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“Put-it-in-your-pocket reliability is the only thing that really counts!”
Ted Olson. President. Time Zone Game Centers.
Ted Olson is one of the “Atari People”
Operating seven modern
family entertainment cen-
ters in major shopping malls
throughout the San Fran- cisco Bay Area, Ted has
some practical comments
about profits and Atari.
“We run a mix of over 350 games — pins, table games and 150 of the latest videos from every manufacturer.
“In each center, 60% of our video games are Ataris...
Atari People. We’re playing your game.
Can earn — ., Who can ATARI’ ‘soi Innovative with new leisure products.
i i i.
“Because they give us con- sistently higher earnings. “Higher because there’s less downtime than with the other videos. Games can't be profitable if they're forever out of order.
“In our business it’s important to deal with companies who make ~ games that
“In the day-to-day battle ground of modern arcades, Atari's games have proven better — electronically and mechanically. And that means more profit.
“All four of our Indy 800’s, for example, have had only one or two board repairs in over a year.
“If there is a glitch, a fast over-the-phone checkout procedure with a service tech at Atari usually trouble- shoots the problem completely.
“Even some of our older Atari’s are still yielding good collections. After 38 weeks, Indy 800’s have grossed over $20,000. Jet Fighter in 15 weeks has collected over $1200. Some of the newer Games are strong too— Stunt Cycle over $1600 in 12 weeks and Outlaw over $1000 in 10 weeks”
Call your distributor for details on our new winners. Like Indy 4™ the 4-player version of Indy 800™ for smaller space needs. And the sensational new Tank 8.
While you’re at it, get the numbers on new Breakout™ and Quiz Show™ Or contact us at 2175 Martin Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95050. (408) 984-1900.
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convert your existing table into a special attraction with
PLAYMATIC BLACKUTE CONVERSION HITS
CONVERSION KIT #1—DELUXE
A. One set (including 2%%"" cue ball) first quality cast phenolic
balls—special made by Albany for Play Master. Luminous particles are impregnated throughout the balls during the manufacturing process causing the balls to faintly glow under ultra violet light.
. A custom made light fixture, UL approved, that accommodates four fluorescent type bulbs. This fixture, which is made especially for Play Master, has a switch enabling you to use two sockets for regular bulbs and two sockets for ultra violet bulbs, thus allowing a table to be played under regular fluorescent light or under ultra violet light without having to remove or change bulbs. Also, included with the fixture are four 48” bulbs, two regular fluorescent bulbs and two
F40BLB Blacklight Blue Ultra Violet bulbs.
. Four yards (enough to cover rails and playfield) of Mali billiard cloth specially treated to glow a subdued blue under ultra violet light but to appear green under regular light.
. Attractive triangle treated to react to ultra violet light. Special treated spot, diamonds, bridgehead and stick. Also included is one set of pocket liners processed so that they will glow under ultra violet light. One roll (60 yds) fluorescing tape to be used if you wish to make a temporary or fast conversion until the cloth can be used to recover rails and playfield.
make a location happy... order from nearest distributor or call
i
Play Master, Inc. - 5909 Paris Road - Columbia, Mo. 65204 - 344-474-8594
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features
Nims Conquers Image ProBleMs .ncsc ced ee ccaareameyeses 22
Robert E. Nims, New Orleans operator and distributor, talks with new managing editor Rick Dietrich about the industry’s image problems and some of the things he’s doing to combat them.
Quick Buck or Considered Judgment?................... 38
Operators can’t afford, Marshall Caras tells us, to let hunger override their concern for wise judgment, the good of their fellow businessmen and the image of the industry.
Respondez-vous; $ UVOUS Pialt ...3 6.15 avs eveadearene ess 46
Prolific staff writer Marshall Caras, in his second article of the month, urges operators to pull their heads out of the sand and respond openly and actively to industry problems.
departments
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Connecticut operator Neil Beresth talks frankly about the problems of running a route.
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Guest Columnist J.F. McNulty discusses problems with video games caused by inadequate power supplies.
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PLAY METER
Volume 2 No./6 June, 1976
staft
Publisher and Editor: Ralph C. Lally Il Managing Editor: Richard S. Dietrich International Editor David Snook Editor, Coin Slot Technical Editor: Perry Miller Correspondents: Marshall Caras Robert Wick Thomas Borden Timothy Jarell Tom Oliver Mary Claire Blakeman Circulation Manager: Carolyn Desmond
Production: Earl Dupre Typography: Skybird Typography
Photographic Adviser: Paul Sylvester Advertising Representative: Ralph C. Lally II
Credits: Cover photograph courtesy Audio Dynamics Corp., New Milford, Conn.
PLAY METER, June 1976, Volume 2, Number 6. Publishing offices 4136 Wash- ington Avenue, P.O. Box 24170, New Orleans, La. 70184. Telephone (504) 827-0320. Printing Offices, Franklin Print- ing Co., 209 Magazine St., New Orleans, La. Controlled circulation at New Orleans, La. Subscription rates: U. S. and Cana- da--$20; Europe and Japan--$35; Else- where--$40. Multiple subscriptions ( or- dered at one time): 2-9, $17 each; 10-24, $15 each: 25 or more, $10 each. Advertis- ing rates on request. Copyright 1975 by Skybird Publishing Company. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without express permission. The trademarks, PLAY METER and COIN INDUSTRY PLAY METER, are registered. The editors are not responsible for unsolicited contri- butions. Postmaster: Send form 3579 to Play Meter, P.O. Box 24170, New Orleans, La. 70184.
from the editor
© PLAY METER
A statement made by Joe Robbins, executive vice president of Empire Distributing Co., in our April issue pointed out the need for a breakthrough in the phonograph market, ‘something that will put more money in the cash box.’ I wholly agree with Mr. Robbins and would like to take the matter one step further and suggest that the breakthrough will be a coin-operated phonograph that can provide a heavy ‘disco’ sound and, at the same time, offer not taped music but full size [331/; rpm] album programming to the customer. This ‘phonograph of the future’ would be capable of offering both 45’s and long-playing albums.
Why albums? Because literally millions of albums are sold every single day. Without a doubt, the 18 years and over portion of the jukebox market is album oriented and seeks music that simply isn’t available on 45’s. The result is a disenchanted market. Proof is in the continuing increase in the number of disco locations where a location-owned, manually operated sound system pumps out LP sounds all night.
To many of you the idea of a coin-operated phonograph that can play normal size LP’s might seem a bit remote. Notso; the technology exists now. Seeburg has already produced a home stereo that contains a record playing mechanism accomodating 50 full-size albums. But that means only that an album playing mechanism exists. And in spite of its sophisticated digital selection system, the Seeburg home unit had a selection limitation. The player could select only a side of an album, not a particular song or cut on a particular side. My theoretical jukebox would definitely have to overcome this problem and offer the customer any particular cut or series of cuts on any of the 100 album sides available to him. In addition, the title display would have to display accurately and attractively all these possible selections. Is that possible today? Read on.
I was out recently visiting with a local operator friend who happens to be a connoisseur of sound. While I was at his house experiencing his novel system worth thousands of dollars, he showed me a brochure he’d received in the mail from Audio Dynamics Corp., New Milford, Conn., who has now, on the market, a turntable that enables the player to pre-select particular cuts [or a series of cuts] on any album side without touching the tone arm. [See this month’s cover. |
The principle is quite simple. The tone arm emits a tiny beam of light that is focused downward. When the light passes over the smooth surface at the beginning of an album or in between cuts, the light is reflected back up to a sensing device on the tone arm. If, for example, the third song on a side is selected, when the light is reflected back up to the tone arm the third time, the arm releases downward and begins playing there. At the end of the cut, provided the following cut is not selected, the light is reflected once again and the tone arm is triggered upward off the playing surface.
We now have a mechanism and a selection system for our new jukebox. But, what about a program display? Assuming we use the Seeburg mechanism, the title holder would have to display 50 different albums along with the songs on both sides of those albums. Although this could be done by using enlarged title strips, a more advanced and attractive mehtod of display could be employed.
I would recommend using a small TV monitor to do the job. The monitor could be operator programable to allow for additions and deletions from the program tape each week. A player could simply scan the artist or album titles. When he sees something he’s interested in, he pushes a button and more detailed information is displayed, the monitor showing the title and cut number of each song on both sides of the selected album. Pricing information could also be displayed according to the time length of a particular song. The operator could conceivably charge more for longer cuts, less for shorter. This program display system may seem sophisticated, but with the things I’ve seen this industry do with a TV screen, I tend to think it can be done quite easily.
Take all that I’ve mentioned, add in a credit system, hook up a decent amplifier, plug in a few good speakers, wrap it all up in one nice, neat, attractive package and you have the phonograph of the future, one that can play any one song out of a batch of 45’s and LP’s, one that offers the customer the ultimate in sound and selection.
How far in the future this hypothetical jukebox is, is anyone’s guess. All I know is that the technology exists here and now and that it can be made by any one of the phonograph manufacturers including some of the larger games manufacturers. I see solid state technology as lending itself to vast degrees of diversification at the manufacturing level of this industry. With so many video games companies about to enter the pinball market, who’s to say that they won't set their sights on the phonograph market as well?
We : may never see this hypothetical jukebox of mine but then again perhaps the phonograph maufacturers have already been working on the idea. Who’s to say? They won't, that’s for sure. So all that’s left for us to do is wait and see. For one thing is certain. Album music is selling like wildfire and the phonograph industry needs to cash in on that demand. If they’re buying it over the counter and listening to it on their favorite FM radio staions, you can be sure they’ll pay to listen to it come from a jukebox--if there was one...
We are happy to welcome Richard S. Dietrich to the staff of PLAY METER. Rick has newspaper experience and a M.A. in English from Tulane. Welcome aboard.
Sincerely,
Ralph C. Lally I, Publisher & Editor
Calendar
June 5-6 Music Operators of Minnesota, annual meeting. The Radisson South, Minneapolis, Minn.
