.’” MOMA is already making plans for the next joint meeting to be held in Minnesota.

The highlight of the meeting was an in- formal panel discussion with Wisconsin operators Jim Stansfield, Roger West- mont, and Ralph Fleege and Minnesota operators Dick Hawkins, Gene Winstead, and Tami Norberg-Paulsen. They discuss- ed such topics as marketing, dart and pool tournament promotion, and legislative and successful association activities.

WAMO executive director Joe Phillips pointed out, ““This really was what our joint conference was all about—bringing operators together in groups and in- dividually to swap ideas and learn from one another.’’ C1

operators hold first joint meetin

o— Pe.

, - “ . tee

Gene Urso celebrated his birthday. Here he is with his wife, Nancy.

Future AMOA president Jack Kerner addresses the group.

Masks were supplied for the Mardi Gras festivities. Just who is that masked woman?

Kit

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ge SHOW

Nashville hosts Tennessee operators’ annual trade show

Valerie Cognevich with Scott Sammons of Sammons-Pennington.

Ruble Sanderson (I) challenges Gary Hooper to a garae of pinball.

58 PLAY METER/October 1989

ollowing the convenience store show in Nashville, the Amusement and Music Operators of Tennessee held its annual convention and trade show in the capital city of country music.

Over 150 operators spent the weekend viewing new equipment, talking with fellow operators, and attending seminars. One seminar featuring Wayne Deluka, an attorney in Pennsylvania, and Phil Benson of Montana was standing room only. Both men have unique insights into the video poker situation. (In fact, Phil is our coin- man interview this month.)

Deluka, who has worked with operators in Pennsylvania, gave Tennessee operators some helpful hints. They are for- mulating plans for the legalization of video pokers, using Montana’s law as a guide. Deluka explained the differences between civil and criminal prosecution and bet- ween state, local, and federal crimes. A district judge in Pennsylvania recently signed an opinion that could be devastating to video poker operators.

There were some new pieces of equip- ment for operators to see before the AMOA show, including two pinball machines: Police Force from Williams and Bone Busters from Premier. Operators seemed to like both of them. 1

Wayne Deluka (I) with Sal Mirando).

J.B. Reaves (c) with the two pool tournament finalists: Bob Cantrell and Dale Griffin (r). Cantrell was the winner.

1-800-

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Jon and Kathy Yarbrough with their new son, Jon Jr., and Kathy’s mother Judy Campbell.

At the Seeburg booth (I-r): Larry Macaluso, Warren McDonald, Gene Urso, and Craig Mary Fowler of Tennessee Amusement proves that games aren’t just for kids! Her hus- Johnson. band Charles, Vicki Blackburn, and Jim Newlander cheer her on.

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(I-r): Ron Bolger, Dan and Ann Clarton, and Damon Paramore. Ted Furkin had quite an audience in his booth.

60 PLAY METER/October 1989

TATE SHOW

John and Joan Heatherly of Heatherly Vending (c) with (I-r) Steve Walton, Dan Clarton, and Jon Brady

The AMOT officers and board of directors.

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October 1989/PLAY METER 61

7 [emacs MEETING

T.O.P. throws customer appreciation party

.O.P. Distributing, in business

for six successful years, wanted to show its customers just how much they’re appreciated by inviting them to a recent celebration party. Customers in Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Albany had a chance to win money from a money machine.

As dollars were blown around the enclosure, they entered and grabbed as much as they could in the allotted time. T.O.P. customers walked away with over $10,000! Now that’s appreciation!

‘*Everyone came out a winner,’’ beam- ed T.O.P.’s Matt Tarantelli. He added that there was also a special preview of the latest equipment, including Rowe’s ROCHESTER: Mary Ann Mallaber of Vid-Mar Amusements makes valiant grab for floating bills. At right, Matt Tarantelli LaserStar CD jukebox. ‘‘About 70 per- _!ookson. cent of our jukebox sales are CD; another 25 percent are combo units,”’ he said.

Matt added that operators in the New York area are looking forward to a good year. ‘‘Things were kind of slow the last three months, but they are picking up now,’’ he said. L]

¥

ALBANY: Dave Wilson (I) of T.0.P.’s service and parts department with Pat Tarantelli. ROCHESTER: Dynamic trio from Dynamic Amusements (| to r): Dave, Danielle, and Margaret Harmer.

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62 PLAY METER/October 1989

EXCLUSIVE TUBULAR STEEL INNER FRAME— The UV-19 is the only universal cabinet with a steel inner frame, making it the strongest cabinet on the market today. It will withstand even the most aggressive play.

CARRIAGE BOLT CONSTRUCTION—There’s no ee. weak glue or flimsy staples here. Strong carriage bolt es lala aa construction and solid steel bracketry mean that cabinet a racking or twisting has been all but eliminated.