June 11-13 Illinois Coin Machine Opera- tors Association, annual con- vention. French Lick Shera- ton, French Lick, Indiana.
July23-25 Montana Coin Machine Opera- tors Association, annual con- vention. West Yellowstone, Montana.
August 19-22 Michigan Tobacco & Candy Distributors & Vendors Ass'n. Boyne Mountain Lodge, Boyne Mountain, Michigan.
August 27-29 North Carolina Coin Operators Association, annual conven- tion. Charlotte, North Caro- lina. Site not yet selected.
Sept. 9-12 Florida Amusement-Merchan- dising Association, annual con- vention. Sheraton Towers Hotel, Orlando, Fla.
September 16-18 Music Operators of Virginia, annual convention. Hyatt House, Richmond, Virginia.
Oct. 14-16 West Virginia Music & Ven- ding Association, annual con- vention. Sheraton Inn, Clarks- burg, West Va.
November 12-14 Music Operators of America, Expo 76. The Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois.
November 18-21
IAAPA (Parks Show). The Rivergate, New Orleans, La.
“ H314K AP hd
o PLAY METER
Your idea of a survey of the industry [April, 1976[ is to be commended.
Regarding question no. 19: I feel that, with rising cost, the distributor depending upon his management ability has added more than a reasonable amount to the cost of the new games. Yesterday I talked with five suppliers of the same game in San Francisco, Portland, Los Angel-
es, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
All prices cited me differed from the base value, some as much as $25,000 plus freight. To a small operator not knowing where to buy this can be disastrous. Also distributors have a tendency to Say every game is great and overload an operator with too much mediocre equipment just to make an extra sale. Then they don’t stock parts to maintain the equipment.
The other comment I would like to make about the distribut- ing companies is this: many of them are both distributors and operators in the field, and that creates a definite conflict of interest with regard to other local operators. Some distribut- ors have been known to sell locations without the knowledge of the operator only telling him about it afterwards. Let operat- ors run routes and let distribut- ors provide distribution with all the responsibilities that are en- tailed.
Robert W. Hawkins President
The Fun Factory Sparks, Nevada
[Thank you for your comments and for returning your completed survey form to us so promptly.
You will be pleased to find a new
section in this issue devoted to straight talk about some of the better new games on the market. If your distributor cannot level with you, perhaps we can.--Ed. |
Up until your May, 1976 issue of PLAY METER, I have been very impressed with your magazine and think you have rendered an excellent service.
On page 34 of the May issue you have an article on the ‘world’s biggest, richest soccer tournament’ which describes a $25,000 Budweiser Tournament. Now gentlemen, you know as well as I that Tournament Soccer in Seattle, Wash. is giving away $375,000 this year alone. This includes six $25,000 tournaments and a $125,000 tournament in Minneapolis, Minn. Sept. 3-6, 1976.
You also featured a picture of the Leisure Sport System Bud- weiser table. It would be very interesting to see a tournament played on tables with the handles on the wrong sides. How did this ever get past you and into your magazine?
Robert B. Prescott President Valley Vending Service, Inc.
[The words ‘world’s biggest, rich- est soccer tournament’ appeared in the article, as they do in your letter, in quotation marks. The words are those used by Letsure Sports Systems to promote the tournament. They are not our words. We apologize for the confusion nevertheless.
We do realize that the Bud- weiser tournament, when held, will not be the richest. If you recall, we published on the cover of our Sept., 1975 issue a picture of ateam who won by themselves $20,000. The photo was taken at Tournament Soccer’s World Championship held in Denver last year. There, over $125,000 in prize money was awarded.
As for the wrongly set up table: someone must have had one too many “Buds” before assembling tt.--Ed. |
With each passing day the necessity of a contract between the operator and the customer
becomes more apparent. Please
print a general contract that can
be slightly altered to fit the
individual situation. I for one
don’t know exactly what should
be covered and would appreciate help.
Jimmy D. Cole
Cole Vending Co.
Weaverville, N.C.
[You will be pleased to know, Jimmy, that a feature article about location contracts has al- ready been assigned to one of our writers and will be appearing in next month’s issue. Thanks for the great suggestion. --Ed. |
I have read and reread Louis Boasberg’s article in PLAY METER of April, 1976. I have been in this business 26 years and it has always bugged me that the industry still, after all its work, is considered by some as a racket business. However, in the last ten years, as the cigarette ad says ‘we have come a long way baby’ in our public relations battle. I am myself preparing a small article to be used at association meetings because I think it is time that we stand up and take a bow for what we have done in terms of public relations in the last ten years. I don’t think we have won the battle but I think we have come a hell of a ways.
Anything that you can do to help with this article on how we can eventually win this battle I would appreciate.
Bob Rondeau Empire Distributing Inc Green Bay, Wis.
[As you know, the image of the industry has been a constant concern with us at PLAY METER. See this months article on Robert E. Nims of Lucky Coin Co., Inc. and A.M.A. distribut- ors, Inc. for one man’s approach to and success at public relations. --Ed. |
We enjoy PLAY METER very much. The last issue, carrying information on arcades, was very interesting. Our arcade is called Little Pleasures.
Shirly Garden Automatic Coin Machine Co.
Norfolk, Neb. (Continued on page 12)
THREE WINNERS FROM MIDWAY
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(Continued from page 8)
I would like to bring up for discussion a serious problem that has now entered the game busi- ness. Before I do I would like to say that I have 30 years experi- ence in the operating business and that I speak for the operators in the Long Island, N.Y. area. These operators own over 3,000 machines. They all have the same complaint.
In the past when a machine was. bought, game, juke, cigar- ette machine, whatever, it came with a complete service manual and parts list. As the machines became more sophisticated the operators found better mechanics to repair these machines. The storekeeper came to rely on the dependable service, and never was a machine out of service more than one day.
In the last year or two there has entered into the business a new breed of manufacturer. Some have the design engineer working in their garages or home basements--some have million dollar plants. Many have said, ‘Buy our machines and, if you have trouble, send the units back to the factory and we will repair them for up to a year, at a small cost or no cost.’ Almost all refuse to send parts lists or
Exidy*Chicago Coin
ARCADE
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M. © Ramtek °U.S. Billiards
FUN GAMES Bi Plane
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In the Midwest its: ADVANCE DISTRIBUTING COMPANY
2820 N. Grand Bivd. St. Louis, Missouri 62107] Tel: (314) 652-1600
*Leisure Sports *Meadows GameseN.
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ATARI Antiaircraft....$1195. RAMTEK Trivia ......
ATARI Steeplechase..... 895. U.S. BILLIARDS Shark . 1045 WCE Tatth os < oisscccsas-es 1045 COMPUTER Games Twinl395 FUN GAMES Tankers ..1145. COMPUTER Big Duke . . .945 ..1245. GREMLIN Playball...... 745
U.S.BILLIARD’S T.V. Survival Cocktail Table [like new] 595. Headquarters For NSM PARTS AND SERVICE
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repair manuals. Some even remove the manufacturers’ num- bers from some of the parts. Their argument is that somebody will steal their designs and sell the machines cheaper.
As buyers of these machines we have problems, too. When the board is sent back to the factory, the machine is dead for a week or more. Who know how many of these manufacturers will still be in business a year from now? And what happens two or three years from now? Some manufacturers at great cost to themselves send their engineers around the country holding class- es for operators on the repair of their machines. They have found out that Ford and Generali Motors became giants because their ma- chines can be repaired in every corner of the country.
In closing I would like to urge all operators to insist on complete service manuals, parts lists and repair instructions with each machine they buy. The time is now for you to do all your own repairs, to keep your machines working full time and to cut the repair bills in the future.
Harold Morris Argo Vending Corp. E. Meadow, N.Y.
ePleasure Games®
SPECIALS
Can’t Tell From New
In the South its:
3815 N.W. 36th Ave. Miami, Fla. 35142 \ Tel: (305) 638-3148
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questions|
22?
. are among those we do not ask in our First Annual Operators Poll. Others? We don't ask you who you are or where you are. We're just interested in the facts. We do ask you a lot about the way you operate.
We’re hoping to run the results of the poll in the July issue of PLAY METER. There's still time to get your answers in. So go get your April issue--you'll find the survey there on pp. 19-22--and take a few min- utes to fill it out.
You should be interested in the facts, too. The poll should give us both a better picture of the state of the industry, so we will be in a
= good position to evaluate
the needs of today’s op- erator.
22?
Do it today, and mail it to us at:
COM ITUSTRY P.O. Box 24170 New Orleans, Louisiana 70184
| If you’re not an MOA member
OF AMERIC
In an industry as sprawling, diversified and ever-growing as ours, a strong national organization is vital to the individual businessman’s survival and education. The Music Operators of America provides a national clearinghouse for important matters in the music and games industry. The MOA should be your organization if you are a music and games operator, distributor or manufacturer. Membership in MOA is a signal of caring about the industry and the fate of your part in it.
Call or Write:
Music Operators of America 228 North LaSalle Street Chicago, Illinois 60601 (312) 726-2810
Support MOA. She supports you.
coinman of the month
Getting down to business with a
New England Operator
Play Meter talks shop with Connecticut operator Neil Beresth
Neil Beresth, an operator in Wilton, Connecticut and incidentally a charter subscriber to PLAY METER, was almost born into the business. His father operated and still operates a cigarette vending route, and instead of going on to college when he graduated from high school, Neil went to work for his father. “The business was in the family. Instead of four years in college, I spent the time out in the field learning it at a very young age.”
Eventually he went into business for himself. He and Frank Gallo formed Cigarette Machine Service which, when they went into music and games as well, became Alllied Amusement and then, when they bought out the larger operation, C & L Amusement. “When we bought C & L,” Neil told PLAY METER, “it was much, much larger than our operation at the time. So we decided to take the name C & L and we've just maintained it through the years.” Today C & L Amusement is a thriving operation with more than 700 pieces on location.
Neil is married and has four children, two boys and two girls, their ages ranging from four to nineteen. He enjoys golf, but more he enjoys spending time with his family. “I’ve spoken to many old-timers,” he told us, “and one of the things that seems to be common is that many of them just didn’t have time to spend with their families.” Neil‘s
« father spent many a night, he says, out seeing to his
locations. “So I’m very, very conscious of being able to spend time with my family.”
>» We talked to Neil at the Music and Amusement
# Association [New York] annual convention held at
14
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“We have to know everything from soup to nuts. And if you don’t know, you just have to pay for the brains.”
the Stevensville Country Club, Swan Lake, N.Y. PLAY METER:How’'d you first get started in the business?
BERESTH: We were, at first, many, many years ago, primarily cigarette operators, and we worked very closely with a music and games operator. Then he decided he wanted to go into this other business. So we were in the music and games business; this was about fifteen or sixteen years ago. We didn’t necessarily want to be, but once you get your first location, you just have to continue. All of a sudden you start gearing yourself for it.
PLAY METER: You made a commitment then? BERESTH: We made a commitment. I must say it was probably one of our better moves.
PLAY METER: What motivated you to take the step? You were strictly in vending before? BEKESTH: Yes. I suppose it was a matter of protection. If I were to run into competition as far as my cigarettes were concerned and became subject to losing potential cigarette business, then I could compensate in games, diversification.
PLAY METER: You did it initially then to protect your investment, or your cigarette locations. BERESTH: Yes, and to round out the picture as far as the location was concerned. I had more flexibility then in terms of loans : your cigarettes bring you a very slow return, whereas with music and games in a half-way decent location, your return is much, much greater. And surprisingly enough, the outlay in terms of dollars wasn’t any greater as*a package than it was as a single operation.
PLAY METER: How did it work out? What did you
do at first, buy some games and juke boxes? BERESTH: Well, our first location was a diner in Norwalk, Conn. Then being in the cigarette business already and having had so much exposure in the area and knowing people quite well, we went around looking within our own route to place additional games and music. It’s surprising what can be done when you do get out of your office into the field. .Most: of us just don't have the time to get out and pursue new business, but when you do have an opportunity, it’s amazing what you can come back with in terms of additional placement of equipment.
This was the start for us; from one it went to two, from two it went to three and so on and so forth; opportunities presented themselves for the small operator. Over the years we looked at other routes; we took advantage and bought them. Today we're a substantial operation.
PLAY METER: Which do you feel is more profitable, the cigarettes or music and games? BERESTH: That’s a hard question to answer. It tends to depend on the method in which you operate. Cigarettes can be quite profitable, but you must have volume. I weigh it more in terms of problems in the building and ease of operation than in terms of profit. If I had the opportunity to sell my cigarette route or my music and games route, I think I would look to sell my cigarette route. PLAY METER: Because of the time involved? BERESTH: Time involved and service problems. PLAY METER:So you have to spend more time and more problems arise with the cigarette route? BERESTH: The cigarette route is much more detailed business. Not more money, just more details. It’s a harder dollar. Sure, the music and games has its problems--you still have location
“There isn’t an operator in the country who, if he didn’t visit every one of his locations, wouldn’t get sick to his stomach with some of the things he'd
see. “
“There’s plenty of work to do within your own I'm not
route--to hell with the new locations. saying, ‘Don’t get new locations.”
problems, for example--but I think it’s somewhat easier. I happen to like the music and games business. PLAY METER: Now for some more difficult questions: in your opinion, how much has the operating business changed in the last seventeen years, and how? BERESTH It’s changed considerably. Years ago the philosophy of the average operator was, ‘I'll buy, I'll build and look at it strictly from an equity standpoint.’ I found this very, very important, especially in a small town operation. But as you grow and as you increase your routes, you must be looking into the future. One of these days you're going to be in the position where youre going to want to sell your operation. Some large operators-- they may have sons, they may have relatives--may be able to pass the operation down from generation to generation, but what happens to the operator who builds a substantial route and ends up with nobody in his area that he can sell to? This, I think, is where the business has changed. Over the years, operators have disappeared in large numbers. The larger operators are getting larger, and the small operators, little by little, are disappearing. And I think the term equity may mean _ something different from what it meant years ago, if only because of the ability to sell. Growth is wonderful, but only to a point. PLAY METER: What about the overall picture then? BERESTH: It’s frightening to think that the (See next page)
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o PLAY METER
(Continued from previous page) operator can build a route looking to the future and then eventually end up having a problem selling the route. This is where I see a tremendous amount of change and it bothers me quite frankly.
Years ago when we bought a route, we’d say to ourselves, ‘Fine. We'll amortize over a period of time, we'll pay it off, and, when its paid off, we’ll have equity.’ Today if I look at a route, looking at the same route I may have looked at fifteen years ago, my attitude has to be completely different. The route has to generate profit in excess of amortiza- tion because of taxation--there are a lot of taxes. Years ago I looked strictly at equity, but equity, as far as I’m concerned, isn’t the key in this business any longer.
PLAY METER: What do you look for? BERESTH: Profitability. I need to earn a clear return on my capital investment.
PLAY METER: In the early days when you were expanding with your music and games route, how would you decide about buying a route. What were the prime considerations?
BERESTH: The first consideration was my ability to fit the new route into my current route with the minimum of overhead. The price wasn’t necessarily a factor.
We always looked at the route in terms of how it fit into our route, whether we could incorporate it into our existing operations and so minimize the labor with elimination of two buildings, two overheads and two insurances. So it might take us
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six months longer to buy it, we might overpay, what’s the difference? Otherwise we didn’t have the ability to grow. But I don’t think that way any longer. I'm not interested any more in equity. Today I have to have profitability. Because if I can’t sell my business in the future or if I have to sell it at a reduced price, I’m going to take my profit out over the years; I can’t be concerned about my equity. This is my view today. Years ago it was completely different. PLAY METER: Is the formula. for buying routes, in this particular area--I realize that it must vary from area to area--pretty much the same as it was years ago? BERESTH: I think the formula for cigarettes is basically the same. PLAY METER: What is that? BERESTH: With cigarettes it would be predicated on the number of cases, case volume, and your cigarette inventory. The equipment is a factor which is built into the case price, whereas in music and games you physically separate each piece of equipment, you put a worth on each piece of equipment and throw out the wood value plus so much for good will. PLAY METER: Does that same formula still apply when purchasing an amusement route today? BERESTH: I don’t think the formula has changed too much. The same basic formula still applies. But here’s where the problem lies: the buyer is trying to get more of his price in equipment than he is in good will because he can’t depreciate good will, so even though the dollars come out relatively the same, it’s the way it’s written in the contract. PLAY METER: But, to arrive at a total dollar figure, you consider wood value and average take. How do you arrive at the wood value of the equipment? BERESTH: Being in the business gives me a good idea of what the equipment is worth. Then you take two or three independent distributors and ask them to evaluate the equipment. You can’t get right down to the penny. And I think you're talking about a substantial route; we’re not talking about one piece of equipment, how much one piece varies. The evaluations though are sure to vary $50 one way or the other, so they should be averaged out. The key is the size of the route. PLAY METER: How do you negotiate the average weekly take? BERESTH: There are several ways of verifying take. You buy and your buy is subject to the net. You take a period of six to eight weeks. The locations show a gross; then you subtract your commission to give you net dollars, what you walk out the door with. You negotiate on net dollars because your commissions will vary. You also have to take into consideration the time of year you're selling or buying. You have a heavy summer business, or it’s heavier in the winter. In our area we used to take a tremendous drop in the summer, but right now business is pretty much the same throughout the year. PLAY METER: How many weeks do you usually go?
(Continued on page 55)
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operating
New York City
Legalizes Pinball
The New York City Council acted May 13 to legalize pinball machines. By a 30 to 6 vote the council agreed to let the games return to the city. They have been outlawed in New York since 1942.
Strong opposition to the legisla- tion was led by Democrats Leon A. Katz of Brooklyn and Arthur J. Katzman of Queens. The New York Times quoted Katz as calling the legislation “‘misguided. La Guardia
was right. It’s not worth $1 million to the city.”
It was under the La Guardia administration that the pin games
were banned from the city. La
Guardia managed to have slot machines outlawed very early in his
administration, which began in 1933; then he turned against the pins believing, according to Charles Garrett in his book ‘“The La Guardia Years,’’ that “‘the industry was dominated by criminals and the machines exerted a demoralizing in- fluence on youth.”’
It was not until 1942, however, that he managed to have the games outlawed. A January ruling. that year by Magistrate Ambrose: Had- dock that the mere possession of a pinball machine was illegal allowed the administration to seize over 3,000 machines in less than a month. Then in March the War
Production Board banned further manufacture of the machines.
Standing |from left to right) outside the New York City Council Hearing Room, Music and Amusement Association of New York President Irving Holzman, New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Elinor Guggenheimer, MAA Public Relations Counsel Danny Frank, and pinball wizard and journalist Roger Sharpe discuss the historic City Council vote legalizing pinball games for the first time
in 35 years.
Councilman Katzman _ brought back the old La Guardia argument to support his opposition to the measure to legalize the pinball machine. ‘‘On the surface it appears to be an innocent sort of device,’’ he was quoted by the Times as saying. “But it will bring rampant vice and gambling back to the city. The machine is easily changeable to a gambling device.”
But the police department by offering no objections has put its stamp of approval on the bill and Eugene F. Mastopieri, Democrat of Queens and the measure’s principle supporter was, according to the Times, greeted with applause when he rose to sum up for the _ pro- ponents. Legalization of the ma- chines, Mastopieri argued, would “raise money in a painless way.” The bill is expected to produce in the neighborhood of $1.5 million in revenue for the city.
Supporters of the legislation pre- dicted that Mayor Abraham Beame would sign the bill into law. Ben- jamin Chicofsky, executive direc- tor of the Music and Amusement Association, Inc. headquartered in New York, said, ‘““We don’t have any doubts that the mayor will sign it.’” Pinball author Roger Sharpe was more guarded in his optimism. “| think that we have the best chance we've ever had,” he said, adding that with police and Depart- ment of Consumer Affairs approval, the mayor “‘has no reason not to sign it.”’