MELAMINE LAMINATED FIBERBOARD— Durable finish. Highly resistant to scratches and stains. And much stronger than painted flakeboard. | sailcn coe EXCLUSIVE ‘LIFT & LOCK” SLIDE-OUT SHELF ees DRAWER — Conversions are now a snap with our easy jigs

slide-out drawer assembly —standard in every ECD cabinet. Plus, our exclusive “‘Lift & Lock’’ (patent applied for) control panel makes tampering all but impossible. | And prevents spills from dripping onto your game board. [i 4 —_—

INTERCHANGEABLE COMPONENTS — If any part of the UV-19 is damaged or needs to be replaced, ECD can easily supply you with an identical component part. So you save the expense of having to replace the entire cabinet.

UNIVERSAL MONITOR —Front access to monitor

controls, plus both horizontal and vertical mounting.

AND BEST OF ALL, THE UV-19 EXCEEDS YOUR NEEDS WITHOUT EXCEEDING YOUR BUDGET!

For more information on our complete line of systems, contact us at: 1-800-777-5635. Or 1-609-567-1700. Fax 1-609-567-3255

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= —_ MEETING

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SYRACUSE: T.0.P.’s Pat Tarantelli (Il) and Jack Shawcross. ALBANY: The staff of Games People Play in Saratoga, N.Y.

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SYRACUSE: Dave Myers is happy about the large turnout.

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BUFFALO: Kevin Lombard of J&K Amusements goes for the big bucks. ALBANY: Jack Zuckerman of Games People Play hauls in the cash.

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64 PLAY METER/October 1989

ISTRIBUTOR MEETING

ROCHESTER: Vince Dalba of P&D Amusements inside the money machine.

THE TICKET DISPENSER — WITH BALPERENGE

DELTRONIC LABS DL-1275 Ticket Dispenser is now available in kits—for quick and easy installation on existing video, pinball and novelty games.

For more than 7 years, top amusement manufacturers have relied on DELTRONICS LABS for quality ticket dis- spensers, backed by prompt and efficient service.

Now this time-tested dispenser is incorporated in kits for the same dependable performance on your present games.

You can renew player interest with tickets for awards and bonuses—and keep them playing again and again and again!

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BUFFALO: Ozzie Williams (r) of Coin-Op Emporium and a helper.

Billiard Clot

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October 1989/PLAY METER 65

7 - YEARS AGO

e

Taking aim on the pool table market

lay Meter’s Oct. ’79 issue focused

on the pool table market. Beginning to be overshadowed by the relatively new video game technology, pool tables were looked upon as a replacement market. Operators felt they could prolong the life of their pool tables, while shifting their spending to newer video games.

Our coinman of the month was Valley’s Emil Marcet. He agreed that pool was looked upon as a replacement market but felt there were things that could be done in the future to turn that around. He explain- ed that although pinball and video were different from pool, that didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be constant innovations in pool.

Emil also described pool tables as a staple of the industry, without the flash of pinball or video and not requiring much at- tention. He also recognized the fact that operators were leaning towards 50-cent play; leagues and tournaments could help accomplish that goal.

An article called ‘‘Some Thoughts on Operating a Pool Table’’ noted that ‘although the pool table has been revered as one of the best-collection amusement pieces in the industry, it remains the most neglected item in the operators’ repertoire. The pool table is so sturdy a piece it lends itself to being ignored.’’ He went on to point out that if operators don’t pay enough attention to his tables, the location owner will start thinking, ‘‘If that thing is so easy to operate, why don’t I just buy one?”’

We realize 10 years later that a pool table location lost to location-owned tables is difficult to recover.

66 PLAY METER/October 1989

S\

In other news, a Canadian operator vowed to fight city hall and go all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary to op- pose a bylaw passed just before he plann- ed to open an arcade in Ontario. He claim- ed the bylaw was unfair and should not be allowed to stand.

The North Dakota operators formed their state association, proclaiming ‘‘an era of better communication between the state’s operators’’; New Jersey was facing a $150—$250 per machine license fee to replace a $1,500 operating license; Florida operators were pleased that a new workers’ compensation bill would reduce employer payments; Vic Rye was fired from the post of executive vice president of AMOA after serving just over a year; Starlog magazine, which had announced an amateur art contest in conjunction with Bally, was attracting over 100 submissions a day; AMOA had collected over $80,000 in legal fees to cover AMOA’s suit against the Copyright Tribunal over the location list demand; a tariff restructure in Australia that would have added 41 per- cent to the cost of imported American machines was under fire; the industry lost T.W. Hughes of S&H Distributing in Shreveport, La.; Rock-Ola held a special three-day service school for its distributors; Si Redd had formed a new distributing and manufacturing body call- ed Sircoma, and Don Hutmier was named as a sales representative; the Music Operators of Texas operators association decided to abandon Galveston as the loca- tion for their annual convention because of a major oil spill threatening the beaches

there; Stern Electronics and American In- ternational Pictures joined forces to pro- mote the pinball machine and movie Meteor; Frank Ballouz, Howie Rubin, Don Osborne, Tom Petit, and Sue Elliott were all promoted at Atari; North Carolina and South Carolina operators were mak- ing plans to combine their annual trade shows; Ralph Lally wrote an article on running foosball tournaments; and the IRS was looking into taxing pinball machines used for tournaments or league play.

In his Critic’s Corner column, Roger Sharpe featured Genie, Gottlieb’s first wide-body pinball game; Time Warp, William’s follow-up to Flash; and Bally’s Harlem Globetrotters, featuring the dynamic basketball team on the backglass.

The ten top songs appearing on Play Meter’s “Top 25”’ were ‘‘Rise’’ by Herb Alpert, ‘‘Spooky’’ by Atlanta Rhythm Section, *‘Sail On’’ by The Commodores, ‘*The Devil Went Down To Georgia’’ by The Charlie Daniels Band, ‘‘Dependin’ On You’’ by Doobie Brothers, ‘‘After The Love Is Gone’’ by Earth, Wind and Fire, ‘Born To Be Alive’’ by Patrick Her- nandez, ‘‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’’ by Michael Jackson, ‘‘Sad Eyes’’ by Robert John, and ‘‘Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’’’ by Journey. U1

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= THE OPERATOR

Question:

How valuable are equipment polls? Do they influence your game-

buying decisions?

Phil Elum Elum Music Co. Massillon, Ohio

I look at equipment polls, because they are valuable to an extent, but I don’t rely on them 100 percent. There are a lot of dif- ferent polls out there; the trade press, distributors, and the larger game rooms all have them.

Our company doesn’t use them for buy-

ing games unless all of the polls agree that —

a game is near the top for a few months in arow. Ifa game is scattered throughout the different polls, or high in one but low in another, then we tend to be more cautious. So, to sum it up, the polls are helpful but they’re not our only gauge when it comes to buying games.

Carl Coleman Shenandoah Amusement Co. Roanoke, Va.

Equipment polls are very, very impor- tant. You can learn about what’s new from the trade shows and your distributor, but without polls like Play Meter’s, you wouldn’t know how the games are rated or how they’ve been performing.

In the long run, though, I have to make my buying decisions based on what I like and the location involved. I prefer those games where you have to use the hand and the mind together, like football and basket- ball games. A trivia game may do real well in a college location, but it would be a disaster in a redneck bar. People don’t want to put money into a machine to show how dumb they are.

68 PLAY METER/October 1989

Lee Batson Sunshine Enterprises Birmingham, Ala.

I don’t use the polls in the trade press to make buying decisions, but I do look at them. I’ll put a new game out in test loca- tions and see how it does; that’s my own informal poll. Then I look at the magazine polls to see if everyone else is getting results similar to mine.

Doing it this way makes the most sense to me. I think the majority of people would agree on the top six or seven games, but beyond that it’s anyone’s guess what’s go- ing to earn well at a given location.

Sam Bonito Electric Circuit Bloomfield, N.J.

The polls definitely help because they give you an idea of the top games out there. Different areas require different games; what’s successful in our game rooms is not necessarily successful on the street route.

We move the games around a lot, so you need to know what’s new and popular across the country. Usually, if a game is at or near the top of a poll for awhile, it’s worth our looking into it.

Jerry Swayne All-American Amusements Baltimore, Md.

The polls are influential to a certain degree, particularly when I go to the distributor to trade in a game. I'd like to see a weighted poll. For example, a guy with two Double Dragons might rate it a five on the poll, while I with 22 Double Dragons might give it a nine. The two of us would average out to a seven on the poll, but the disparity in the number of games we have would make the number not total- ly accurate.

We use our own internal rating system for games before getting the magazine with the newest results. The ratings in the trade press simply supplement our findings.

Jim Markham Diamond M Enterprises Vancouver, Wash.

I think equipment polls are extremely important. I use them because they let me know what’s working well across the country. They’re also helpful to me in dealing with my distributor.

But you can’t depend 100 percent on polls when it comes to buying games. What’s earning well in one area might not be popular where you are. On the other hand, if a game is popular in your area but doesn’t appear very high on the polls, you still need to get it to keep up with the com- petition. [1

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By Coin Concepts’ Rebound (I-r): Tom Anderson of AA Amusements, Wylie Irwin, Bill

Richard McGrath (I) and Dick Simon of Imagination Leisure with their new SST Lite air hockey. John Madden says ‘‘less filling’’ and they say ‘‘tastes great.”’ You’ll have to judge for yourself.