As PLAY METER went to press, despite last minute objections by Councilmen Katz and Stern, Mayor Beame did sign the legistlation.
Sharp-shooters from around the state competed last month in the first annual Illinois Coin Machine Operators Association 8-ball pool tournament.
The ten-week statewide Illinois tournament reached its climax with the gathering of the best pool players in Illinois at the Jollet Holiday Inn. Eight hours of intense competition led to the crowning of Carl Condrack of Moline, Il. as the 1976 Illinois 8-ball champion.
Condrack displayed great com- posure under the pressures of com- petition, but the new champion was jubilant upon receiving the $1,000 grand prize.
The tournament was played on Irving Kaye pool tables. The Pocket Billiards Association of Illinois under the direction of Ward Brown ad- ministered the ten-week tournament and eight-hour championship play- off. Other winners included George Michaels, Bernard Gilreath, Pat Maxey, Abelino Marqueze, Roland Bettis, Paul Thomas and Butch Finney.
Virgil Davis was the winner of the bumper pool table drawing courtesy of Irving Kaye of New York.
The ICMOA is a leading state group of operators and distributors in coin machine games. In addition to this pool tournament, ICMOA sponsors technical sessions, an annual service school and an annual meeting. This year the group’s annual meeting will be held June 11-13 at the French Lick Sheraton in French Lick, Indiana.
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Rock Megastar Elton John ogles Capt. Fantastic, new pinball from Bally. Elton, Bally and MCA Records will combine efforts in a promotional campaign expected to surpass that for the sensational
Wizard.
Pinball Wizard to Launch New Game
Bally Manufacturing Corp., Chi- cago, is proud to announce the formal introduction of Capt. Fantas- tic, a four-player flipper game, with tentative mid-July delivery into the domestic market. Capt. Fantastic is the result of a nine-month project, spinning off from the spectacular success of Wizard.
Bally has been working closely with Elton John, John Reid Enter- prises (Elton’s management), Bout- well Enterprising (Elton’s licensing firm) and MCA Records and intends to promote Capt. Fantastic in much the same way as Wizard. But Bally feels the promotion potential is much greater.
Elton John is touring the U.S. this summer. Approximately 27 cities, all east of St. Louis, are involved in the tour which starts in Washington, D.C. in late June and runs through late August. Bally, MCA and Elton intend to present major media promotions for Capt. Fantastic in six to eight of the largest markets on the tour.
Though exact details are not yet available, the format will be similar to the Wizard campaign; for ex- ample, a large rock station in the area will be involved in giving away concert tickets, T-shirts and a grand prize of a Capt. Fantastic game.
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PLAY METER
(Continued from previous page)
These promotions will precede the selected concerts by seven to ten days.
On a national level, MCA and Bally are offering a Capt. Fantastic/ Elton John contest to everyone who enters by filling out an entry form. Forms are available in retail record stores throughout the country; over one million have been printed and are being put into circulation. In addition Bally and MCA have print- ed some 40,000 posters to be circulated in retail record shops and distributorships. Bally will put one into every game as well. Also available to the industry, through distributorships, will be the Capt. Fantastic promotional T-shirt.
Bally feels that every operator can take advantage of the Capt.Fan- tastic promotion. A record store can be solicited to co-sponsor a local promotion, and giving away Elton John albums, particularly ‘‘Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cow- boy’’ and T-shirts for playing the game can cause excitement among young people anywhere, game room or record store. Elton is currently enjoying ‘megastar’ status and there seems to be no end in sight.
Playboy Clubs Enterprises have approached Bally through their ad- vertising agency with a number of ideas now being firmed up. These range from a Pinball Olympiad at the Montreal Club in July to a celebrity competion among bunnies, athletes and entertainers in the three major market clubs, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
Bally has plans to assist its distributors and their customers in arranging any promotion relating to Capt.Fantastic outside of the realm of the major efforts the company Is directly involved in. Tom Nieman, promotional sales manager at Bally in Chicago, is in charge of this aspect of the campaign.
TROUBLED ABGUT THE FUTURE?
LET PLAY METER HELP YGU COPE
Atari Hosts Seminar
Atari has initiated a new series of training seminars for their distributor technicians. The first of the series was held at the Los Gatos, Calif- ornia, facility April 21-23 and was oriented toward a more advanced approach in troubleshooting printed circuit boards. Bernie Barringer, from Atari's Customer Service De- partment, was instructor for the three day seminar.
The students’ desks were set up like test benches with two students to a test station. Easch test station had a Tektronix 465 dual trace oscilloscope, Atari TF 101 test fixture, MGA or Toshiba black and white TV monitor, one set of Tank printed circuit boards and assorted tools.
The first day’s class consisted of practical approaches in translat- ing logic symbol and terminology. Oscilloscope techniques were also reviewed. The second day the students learned to count in binary and the uses of counters as dividers, motion, score multiplexers, shift registers, and the reading of Read Only Memory (ROM).
The third day included more
reading of ROM outputs. By reading ROM outputs students were able to put on paper what the TV was seeing. At the end of the day Allan Rosenberg, Atari's Marketing Ad- ministrator, presented Certificates of Achievement and hosted a drawing for door prizes. The first door prize, a Kurz-Kash Pulsar and Logic Probe, was won by Clinton Smith of Rowe International, Salt Lake City, Utah. The second prize, a Kurz-Kash Logic Probe, was won by Harold Johnson of Central Distrib- uting, Omaha, Nebraska.
In attendance also were Randy Kane of Lieberman Music, Minn- eapolis, Tom Johnson of Advance Automatic Sales, San Francisco, Rodrigo Fernandez of Circle Inter- national, Los Angeles, Jerry Thor- nell of Rowe International, Mem- phis, Rick Prater, Maurice Terry, Bill Merrell and Jack Gable of State Mu- sic, Dallas, and Joe Ribar and Gus Pantelopoulos of Mountain Distrib- uting, Denver. Future seminars for distributor technicians are planned. Atari/Kee distributors can contact Don Smith, manager of customer service, for more details.
Taking Uncle Sam
to Tax Court
“How the Small Taxpayer Can Take IRS to Court’’--that’s the title and subject of a new booklet showing how you can ask the U.S. Tax Court to referee your case if you have a dispute with the IRS that amounts to $1500 or less in add- itional taxes On income, estates or gifts.
Thanks to a little-publicized law (effective since 1971), the average taxpayer can appeal what some- times appear to be final and arbitrary IRS decisions. The U.S. Tax Court is a court of record and is not connected with the Internal Rev- enue Service in any way. In many instances, the services of a lawyer are not necessary.
The number of taxpayers exercis-
ing their right to this procedure is on the increase and settlements in in the taxpayers’ favor have already run into millions of dollars. The new booklet, based on Tax Court Instructions and Section 7463 of the Internal Revenue Code, includes specimens of the two basic forms needed for requesting a hearing, plus a list of 107 cities across the nation where your case can be heard.
“How the Small Taxpayer Can Take the IRS to Court’’ is available from Reymont Associates, 29-C Reymont Avenue, Rye, New York. The cost is $1.25 per copy.
A ° °
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Texas show gets poor turn out
The Music Operators of Texas held its annual convention May 21-23 at the newly remodeled Rice Rittenhouse Hotel in Houston, Tex. The annual event, which is moved from city to city each year in an effort to gain more attendence, had little success this year in attracting operators.
Commenting on the poor attend- ence, MOA Executive Director Fred Granger said that ‘‘the main prob- lem here is simply that there are not enough people on the association staff to adequately do the job. To make a show a success, you have to start early by sending out a lot of advance publicity material urging both members and non-members to attend. The Texas group just doesn’t have enough people to do the mailings and make the numer- ous phone calls that are vital to a successful show.”
When asked if the distance that must be travelled in Texas to attend a show was a factor in the poor attendence, Granger further com-
(Continued on page 26)
MOA Seminar Sets
Attendance Mark
The Music Operators of Ameri- ca’s Fourth Regiona Seminar, held Friday and Saturday, held Friday and Saturday, April 30-May 1, at the O'Hare Hilton, O’Hare Airport, Chi- cago, drew MOA members from every part of the country. The seminars, sponsored by MOA, are conducted by the Center for Conti- nuing Education and College of Business Administration, University of Notre Dame.
Eighty-six people, from as_ far away as Fairbanks, Alaska, attended the Chicago meeting. The seminar
consisted of lectures on both Friday morning and afternoon and Satur- day morning and workshops Satur- day afternoon.
Dr. William P. Sexton delivered the first lecture Friday morning, speaking on ‘‘Interview Skills: An Application to Hiring, Training and Evaluating Employees.’’ Other lec- tures were delivered by Dr. Salva- tore J. Bella, ‘“‘The Compensation Package: Wages, Fringes and Moti- vation’’ and Dr. John R. Malone, ‘Budgeting: The Key to Success.”
Dr. Malone, with Dr. Gerry Se- quin, co-ordiantor of all MOA regional seminars, has been with the program since its inception. Dr. Bella has lectured at three regional seminars and one Exposition Semi- nar, and Dr. Sexton has been with the program for three regional seminars. The seminar program was the idea of John R. Trucano when he was national president.
Dr. John Malone, right, discusses budgeting at the recent MOA Fourth Regional Seminar with [from left to right) Harold Eidelman, Johnny Davis and Ed Geddings.
While this year’s lectures received high ratings, members have indica- ted that they consider the work- shops with the opportunity for give and take between teacher and students, especially valuable.
MAA(New York) draws in excess of 600 to Catskills
A crowd in excess of 600 was on hand at the Stevensville Country Club, Swan Lake, N.Y., the week- end of May 15 for the Music and Amusement Association of New York 1976 annual convention.
The three-day gathering was highlighted this year by an equip- ment and supply exposition, some- thing that had never been tried before. To the delight and surprise of many the exhibition portion of the New York meet was a real success in terms of attendance. “‘We even drew in operators who stayed at local motels just to be on hand to see the exhibits,” Ben Chicofsky, managing director of MAA, stated.
Amid the meetings, symposium and exhibits, the weekend was filled with social events for operators and their families. There were enough tournaments during the weekend to make PLAY METER’s Feb., 1975 Coinwoman of the Month Millie McCarthy cringe.
Allin all the MAA annual conven- tion was a great success. Noted personalities in attendance were Roger Sharpe, author of The Pinball Book, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Nieman of Bally Mfg. Corp., and Mr. Bob Austin, publisher of Record World, and Mrs. Austin.
Hats off to Ben and company.
A Gottlieb flipper pinball is a valuable asset on location,
in trade or resale.
\ PLAY METER
Nims Beats Image Problem
Robert E. Nims has been getting some good publicity for the coin-op machine industry. Nims, chief exec- utive of Lucky Coin Machine Co., Inc. and AMA Distributors, Inc. of New Orleans, was the subject of a lengthy feature article in the Sunday Times-Picayune’s Dixie magazine. The article by Becky Bruns focused on Nims as a means of showing what is happening throughout the industry and the local executive’s 30 years of experience in the field made him an excellent center for the article. In his observations about the industry and his experience in it, Nims was able to project a very positive image for the industry.
Subsequently Nims appeared on Jim Metcalf’s ‘‘A Sunday Journal,” a weekly half-hour program televis- edon WWL-TV, the CBS affiliate in New Orleans. The Peabody Award winning program details life in New Orleans, its people, its places, its style. (See box for Louis Boasberg’s review of the Nims segment of the April 11 show.)
Born in Spokane, Wash., Bob Nims spent most of his childhood in southern Cal. After graduation from high schocl in 1942, he joined the Merchant Marine. His subsequent travels took him to New Orleans where he took a part-time job, at
$25 per week, with A.M. Amuse- ment Co. In just four months he worked his way up to route manager, but World War II ended temporarily his association with the firm.
When the war ended, Nims came back to New Orleans and back to work for Andrew Monte of A.M. Amusement. In a short time, however, the firm was sold and Nims decided to go into business for himself. He began his independent career most inauspiciously, almost disastrously. ‘‘| founded Lucky Coin Machine Company with three pin- ball machines purchased on credit,” he recalls. One of the machines never made it to location; it fell of the truck and was smashed to bits.
In 1958 Nims became a franchised Rock-Ola distributor and he formed American Music and Amusement Distributors, Inc., soon shortened to A.M.A. Distributors, Inc. Today a fleet of 15 cars and trucks Is used to handle the operations of Lucky Coin and A.M.A.
Lucky Coin, the operating firm, places music and amusement game equipment in locations throughout the New Orleans area. Currently the firm has over 800 machines in 450 locations. AMA distributes music, game and vending equipment in the
“ey
Robert E. Nims
by Richard S. Dietrich
states of Louisiana and Mississippi. Among the manufacturers § repre- sented by the distributorship are Automatic Products, Brunswick, Fischer, Midway, Rock-Ola and U.S. Billiards. Together Lucky Coin and A.M.A. gross over $500,000 a year.
Both firms are headquartered at 1711 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans in a building containing almost 25,000 square feet of space. The firms employ a total of about 60 people. In addition to storage space in the main office building, two warehouses are required to handle storage of equipment.
Nims married his attractive blonde secretary, Jerry, in 1953 and she has worked closely with him. since. Today, in addition to serving as a charming ambassador of goodwill at industry functions, Mrs. Nims handles all inside office functions for the five Lucky Coin routes.
Presently a member of the board of directors of the Music Operators of America (MOA), Nims has been an active member of the organiza- tion since 1964. He is also a member of the National Automatic Merchan- disign Association (NAMA) and several local business and fraternal groups.
Play Meter went to talk to Nims about the newspaper article and his appearance on television and about getting good publicity for the in- dustry. The industry’s image is obviously something he’s been thinking about for some time and something he cares about deeply.
Music and games, Nims pointed out, “is a relatively new industry, its beginnings in the early depression years,’ and it has been suffering from one of ‘the problems of new industry, ignorance on the part of consumers. ‘‘The information they have has been very sparse and basically incorrect,’’ Nims said. ‘There has been a lack of communi- cation with the general public’ on the part of the industry, ‘‘partly because people in the industry, particularly the manufacturers, have been too busy.’’ There has just been no time to concentrate on public relations. “‘Only in the last few years
has the industry been getting into this area,’’ Nims said. He mentioned particularly MOA and the state trade associations as means being used to convey a good image for the industry.
He sees the industry ‘‘on a threshold of what | feel will be tremendous days ahead."’ There will be a ‘‘tremendous boom,” he said in communications between the_in- dustry and the general public, which will help the industry forward.
Nims himself has been in at the start of that drive. He asked himself the question, he said, ‘‘How do | get to these people, meaning not my
Philadelphia, in New York City, where he was public relations director for Sturges and Associates and Emil Mark & Co., and in New Orleans, where, at the time Nims hired him, he was working as an account executive for the Byrne, Watts, Storey Agency. Presently, working closely with Nims, he handles all Lucky Coin and A.M.A. Distributors, Inc. advertising and public relations. In addition, he works on obtaining new business and maintaining customer relations for Lucky Coin.
One of Brooks’ first duties was to co-ordinate the first annual Greater
The story in Dixie and the coverage on televsion followed. Brooks got the green light from his boss to pusue the possibility of a story in the newspaper and, he said, “We went to the paper with thirty-five or more flyers about us and about the industry.’’ Terence P. Smith, editor of Dixie, said he'd think it over, and very soon the article was in the works.
The ‘‘Journal’’ appearance result- ed from an earlier contact. Jim Metcalf, a personal friend of Nims, was approached about the possi- bility of covering the 8-ball tour- nament. He was unable to do so
New Orleans TV Station WWL, the CBS: outlet, has its own ‘60 Minutes’ program, but instead of 60 minutes it runs 30 minutes, and instead of Mike Wallace as moderator it has Jim Metcalf. The program is called ‘Jim Metcalf’s Journal’ and the program has been good enough to win the coveted Peabody Award.
‘Jim Metcalf’s Journal,’ which appeared at 5:30 P.M. on Sunday, April llth, was devoted to flipper and other amusement games and was entitled ‘What Have They Done To My Pinball Machine.’ After this writer had viewed the program my immediate reaction was one of intense jealousy. | was jealous of Bob Nims of A.M.A. and Lucky Coin Machine Co. for having done such an exceptional job.
Being the local elder statesman of the coin machine business, | always thought that | should be called upon to interpret the industry, and was always under the impression that | was the best equipped to handle such
a program. However, no one could have handled himself any better than Bob did in defending the industry and describing the various flippers and TV games that were on display. Not only did the suave, debonair, immaculately dressed Bob make an excellent appearance on the TV Show, but the articulate manner in which he talked about the industry and explained how each and every game operated was above reproach.
The idea of the program was to explain and point out the change over and the difference between the
gambling type bingo games, that were operating in Louisiana before 1972, and the present beautiful, ingenious and intriguing flipper and TV video games that are operating today. The program was in color and the beauty and bright lights of the various stood out in all their glory.
The camera panned in on the playing field of a Williams’ SPACE MISSION with Bob playing the game. The skillful movement of the flippers and the intense action of the steel ball with accompanying sound made for a beautiful shot on television. After the flipper session, Bob Nims and his cute little secretary, Jackie Morgan, demonstrated and competed with each other on such games as Midway's GUN FIGHT, Atari's STUNT CYCLE, Ramtek’s TRIVIA, and Meadows’ FLIM FLAM COCKTAIL TABLE. This demonstration and competition before the TV cameras with descriptive commentary by the afore mentioned Mr. Nims was most effective to say the least.
The overall effect of the program was that it demonstrated to the public the change over from gambling type games to 100% legal equipment, and thoroughly demonstrated the tremendous amusement appeal that these ultramodern games have for the public.
| would like to say in closing this article that the one thing lacking was that the program was not on a national network. It was that good.
--LOU/IS BOASBERG
actual customers but people on the street?’’ His answer was to hire a full time public relations man. He wasn’t interested, Nims said, in someone who knew a lot about the coin industry but in somebody that knew about public relations. Thirteen months ago he hired Sheldon Brooks ‘‘to encourage a better line of communications between the coin industry and the general public.”
Brooks brought to Lucky Coin and A.M.A,. Distributors almost twenty years of experience in ad- vertising and public relations in
New Orleans Coin-Operated 8-Ball Pool Tournament. The tourney, won by Wardell Raymond (see Play Meter, Dec., 1975), was held over nine weeks and attracted over 3,200 players to compete at 32 locations. It also attracted extensive local press coverage. ‘‘A tournament,” Nims told Play Meter, ‘‘creates news. It creates a tremendous amount of interest among the general public.’’ The New Orleans Coin-Op 8-Ball was ‘‘the giant step | was trying to get from me as the Operator to the guy who plays the machines.”’
because of previous commitments but said he would try to get back with Nims later. He did and the April 11 appearance was the result. Because Masters Tournament cov- erage cut into the edition of “A Sunday Journal,’’ the program is scheduled to be re-aired sometime in the future, Brooks informed us.
Nims is very optimistic about the future of the industry. “There is a tremendous amount of interest in games,’ he told PLAY METER. ‘I'm just sorry that | don’t have as many years ahead of me in this business as | do behind. ”’
23
distributing
2 OW e A Mi Paul Huebech, general sales man- = ager of Rowe International, announ-
ced recently during an _ exclusive
0 0 () : a p PLAY METER interview that the new Rowe AMI phonographs for
next year will be entirely solid state and will feature a ten-button digital selection system.
“We built 1,000 Fleetwoods this year that were equipped with our new solid state digital selection system,’’ Huebech told PLAY METER. ‘‘The operators who bought and tested these new pho- nographs for us tell us that they are delighted with the new selection system. Reports of any trouble at all with the new solid state works have been surprisingly few,’’ Huebech said.