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AMOA: A winner

he Amusement and Music Operators

Association (AMOA) show, held Sept. 11-13 at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, was three days of guarded enthusiasm for an industry emerging from a slow summer.

Booth space was at an all-time high (close to 700), and attendance was nearly 7,500. Operators were ready to see some new, innovative games to revitalize their routes and arcades. Although there were a lot of video games, the themes—for the most part—had been seen before. If we could sum up the show in a few words, it would probably have to be ‘“driving games and fighting themes.’

The show generated a lot of enthusiasm, as various companies enlisted celebrities for signing autographs and chatting with attendees. Elvira had crowds lined up at the Bally booth, while Heather Thomas, Jeff Conoway, Big John Studd, and Jerry Vale signed autographs at Seeburg. The Tokens were in the Mobile Records booth, and wrestlers The Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart gathered ‘em around at American Technos.

Driving games have always been popular with players, and manufacturers have been more than willing to give them a big choice. Operators will agree that driving games usually show a healthy return on investment, but at the same time they are hesitant about spending more and more money to replace driving games that are still earning their keep. In fact, high prices was the major complaint voiced by operators.

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Others said they simply weren’t ready to start buying new equipment right now. Those involved in pool and dart leagues are just getting them started. They said they would wait until the leagues were established before choosing video games for their locations.

Despite the hesitation and complaints about prices, most operators agreed that there was plenty to choose from. Even those not focusing on video had an array of other types of equipment from which to select. Jukeboxes were a hot item, as many operators are opting for CD technology.

in Las Vegas

proved to be as powerful as ever. Accor- ding to the company, the game should be in production in November.

Another game not shown on the exhibit floor was AmeriDarts from AmeriGames. This new company is headed up by Frank Bundra, who was with Konami for many years. He and his partners have developed a game that is fun without sex or violence. Players compete ina choice of several dart games using a track ball to shoot the darts. The track ball is mounted differently from most and gives a feeling of more control over the direction of the dart. The graphics

“Video jukeboxes are doing very well in Europe, but they haven’t done well in the United States as

of yet.”’

Video Games

One surprise game that shows innova- tion and sports a theme that we certainly haven’t seen before is Premier’s new video game, Exterminator. Warren Davis and Jeff Lee, who gave us QBert several years ago, collaborated on this game. The player is challenged to rid houses of bugs and pests. The cabinet was designed to look like a house to add to the game’s realism.

Premier president Gil Pollock said they wanted to avoid the ‘‘me-too’’ syndrome of the industry, adding that Premier distributors said the company had ac- complished its goal. While it was not shown on the exhibit floor, word of mouth

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are very good, and the little extras make this a game that will be a must on operator lists.

Operators were very excited about GameTek’s Wheel of Fortune, based on the popular TV show of the same name. The player is involved in a puzzle - solv- ing exercise, spinning a wheel and guess- ing the phrase. It is available as a counter- top, upright, cocktail table, and conver- sion kit.

American Technos featured WWF Superstars, a wrestling game that has already made it to the top of equipment polls. The game is offered in dedicated and kit form and stars eight of the most popular wrestlers today, including Hulk Hogan

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ak. Le ee Miter The most original booth was United Amusements, where the new NEC system games were shown in a glass-enclosed platform.

Take Ten’s Jane Adkins (I) with Ace Novelty’s Tom Capodarco and Rorie Keller.

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Operator Frank Rizzo with the Nintendo gang (I-r): Mike Minor, Pete Walton, Linda Weber, wall a and Chuck Arnold.

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and The Honky Tonk Man. All of the wrestlers are programmed with unique wrestling moves.

American Technos’ Block Out veers from the beaten path with a 3-D mind teaser. The player tries to hit various col- ored blocks with a block of the same color.

Atari wowed audiences with FourTrax, a four-wheel drive simulator featuring one of two motorcycles. Players were thrilled at the non-stop action.

Atari’s $.7.U.N. Runner is another driving game with polygon generated 3-D graphics. Set in the 21st century, players feel the power of a billion dollar racing vehicle racing at up to 900 miles per hour. The game features an ultra-sleek, futuristic ride-on cabinet.

The company’s Cyberball 2072 is touted as ‘‘what the future of sports will be.’’ It is futuristic football with all the key ingredients from the original Cyberball, with some new additional features. It’s a dedicated game available in a one- or two- screen cabinet.

Atari also showed Tetris, its universal kit game that challenges players to fit pieces of a puzzle together to build horizontal lines.

Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters is Atari’s science fiction-themed game with comic book-style graphics. It is available as an upright game or a horizon- tal kit.

Bally thrilled audiences with its latest pinball, Elvira, but the company also featured the video game Arch Rivals, which has proven to have great staying power.