Rowe has been developing the new credit and selection system for some time now and, according to Huebech, waited until the new system proved itself reliable before putting it on the market. “The operators who bought the test models this year are screaming for more,’’ Huebech stated with pride.
The Rowe solid state phono- graphs for next year will be released this coming September. In addition to the solid state insides, the new Rowe jukes will undergo a cabinet change as well. PLAY METER was assured however that although the new AMIs will have a digital selection system, the current model wall boxes will still be usable with the new Rowe phonographs. From
all indications, it looks like Rowe Paul Huebech, general sales manager of Rowe /nternational, customers have a lot to look forward
discusses with PLAY METER Rowe’s intention to go solid state with to next year. its AMI phonos.
° Billiard Cloth Mali Style 820—Plain, Style 920—Backed
The Henry W.T. Mali & Co. Inc. Fabrics developed specifically for
25/ Park Ave. South
New York, NY 10010 coin-operated tables.
(212) 475-49 60
Toll Free: (G00) 223-6488 Available through your distributor.
Hanson Hosts
Tech Seminar
Today, when too many operators and servicemen are being stranded in the ‘digital desert,’’ the cry for educational ‘‘water’’ becomes loud and clear. Responding to this, Hanson Distributing Company was host to a second successful elec- tronic seminar on April 29 and 30 at their office-warehouse in Blooming- ton, Minn. Approximately 60 oper- ators and servicemen from a six state area attended and spent two days absorbing valuable information for basic troubleshooting and repair on video and electronic equipment.
Kush-n-Stuff representative, Robin Minnear, an extremely well versed teacher in the field, was the featured guest speaker. Minnear received his electronic education at Pierce College in California then worked at setting up an entire electronics service department for a an arcade chain before finding his way to his current position with Kush-n-Stuff. Under the direction of Bill Arkush, he now travels around the country giving seminars and working for the sales and promotion departments of the company.
During the two days of the seminar, Minnear covered the basics of reading schematics to the use of various electronic diagnosing equipment. In addition he explained the much misunderstood monitor and proved it to be one of the simplest components of the elec- tronic games. Class members found that instead of being perplexed by a lot of ‘“mumbo jumbo,”’ they were actually learning many helpful de- tails.
Robin also took the opportunity during the seminar to introduce the first video logic textbook of its kind, now available to operators and servicemen. The book covers all facets of video logic components through Phase II games and could be a virtual lifesave for the service technician. Although the textbook was written primarily for the be- ginner, even the most experienced technicians will find it a valuable cross reference source.
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Kush-n-Stuff representative Robin Minnear explains monitor to interested technicians at Hanson seminar.
Dave Rapacz, Hanson Distribu- ting’s electronic wizard, took over the podium for a short time to give service tips on malfunctions that are the most common, yet simplest to fix. Dave explained that many times, if the serviceman is aware of these procedures, much time and money can be saved in preventing disas- trous down time. He also explained that he welcomes calls or visits from
operators and their servicemen when problems do arise.
Pro-Foosball Player and Vice President of Hanson Distributing, Bill Sumption, was on hand during break time for a service school and exhibition on the Tournament Soccer foosball table. In addition, several other pieces of equipment were on display for operator inspec- tion.
C.A. Robinson Kicks Off Bi-Plane 4 Promo
Fun Games has begun barnstorm- ing a nationwide marketing program for their Biplane 4 just in time for it to peak during the summer arcade season.
The Oakland-based game comp- any’s top three sales executives recently landed at Los Angeles distributor C.A. Robinson to intro- duce the program. The eight-week promotion, through interested dis- tributors, will offer many prizes to operators.
Any operator who plays a Biplane 4 and fills out a ticket for a drawing will have a chance to win a Honda motorcycle, tape recorder, or other valuable prize. Distributors will be provided free T-shirts, promotional Biplane 4 banners, buttons, and balloons.
Oberto Alvarez, president of Fun Games, stressed that the company will make only 350 Biplane 4's for the world market, regardless of the demand. This will help keep the resale value high for the opertor, he explains.
The price of a new Biplane 4 is approximately $5,000 to operators, making it one of the highest priced games yet to be introduced for the arcade market, close behind Atari's Indy 800, Tank 8 and four-player Indy 4. Unlike Atari's products, which feature a horizontal video screen, Fun Games’ Biplane 4 has a vertical image screen and takes up less space.
Besides Alvarez, other Fun Games executives on hand for the Robinson conclave were Pat Karns and Ken Anderson who recently ‘“wing-walked”’ from Chicago Coin’s top marketing position to the Bi- plane 4 firm’s marketing depart- ment. Both Karns and Anderson believe more needs to be done for the operator at the grass roots level in the marketing arena. The promo- tional banners, balloons, and buttons are a sample of what they hope will be successful for the operator beyond the sale of the game in the distributor’s showroom.
(See next page)
HALIW AV id
i) on
PLAY METER
Put Pete On Your Marketing Team
|
j
Peter J. “Pete” Petropoulos
Add successful sales techniques that will
build profits quicker— Pete will cut through
the red tape and produce!
Expert In Vending, Music & Games, Military, Fast Foods
and OCS
Successful sales consultant work
with vending machine manufacturers and product suppliers.
International Sales Marketing & Management Consultants
Penthouse Two 1340 South Ocean Blvd. Pompano Beach, FL 33062 305/942-8054
aay
Left to right, Ken Anderson, Fun Games President Oberto Alvarez,
L.A. operator Harry Altman, and Pat Karns, also of Fun Games,
inspect the new Bi-Plane 4.
(Continued from previous page) PLAY METER asked Alvarez a touchy question: ‘‘What if a Biplane 4, with its high initial cost, turns out to be a lemon for a_ particular operator?”’ After all, every operator realizes that no game is successful at every location, and even the best games can have their share of lemons on the production-assembly lines.
‘We will do what’s necessary to make the operator happy,’’ Alvarez replied. ‘‘We must back the opera- tor, for without the operator, we are
—nothing.”’
“\Nould this extend to a satisfac-
tion or money-back guarantee?”’ PLAY METER queried.
Alvarez said he realized that the distributor must have some say in that but he stated his belief that, if it came to that disappointment, which he did not anticipate, he would provide the necessary credit to any distributor needing to make such an adjustment.
The first two Biplane 4 four- player dogfight games were pur- chased in the Los Angeles area by operators Chip Johnson (for King Pin Lanes in West Los Angeles), and Ron Rameson (for Golfland Arcade in Sherman Oaks).
(Continued from page 21)
mented, “‘| have seen operators travel 500 miles and more to attend other state association conventions. This is not to say the distance isn't a factor but | don’t think it is a major factor and it is certainly not an insurmountable problem.’
On the matter of distance, one convention goer suggested that the state be divided into three or four geographic areas. Each area could establish its own sub-association and hold its own meeting in a central city within that area.
The Texas show was poorly attended not only by operators and members but by exhibitors as well. During the first two days of the show, fully one-third of the exhibi- tion booths were completely vacant. One exhibitor commented that this was the first state show he’d been
to where exhibitors didn’t even show up.
Poor attendance aside, the con- vention had all the makings for a good show.The convention pro- gram was filled with guest speakers, round table discussions on methods of operation, and even seminars on pinball and how to buy records.
Among the courageous and no- table exhibitors who were there were Project Support Engineering with their new game Knights in Armor, Innovative Coin Corp. with its air-to-air combat game Spitfire, Abloy Inc., Texas Seeburg distrib- utors H.A. Franz & Co. and O’Connor Distributing Co., Rowe International, D & R_ Industries, Wildcat Chemical Co., Amutech Ltd., Amiel Industries, and Gulf Coast Distributing Co.
Critic’s Corner
Atari's 7Tank 8 and Sega’s Nin- tendo piece Wi/d Gunman are without a doubt the two most sensational arcade games to hit the market this season. Both games are designed to take in 50 cents and more per play and both games carry a rather hefty price tag.
Tank 8 is a beefed-up version of the all time great Kee Games’ Tank.Up to eight players can play at the same time in an every man for himself shoot-out or in teams attacking each other from opposite sides of the playfield. Whether two or eight people are playing, 7ank 8 delivers sheer excitement from start to finish. A true arcade piece in every sense of the word, 7ank @ is recommended for only large arcades and high-volume locations.
Sega of America recently negoti- ated successfully for exclusive U.S. distributing rights to Wi/d Gun- man, a product of Nintendo Co., Kyoto, Japan. At the recent Music and Amusement Association of New York exhibition, Wi/d Gun- man was the only game that was played continuously throughout the weekend.
Wild Gunman, Japan's answer to "Westworld,’’ pits the player a- gainst three different life-size gun- fighters in a face-to-face shoot-out. It’s all done, of course, with the use of a rather advanced projection system. On cue, the player tries to draw and shoot before his two- dimensional opponent does. If the player is fast enough, the bad guy keels over and dies. If the player is
Play Meter Plays The New Games
After all the positive mail we received from our readers in re- sponse to the article ‘“PLAY METER Plays the New Games” in our Nov., 1975 issue, we thought it a good idea to continue that kind of coverage and to do so on at least a semi-regular basis.
We at PLAY METER make it a point to visit the local test locations as often as possible in an effort to gain first-hand information on games prior to their actually being produced. The next best place to observe newly released games or game prototypes is the trade exhibi- tions. PLAY METER was on hand at
the recent New York and Texas exhibitions and had an opportunity to experience some of those games that have just been or are just about to be released.
In keeping with our belief that our readers are at least as interested in knowing what was at such gather- ings as who, we want to give you some stright talk about the new games. We hope you will continue to value this practical approach to trade journalism and we invite you to share your opinions of the new games with us. Write to “Critics Corner’, c/o PLAY METER, P.O. Box 24170, New Orleans, La. 70184.
too slow on the draw, he gets shot by the bad guy, who tells the player that he lost and defiantly twirls his own gun back into his holster. The idea is to gun down success- fully all three bad guys in success- ion. The only problem is that each bad man js faster on the draw than
ATARI
Atari’s TANK 8
the one before him. Wi/d Gunman is a refreshing new piece that offers a new twist in player involvement. It should be a winner in any arcade.