Nintendo is proving its dedication to coin- op operators by introducing Super Mario III for PlayChoice long before it will be available for home units. Nintendo’s other PlayChoice releases are Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo Bowl, Fester’s Quest, and TMNT.

American Sammy, anew company that claims ‘‘we will be around forever,’’ in- troduced Task Force Harrier and Omega Fighter. Both are vertical kits with two- player interactive capabilities and eight- way joysticks. Task Force Harrier is an aerial combat game with up to seven attack weapons at the player’s disposal.

Strata Corp. of Arlington Heights, IIl.,

showed Golden Tee Golf to the delight of operators. ‘“‘Golf games seem to draw large audiences, and I like this one. It may be a little fast-paced right now, but I understand the company is making plans to slow it down,”’ said one operator. The game features 3-D graphics, three challenging courses, high fidelity digital sounds, and comes as a complete horizon- tal kit.

Romstar offered operators an array of kits, including Castle of Dragon, Cham- pionship Bowling, Rambo III, 50 Caliber, and Aqua Jack.

Jaleco raced in with Big Run, a driving game simulating the infamous Paris- Dakar road race in Paris. Jaleco’s moving cabinet allows the player to experience every rock and bump in the road. It is also available in stationary sit-down and upright models.

Jaleco also introduced Astyanax, a one- or two-player game set in ancient Greece, and Hachoo!, a kung-fu-themed game.

Capcom has brought the delightful movie ‘‘Willow’’ to the small screen of video games. Willow takes players on an exciting, action-packed adventure to a final one-on-one confrontation with the evil queen.

Capcom’s U.N. Squadron is a two- player interactive game using Capcom’s CPS Super Chip. Players face tremendous odds against impregnable fortresses, mobile ground-based aircraft carriers, and stealth bombers. The game is available as a horizontal conversion kit.

Tecmo showed World Cup ‘90, which challenges players to compete in the famous World Cup soccer matches. It has realistic offensive and defensive fighting for control of the ball, kick pop-ups, sliding block kicks, and jumping blocks on defense. It also has a JAMMA wiring harness for easy conversions.

Taito had a crowd around its Night Striker, a realistic driving game featuring a unique cabinet with glowing wheels. Taito’s Plotting is another game that has strayed from shoot ’em-ups and fighting. It is a game of elimination, demanding strategy in a series of carefully or- chestrated moves. The object is to systematically eliminate a formation of blocks by tossing their matching counter- parts into them within a specified time limit.

Taito has re-entered the world of golf with U.S. Classic, a horizontal kit. The game is for one or two players and has authentic landscaping, realistic wind and terrain effects, and state-of-the-art digitiz- ed graphics.

SNK offered Street Smart, in which players challenge each other to become the champion in a grudge match. It has such characters as Slippery Sam Santana, Tip- toes, The Wrench, and Crybaby Palermo.

The company also hit big with Super Champion Baseball, featuring batters’ and pitchers’ stats and the player’s choice of stadiums. Players can also choose from 12 teams. It is available as a horizontal kit with full graphics.

SNK’s Gang Wars has Mike the Boxer

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| United Amusements’ John Hibbs with NEC’s Carolyn Balkcom.

A-1’s Stan Pearson (r) with Steve Sweet of Colter Amusements.

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L-r: David Peters of Absolute Amusements, Diane Seibert, Kevin Tussell, and Ed Charmack. L-r: Marylin Hemple, Larry Turner, Nick Boden, and Tony Politi.

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and Jackie the Martial Arts Expert, who combine their skills to overcome six notorious and different street gangs. It is a horizontal kit. Sky Adventure is a flying- themed game that has players maneuver- ing planes around the screen.

Sega gave racing enthusiasts a thrill with Super Monaco GP, a racing challenge that’s also available with Sega’s ‘‘power link.’’ The game is available as a deluxe sit-down (with high-action total body im- mersion cabinet), upright, and sit-down versions. The power link allows more than one game to be hooked together for players to compete against each other.

Sega also showed its realistic golf challenge, Super Masters, which utilizes Sega’s System 24 mother board for ultra- authentic graphics. ESWAT is a new kit that comes with a complete circuit board and a JAMMA-compatible wiring harness.

Konami had three horizontal kits: Bot- tom of the Ninth, S.P.Y., and Crime Fighters. Operators were especially in- terested in using them to convert their Gauntlets.

Data East had three games to exhibit: Midnight Resistance, Super Volleyball, and Sly Spy.

Fabtek showed Dynamite Duke, while Irem showed Dragon Breed and X Multip- ly, a game in which the action takes place inside the human body. Frank Ballouz, president of Fabtek, will be taking over a position at Irem and working on licensing agreements with the company.

Leland, one of the only American video game manufacturers, showed its hit Super Off Road. It has a track pack that allows operators to change the tracks and add some new features. The company also showed All American Quarterback, a four-player game ina cabinet the size of a two-player game.

Yankee Games, the creators of Capcom Bowling, exhibited Grudge Match, a wrestling-themed game shown in a suite at ACME ‘89. The company also showed Coors Light Bowling.

U.S.A. Games, formerly World Games, introduced Hellfire, atwo- player interactive space epic available as a con- version kit.

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Surf’s Up Co. of Titusville, Fla., show- ed Urban Surfer. The game features a real surfboard mounted in front of the game. The player stands on it and ‘‘rides’’ the waves shown on the video screen.

United Amusements showed the TurboGrafx-16 system, which it has been working on with NEC since ACME ‘89. The company has a licensing deal with NEC (one of the 20th largest companies in the world) to adapt its home game system to coin-op use. United Amusements will sell the unit, the adapter kit, and credit- card sized games (TurboCards) that can simply be inserted to change the game. (The system was exhibited at the United Artists Theatre Amusements booth; the company is one of the partners in the ar- rangement, implementing the system in its theatre lobbies nationwide. )

There will originally be nine games from which to choose, with plans for five more before Christmas and even more in

1990. The first games include Victory Run, Legendary Axe, Keith Courage, Blazing Lazers, Alien Crush, World Class Baseball, Dungeon Explorer, China War- rior, and Power Golf.

Cabinets

Operators wanting new, quality cabinets to enhance their kit purchases had many to choose from. Dynamo has con- sistently been the leader in cabinet design, supplying cabinets to manufacturers for their games. Dynamo was out in full force with its Signature and Benchmark series of cabinet designs.

Knock Down Industries of Circle Pines, Minn., showed the VH-1925 Excaliber cabinet. It has an array of special features, including removable control panel, a plywood slide-drawer system, adaptabili- ty to either 19- or 25-inch horizontal or vertical monitors, and construction of durable plywood. It comes in black or white, woodgrain, and other colors on request.

Advanced Design & Manufacturing featured ADAM, its universal video hard- ware system. The cabinet can be com- pletely knocked down for saving space. It has a slide out drawer for easy servicing, a double rear access panel, and can be us- ed for one-, two-, or four-player games.

Grand Products showed it universal video system, touted by the company as ‘‘technology for the ‘90s.’’ It has 3/4-inch plywood with tongue and groove con- struction and is adaptable to 19- or 25-inch monitors. The cabinet also has the ‘‘works-in-a-drawer’’ method, rear wheels, and steel leg leveler plates.

East Coast Design showed its UV Series, with melamine laminated fiber- board, a universal color monitor, tubular steel inner frame, a nine-inch deep control panel, and an exclusive ‘‘lift and lock’’ slide out drawer.

M.H. Associates featured the MHA cabinet with black or white, waterproof, melamine-coated finish. It also has an ex- tra large universal control panel with pre- drilled holes, lexan shield covers, works- in-a-drawer, five year warranty on 12-amp power supply, extra large leg levelers, and two built-in cooling systems.

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Chazz, son of Sharp Image’s Chris Anderson, enjoys a ride while his babysitter Czech Ted Karasawa (I) of Pioneer Laser Entertainment with Bruce Higham of Diamond Time Udo (I) and Kiddie Ride viel s Joe DeMarsico salaaia Ltd., the software suppliers for Pioneer’s video box.

L-r: Bill Mullins of Mountain Service Corp., Hal and Phil Steinberg of Rosette, and Carmen Ricci of Grayhound.

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It can be used with 19- or 25-inch monitors.

Jaleco showed its unique Lo-Pro cabinet, which stands just four feet tall. It can be adapted to vertical or horizontal games and features standard JAMMA cables and connectors, a universal control harness to fit any one-, two-, or three- button game that uses one or two joysticks, dual speakers, and complete conversion capabilities from the front of the unit.

Pinball

The one question heard by more than one operator was this: ‘‘Why should I buy any new pins? Is there anything at the show that’s different enough to justify buying it?’’ The pinball manufacturers hope their product was good enough to induce the opening of some pocketbooks.

Without a doubt, the hit pin of the show was Bally’s Elvira. Operators waited in line to play this pin, which begins with the buxom Mistress of the Dark cooing, ‘*Ooh, let’s party!’’ Said one operator: ‘*Elvira should be a monster hit, no pun in- tended.’’ Another commented, ‘‘I like the little Boogie Men that bob and dance around,’’ referring to the three 3-D figures that gyrate when the music and light show begins. (By the way, Elvira appeared in the flesh to sign autographs at the Bally booth. )

Among the features are: spelling E-L- V-I-R-A lights the skull cave for three million potential points; all-new ‘‘jumper bumpers’’ for vertical action; flip-up targets for visual excitement; waking the three ‘‘deadheads’’ from their eternal sleep is rewarded with one million points; a winding ‘‘monster slide’’ and downhill- uphill ramp; an original musical score with Elvira, The Count, and Phantom Organist; and an operator-changeable backglass to cover Elvira’s cleavage, making it a more G-rated game.