Among the more moderately priced video games recently on display are Midway’s SEA WOLF,
Ramtek’s H/T ME, Exidy’s DEATH RACE 98, Project Sup- port Engineering’s KN/GHTS /N ARMOR, and three pieces from Atari, STUNT CYCLE, OUTLAW, and QU/Z SHOW.
SEA WOLF and STUNT CYCLE were actually released some time ago. Both are doing well, proving to be excellent pieces. SEA WOLF, a torpedo game, provided the player with a very realistic periscope to sight and aim at ships moving across a video screen. The player fires at will at the “enemy” vessels in an effort to sink as many as possible within the alloted time. The ships move across the screen at varying speeds, and the player’s timing has to be precise in order to hit the ships and miss the mines that move randomly across the screen as well. A “beat the highest score” feature, which can be re-set by the player, serves as an incentive factor in SEA WOLF. The game approaches the greatness of Midway's last winner, GUNF/GHT.
Atari’s STUNT CYCLE* made its first appearance at the Cherry Foretagen stand at the ATE in London this past January. The bus-jumping, motorcycle game, has a set of stationary handlebars complete with realistic grips with functional throttle. The object is to jump the cycle over a line of buses. Each time the player successfully jumps the buses, another bus is added. The “rider” continues j ump-
(Continued on page 41)
* For further information and photo, see ‘‘New Products,’’ page 42 of this issue.
oe we
.
nal -~
27
NSM offers great opportunity
Due to the rising demand for our coin operated phonographs | we are planning to start a manufacture in the United States. Preferred location to be the East coast or Great Lakes area
also for the central service center.
For this purpose we would like to cooperate with an established American firm in the coin machine industry with the necessary available manufacturing experience and qualified management.
The kind of cooperation is open for negotiation — we will consider all reasonable suggestions (manufacture under licence, joint venture... .)
Replies of interested companies will be kept strictly confidential.
Write or call
Ullrich D. Schulze NSM-Apparatebau GmbH & Co. KG Alzeyer StraBe 51 | 6530 Bingen 11 | WestGermany | 4] Phone 6721-15202 | ~ Telex 04-2222
Top 20 Country
12 WHAT GOES ON WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN Ronnie Milsap RCA PB 10593 23 ONE PIECE AT A TIME Johnny Cash Columbia 3 10321 35 I'LL GET OVER YOU . Crystal Gayle United Artists XW/81 Y 44 AFTER ALL THE GOOD IS GONE Conway Twitty MCA 40534 5 8 DON'T PULL YOUR LOVE/THEN YOU CAN-TELL ME GOODBYE Glen Campbell Capitol 4245 6 7 HURT/FOR THE HEART Elvis Presley RCA PB 10601 710 WALK SOFTLY Billy Crash Craddock ABC Dot DOA 17619 815 YOU'VE GOT ME TO HOLD ON TO Tanya Tucker MCA 40540 9 13 EL PASO CITY Marty rabbins Columbia 3 10305 10 11 LONELY TEARDROPS Narvel Felts ABC Dot DOA 17620 11 14 STRANGER Johnny Duncan Columbia 3 10302 12 1 MY EYES CAN ONLY SEE AS FAR AS YOU Charley pride RCA PB 10592 13 16 SHE'LL THROW STONES AT YOU Freddie Hart Capitol 4251
1421 ALL THESE THINGS Joe Stampley ABC Dot DOA 17624 15 17 1.0.U. Jimmy Dean Casino GRT 062 16 19 THE DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN Dave & Sugar RCA PB 10625
17 20 SUSPICIOUS MINDS Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter RCA PB 10653 18 22 YOUR PICTURE IN THE PAPER Statler Brothers Mercury 73/85 19 23 I'D HAVE TO BE CRAZY
Willie Nelson Columbia 3 10327 20 6 WHAT I'VE GOT IN MY MIND
Billie Jo Spears United Artists XW/64 Y
A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN RFT Music Pub. HURT (Miller, ASCAP) Corp. (RFT, 1)
| NEED TO BE IN LOVE Richard Carpenter
Alphabetical Listing
88 MORE, MORE, MORE Gregg Diamond (Buddah/Gee Diamond, ASCAP)
Top 20 Soul
1 1 KISS AND SAY GOODBYE The Manhattans Columbia 3 10310 2 2 LOVE HANGOVER Diana Ross Motown M 1392F 3 3 GET UP AND BOOGIE Silver Convention Midland Intl. PB 10571 (RCA) 4 4 YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE Candi Staton Warner Bros WBS 8181 § 9 TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER [GIVE UP THE FUNK] Parliament Casablanca NB 856 6 7 DANCE WIT ME Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan ABC 12179 7 8 [WANT YOU Marvin Gaye Tamla 54264F(Motown)} 8 5 MISTY BLUE Dorothy Moore Malaco M 1029 (TK) 912 OPEN Smokey Robinson Tamla T 54267F (motown!) 10 10 I'LL BE GOOD TO YOU Brothers Johnson A&M 1806 11 15 BARETTA’S THEME: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE SPARROW Rhythm Heritage ABC 12177 12 14 MARRIED BUT NOT TO EACH OTHER Denise LaSalle Westbound WT 5019 (20th Century) 13 16 FRIEND OF MINE Little Milton Glades 1734 (TK) 14 6 MOVIN’ Brass Construction United Artists XW/75 Y 15 18 THAT'S WHERE THE HAPPY PEOPLE GO The Trammps Atlantic 3306 16 11 DISCO LADY Johnnie Taylor Columbia 3 10281 17 23 SOPHISTICATED LADY Natalie Cole Capitol P 4259 18 17 THIS IS IT Melba Moore Buddha BDA 519 19 13 BORN TO GET DOWN [BORN TO MESS AROUND} Muscle Shoals Horns Bang B 721 20 19 !T’S COOL The Tymes RCA PB 10561
STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS ry Simon & P. Ramone (Paul Simon, )
AFTERNOON DELIGHT Milton Okun (Almo/Sweet Harmony/Hammer and MOVIN’ Jeff Lane (Desert Moon Ltd./ 9 BMI) wvssssssessseeesttessserttteeerennerestereeresennastenis 65 (Cherry Lane, ASCAP) ooo... eect 3] _ Nail/Landes-Roberts, ) nseeteesseesssees 6 Jeff-Mar, BMI) ss teach iatde abot a 21 SWEET LOVE James Carmichael & The ALL BY MYSELF Jimmy lenner ee a NEVER GONNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN Commodores (Jobete/Commodores, ” (CAM. /ULS.A., BAAN) 00. cccccsccreeeetsenene 73 ¢ Meee aoe aes te lave Wa TE meinen ‘Jimmy lenner. (C.A.M./U.S.A., BMI) ...... 25 ASCAP) sessnsssnngenasssseeggnnanucageennengngessnssssss BARETTA’S THEME: KEEP YOUR EYE ON hee ‘ile, BMI) 98 NUMBER ONE Billy § chin SWEET THING Rufus (American THE SPARROW Steve Bari & Michael On Mavis (Groovesville, seseneseeeees Combine i)” wan ip Young 91 Broadcasting, ASCAP) ........... es 60 Omartian (Leeds/Dutchess, ASCAP) deyenais 24 aor Widenmann & Herron (Plainview, NUTBUSH ‘ LIM SHS SNES b SABSANES SU SEARS SAN ANS ASS TAKIN’ IT TO THE STREETS Ted BIG FOOT J.C.P.1. (Cascargo, BMI) ........ 53 ge age ng pe Bey aoa eo basaie CITY LIMITS Bob Seger & Templeton (Tauripin Tunes, BMI) ........ 27 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Roy Thomas Baker IT pees es pe eo a usic) 57 Punch Andrews (Unart/Hug, BMI) ........ 92 TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN Steve Milter CTRIAGE, ASAP) vncnsssrensmasatirntssivn 20 TOA Lane, ASCAP) ton OKUNgy_-—CONE PIECE AT A TIME Charlie Bragg & Bale, ASCARI ncscocconimcosamivemens 42 BOOGIE FEVER Freddie Perren (Perren a ee Sak Ss ee Bart Pits Sais: BME) cassasesrcncaroncon 66 TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER (GIVE Vibes/Bullpen, ASCAP/BMI) ............... 4 SEEING EACH OTHER AGAIN: — ONLY 16 Ron Haffkine (Kags, BMI) ........ 36 UP THE FUNK) George Clinton (Malbiz C'MON MARIANNE Mike Curb Gordon (Irving, BMI) oo... 76 RAIN, OH RAIN Glen Frey (Frank Share/ By es TNS cnceisnitvericcntunnaeatammtorin 38 (Saturday/Season’s Four, BMI) ............ 