Williams drew atypically large crowd; this time it was to see Police Force. The company is famous for coming out with pinball ‘‘firsts,’’ and Police Force has three of them. One is a moving police car on the left side of the pin. Once the multi- ball lock is loaded, the police car leaves headquarters and moves down a track. The

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locked balls are then released back onto the playfield.

Other firsts are the ‘‘unlimited million shot’’ up the center ramp and a ‘‘take the highest score’’ feature. In the latter, players have the opportunity to take the highest player’s score in a multi-player game by making two consecutive ramp shots on the last ball in play (or a single player can double his score). The operator-adjustable ‘‘hot sheet bonus”’ awards players increased scoring values, instant multi-ball play, an extra ball, or even five free games. ‘‘Another solid Williams pin; I’ll probably buy a few,”’ said one operator. Williams also exhibited its latest shuffle alley, Shuffle Inn.

Data East unveiled its ABC Monday Night Football, which features stereo play-by-play from the actual broadcast team of Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf. (The pin commemorates the show’s 20th anniversary on the air.) The playfield includes an actual disappear- ing goal post and ramp for extra points and field goals.

Other features include gold microswit- ches, the latest light board technology, and coin doors/validators from Coin Controls. ABC Sports will promote the pin at the beginning of every Monday night game. An operator had this to say about the game: ‘*Tt looks like a fun, simple-to-play pinball that should do well in taverns and sports- themed locations.’’

As for Gottlieb/Premier’s Bone Busters, more than one operator com- mented that it was the best pin yet from the company. The skeleton-filled pin has such special features as a ‘‘plunger skill shot,”’ which allows the player to get auto-lock for faster multi-ball play; two-, three-, or four-ball multi-ball play; ‘‘Liz’s Sur- prise’’: score from 100,000 to 900,000 points to help free the city of jogging

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skeletons and Old Mean One-Eye; operator-optional bonus time; new cabinet design; new flipper design and lighter flip- per assembly; new thumbscrew design; limited warranty for one year on all basic and machine parts, with 90 days for printed circuit boards.

Finally, a pinball by the Italian company Mr. Game, Motor Show, was exhibited at the United Artists Theatre Amusements’ booth. The pin features three integrated video games, taking players into the world of auto racing. They can test their skills on either Formula One, rally, motocross, or dragster gircuits. Messages appear on the screen, and universal handgrips provide a new level of control.

Jukeboxes

Jukeboxes remain a tough choice for operators: do they convert over to CD en- tirely, forsake them in favor of their tried- and-true vinyl boxes, or hedge their bets with combos? All three classes of operator were at the AMOA show, searching out the best product to fit their particular needs. (For the record, many operators said they ’re not switching over to CD just yet. Their reasons are two-fold: the cost, and the fact that their locations are such that the sound benefits of CD would be

. wasted, so why switch?)

Rowe International had plenty of new product to show off. The first box, CD Nostalgia, had its body built by Califor- nia’s Antique Apparatus. The new CD/video jukebox holds 20 CDs and 40 videos, while the reliable RoweStar 200-vinyl jukebox turned up with sleek new cosmetic changes.

Rowe’s new DanceStar offers operators a weapon against DJs and their dual turn- tables, namely, the ability to pump out continuous music. Operators hook a Hideaway box to a Rowe CD box for non- stop CD music. As one song fades out, another one begins, which is essential for dance clubs and discos where DJs rule the roost. The customer-operated DanceStar, said one operator, ‘‘will allow me to get some locations back that I lost to live DJs.’’ Rowe’s Joel Friedman said the company will produce some for test loca- tions before the end of the year.

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Outgoing AMOA president Clyde Knupp (second from |) presents award of excellence These weary exhibitors are Kyle and Virginia Vollenweider of Klopp. to Arachnid’s (I-r) Sam Zammuto, Bill Ward, and Marcio Bonilla.

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Frank Bundra (I) and Joey Bundra of AmeriGames with their AmeriDarts game.

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Rowe also exhibited its 100-CD LaserStar, the vinyl/CD ComboStar, and the Laser WallStar.

Rock-Ola has finally entered the all-CD market with its new Laser 2000. The com- pany’s Frank Schulz said, ‘‘I think this phonograph will put Rock-Ola back atop the hill.’’ Only time will tell, but some operators expressed optimism in the box’s future. The Laser 2000 has 280 watts of total output, an all-new compact CD mechanism that plays up to 100 discs, a standard $1/$5 bill acceptor with 400 stacker, and built-in bass, mid-range and treble equalizer controls, among other features.

Rock-Ola also showed its Nostalgia Model 1000 and CD/45 Combo Model 498CDX.

Carson City Manufacturing, the com- pany that made its first big splash at AMOA ‘88 with the SongBird—a jukebox housed in the tail section of a ‘57 Thunderbird—is back at it with two new vehicle-inspired boxes.

The Country Classic, with its pickup truck design, is made for truck stops and country-western bars. The phonograph houses a powerful NSM sound system, as well as 80 45 rpm records and 10 CDs. Customers are attracted by the flashing cab lights, clearance lights, taillights, brake lights, and headlights.

The Star Cruiser, meanwhile, has the same internal features as the Country Classic, but it’s designed for bars and restaurants with water-related motifs. There are constant cabin, stern, and flagpole lights and sequentially-flashing red/green navigation lights. The jukebox also features real mahogany toe rails, cabin sides, and transom. (Note: The two phonographs are now available with a 100-CD dedicated system. )

Pioneer Laser Entertainment enters the CD jukebox market with the Laser Juke CD Jukebox. The unit holds up to 54 CDs, for a total of 810 song selections. The songs are played in the order selected, and the one playing is identified by a four-digit number shown on an LED. Pioneer will also market special compilation CDs (and LDs), which contain 15 current hits, tradi- tional songs, and holiday songs.

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The Laser Juke LaserDisc plays two 30-song LaserDiscs, for a total of 60 music videos. A large screen monitor or TV for viewing the videos can be placed in a variety of locations, including the top of the unit. The data retrieval system allows you to see the most and least popular videos among paying customers. It will be available next spring.

The songs on both the CD and LD boxes are licensed through the British clearing house Diamond Time Inc. Bruce Higham, director of Diamond Time, promises 30 new titles a month for the LD. ‘‘Video jukeboxes are doing very well in Europe, but they haven’t done well in the United States as of yet,’’ Higham said. ‘‘With Pioneer’s unit, I expect things to change in America.”’

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Both the CD and LD jukeboxes are housed in a high-tech, black solid steel Square cabinet.

Pioneer also exhibited its video sing- along system, Laser Karaoke.

NSM-Loewen America highlighted its CD Fire, a 1,000-plus selection ‘‘HyperBeam’’ CD phonograph that mounts on a wall to do away with space limitations. The NSM changer never touches the CD itself; only the tray the disc is cradled in is moved by the changer, fur- ther lessening the chances for disc damage. The HyperBeam system lets the operator pre-determine the maximum number of songs that can be played on a disc before other patron-selecton music is played. Also, the 200-watts per channel CD Fire has a programmable background music mode.

NSM’s Rus Strahan reported good operator response to the CD Fire, and some comments from operators back him up. In fact, one operator said, ‘‘NSM is quietly putting out the best CD boxes on the market.’’ Besides the CD Fire, NSM displayed the Galaxy, Galaxy 2000, City CD/Combo, and CD Fire Stream.

Seeburg’s booth was abuzz with excite- ment over both its jukeboxes and the celebrity guests brought in to autograph pictures. Among them were actress Heather Thomas, actor Jeff Conoway, singer Jerry Vale, wrestler Big John Studd, and Gene Gene, The Dancing Machine of *“‘Gong Show’’ fame.

Aside from the celebrities on display, Seeburg exhibited its familiar Laser Music System jukeboxes. The Laser Music Classic nostalgia box, an all-CD affair, has 400 peak watts of musical power and built-in Amplifier Protection Circuitry. The Laser Music Model SCD-1A, SCD-1B, SCD-1C and SCD-1D all offer 60 CDs and over 600 selections. A par- ticularly attractive feature is the ‘‘internal light show,’’ wherein the lights dance to the beat of the music.

Deutsche Wurlitzer GmbH gave brows- ing AMOA attendees plenty of product to inspect. Besides the old standby, the nostalgia box One More Time, the com- pany displayed the CD Carnegie, CD Hideaway, Lasergraph Video Jukebox,

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England’s Music Hire Group showed the Music Master CD jukebox. A 100-CD auto change unit enables up to 2,000 or more tracks to be selected. They also displayed the Limelight VJB video jukebox, which houses twin VCRs in its new cabinet.

Another British company, Digital Disc Automation, showed two CD wallboxes—The Baltimore and The Brunswick—as well as the all-CD Laser One. This dedicated box has a variable disc capacity of 15 to 100 and a 300-watts- per-channel peak music mosfet amplifier.

Finally, Videobox Networks Inc. again displayed its Videobox, which combines laser disc technology with an automatic robotic stacking system. It holds 30 discs and utilizes two laser players to ensure no delays between songs.

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