84 | WANT TO STAY WITH YOU David Big Shorty, ASCAP) o...ccccccccccccsseescseeee 100 THAT‘S WHERE THE HAPPY PEOPLE GO COME ON OVER John Farrar (Casserole/ Kershenbaum (Irving, BMI) oo... 83 RHIANNON (WILL YOU EVER WIN) arin PRE ae NS TS I MINA DOING socsicet ecpesiteasink oxsssineacnsumtsensiens 68 “ RSS ie A. |: UOC AREY: NENG “Se ERAT HOMIE ' : WANT YOU L f Fleetwood Mac & Keith Olsen CRAZY ON YOU Mike Flicker | Thee oe preset = eee (Rockhopper, BMI) —o...ccccssssssssssssssseevee 10 THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN John (How About Music, CAPAC) .........00000... 47 LL B GOOD TO YOU Quincy Jones RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM Allcock (RSO, ASCAP) on. 43 DANCE WIT ME Rufus (MoCrisp, ASCAP) 44 (Kidada/Gouldris, BMI) oon csescsoe 33 Pierre Tubbs & Vince Edwards (Unart/ THE LONELY ONE Prod, not listed (Brent, DECEMBER 1963 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) KISS AND SAY GOODBYE Bobby Martin BNE, BIN, ictsccmateeninnnctiesaiaetene VS BME) osesrrreserssesssesenssnnnnnnnnrresteeennnnnsennarss seen 1 Bob Gaudio (Seasons/Jobete, ASCAP)... 19 (Nattahnam/Blackwood BMI) ad aie icietod ROCK AND ROLL LOVE LETTER Colin a la OF YOU Paul Davis (Web IV, 97 DISCO LADY Don Davis (Groovesville, ie Frechter (Ackee/Andustin, ASCAP) ....... 3g BMD) eecsee resect teste te cece ects teens tee eeeaeseeneenenns Mi, Conquistador, ASCAP) ............. ig «SET HGR IN Bob Rene (Micsong, ASCAP) 46 area a coeaae eae * / TIL CAN MAKE IT ON MY OWN DON’T PULL YOUR LOVE/THEN YOU CAN ee eee (A BMI) © USIC Brian Wilson | Billy Sherrill (Algee/Altam, BMI) ....... 95 TELL ME GOODBYE Dennis Lambert & Tony cotti ( oves & Fishes, B ) Kel wees 16 BE GRMN: | aren cntensinnaacyaaauvacn Ny qqanenuassaess lars eaeeiegs THIS 1S IT Van McCoy (Warner/Tamerlane, Brian Potter (ABC Dunhill/Acuff-Rose, LONELY NIGHT (ANGEL FACE) SARA SMILE Christopher Bond, Daryl Hall BMI) 90 CLT RL a alee alate 96 Daryl Dragon & Tony Tennille & John Oates (Unichappell, BMI) ........ 10 gee ees DON’T STOP IT NOW Mickie Most (Don Kirshner, BME) oo... ccs 32 SAVE YO KISSE M Hill TODAY‘S THE DAY George Martin (Finchley, ASCAP) ooocc.cccccccccccccccccessecseesee 49 wet age a Johnny Morris - fsivy a. rea a be e Tene buy i ial ve (Warner Bras., ASCAP) o...cccccccccccecceeces 52 DREAM ON Adrian Barber (Daskel, BMI) 41 ORAS 5 TEI secaciactosceec nats aceeceasnaeee a ' TRYIN’ TO GET THE FEELING AGAIN ANNON Cash d West ‘i : DREAM WEAVER Gary Wright (Warner he eer me Pate CIUneNe aes ie One S Reeuiteme co we 14 GEks ROGAN Sade ar atest eas ASE | ta aeeaes aaa maine pa anaes hr mag inte at Sore Z el genes? able FOOLED AROUND AND FELL IN LOVE 37 LOVE IN THE SHADOWS Neil Sedaka (Don SHOUT IT OUT LOUD Bob Ezrin (Cafe TURN THE BEAT AROUND Warren Schatz Alan Blazek & Bill Szymczyk (Crabshaw, Kirshner/Kirshner Songs, BMI/ASCAP) 22 Ce. Seat ee ASCARY By 6 PRRCRONIR DME accesses sac const aesicinve cca 63 at” RRS Se aia Maintain, 9 LOVE IS ALIVE Gary Wright (Warner yse ran bee Music - 7 nee UNION MAN Steve Cropper (Flat River, FOOL FOR THE CITY Nick Jameson aus ae Racal & soabinwnee OE TORT CELT TT RET 30 SHOP AROUND The Captain and Toni | |: SE eee ee entangle TE RENNIE 39 (Knee Trembler, ASCAP) 2220... 77 . ee A arg Wit OUT YOu Tennille (Jobete, ASCAP) 0.2.0... 13 WELCOME BACK Steve Barri & John FOOL TO CRY The Glimmer Twins dtc takin ean 56 SHOW ME THE WAY Peter Frampton Sebastian (John Sebastian, BMI) .......... 7 (Promopub B.V., ASCAP) oo... 23 MAKING YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE. (Almo/Fram-Bee Music Ltd., ASCAP) ... 17 WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO (Ahmet FRAMED Lou Adler (Quintet/Freddy Janna Merlyn Feliciano & Charles SILLY LOVE SONGS Paul McCartney Ertegun (Jobete, ASCAP) ..............--.ss 70 Bienstock, Dr aie tc heel evenciiitis atric 89 Rie CBr, BARE) ccc ccnssccicncontcrcncsmesniviernens 45 (MPL Communications Inc. By Arr with WHO LOVE YOU BETTER THAN | DO FRIEND OF MINE M. Campbell & L. MAMMA MIA (Bjorn Ulvaeus & Benny BIW. GRR sisietinccndenacmmuncnt 1 Isley Bros. (Bovina, ASCAP) ................ 79 Graham (Malaco, BMI) 0.0... 94 Andersson (Countess, BMI) .........00000.... 64 SIXTEEN TONS Don Harrison Band YES ,YES, YES Stu Gardner (Turtle Head, ae Louie Shelton (Dawnbreaker, ei MARRIED BUT NOT TO EACH OTHER (Unichappell/Elvis Presley, BMI) ............ TO HA). -nneinisencctsancnasaetticnnscisniaiomniniguensears 54 a neaaayann Aeeeanahd SHAW BSRE Kc adda eaoncasrkewiedconcee Crajon Ent. Inc. (Ordena/Bridgeport, METHIN HE CAN FEEL Curti YOUNG BLOOD Bad Company (Quintet/ Ger up Anh, BOOGIE Michael Kunze BIE cosas sreesseainglehaamedisen ao eicastarenasihe 85 eee i cae are ‘BMI) idee 80 _Unichappell/Frddy Bienstock, BMI) ........ 48 GOOD VIBRATIONS Tedd Rosdgreg ey Se oe ele adtigaale SOPHISTICATED. LABY Jackson, Yancy, ‘a oe Hevites: GOD ccc neces ces 87. MONEY HONEY Phil Wainman (Hudson eS i ey g6 YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND Roy Thomas HAPPY DAYS Steve Barri & Michael BS. BINWDD cccdcaeettaxenic uu cinsentesiemricuhts STRANGE MAGIC Jef Ipan (Unseitial, Baker (Trident, ASCAP) 0.0000... Omartian (Bruin, BMI) oo. 6 MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT Bruce Blackman Tr higeieandecameltislaeh eee, eee 26 YOULL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE HAPPY MUSIC Donald Byrd (Eloy, BMI) 71 & Mik Clark (Brother Bill’s, ASCAP) ... 28 © 0 ess LIKE MINE Gamble & Huff (Mighty
Three, BMI)
TITLE, ARTIST. Label, Number, (Distributing Label) Now Was
1
1
SILLY LOVE SONGS
WINGS (o)
Capitol P 4256
15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Ey EY} 25
met oO
WS) |
at
LOVE HANGOVER DIANA ROSS/Motown M 1392F 16
GET UP AND BOOGIE SILVER CONVENTION/Midland Intl. MB 10571 (RCA) 11 BOOGIE FEVER SYLVERS/Capitol P 4179 20
SHANNON HENRY GROSS/Lifesong LS 45002 16 HAPPY DAYS PRATT & McLAIN/Warner-Reprise RPS 1351 10 WELCOME BACK JOHN SEBASTIAN/Warner-Reprise RPS 1349 11 MISTY BLUE DOROTHY MOORE/Malaco M 1029 (TK) 14 FOOLED AROUND AND FELL IN LOVE ELVIN BISHOP/ Capricorn CPS 0252 (WB) 14 RHIANNON (WILL YOU EVER WIN) FLEETWOOD MAC/ Warner-Reprise RPS 1345 14 SARA SMILE DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES/RCA PB 10530 17
MORE, MORE, MORE ANDREA TRUE CONNECTION/ Buddah BDA 515 13 SHOP AROUND CAPTAIN & TENNILLE/A&M 1817 6 TRYIN’ TO GET THE FEELING AGAIN BARRY MANILOW/ Arista 0172 12 RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM MAXINE NIGHTINGALE/United Artists XW752 Y 15 LET YOUR LOVE FLOW BELLAMY BROS./Warner Bros.
WBS 8169 17 SHOW ME THE WAY PETER FRAMPTON/A&M 1795 16 DISCO LADY JOHNNIE TAYLOR/Columbia 3 10281 16
DECEMBER, 1963 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) THE FOUR SEASONS / Warner Bros.-Curb WBS 8168 23 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY QUEEN/Elektra 45297 23
MOVIN’ BRASS CONSTRUCTION/United Artists XW775 Y 11 LOVE IN THE SHADOWS NEIL SEDAKA/Rocket PIG 40543
(MCA) 8 FOOL TO CRY ROLLING STONES/Rolling Stones RS 19304 (Atlantic) 7
BARETTA’S THEME: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE SPARROW RHYTHM HERITAGE/ABC 12177 8 NEVER GONNA FALL IN LOVE AGAIN ERIC CARMEN / Arista 0184 6 STRANGE MAGIC ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ United Artists XW770 Y 14 TAKIN’ IT TO THE STREETS THE DOOBIE BROTHERS/ Warner Bros. WBS 8196 7 MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT STARBUCK /Private Stock 039 7 KISS AND SAY GOODBYE THE MANHATTANS/Columbia 3 10310 6 LOVE IS ALIVE GARY WRIGHT/Warner Bros. WBS 8143 7 AFTERNOON DELIGHT STARLAND VOCAL BAND/ Windsong CB 10588 (RCA) 5 LONELY NIGHT (ANGEL FACE) CAPTAIN & TENNILLE/ A&M 1782 20 LL BE GOOD TO YOU BROTHERS JOHNSON/A&M 1806 6 ROCK AND ROLL LOVE LETTER BAY CITY ROLLERS/ Arista 0185 7
54
Ea 56 57
ED
Ex]
oO o
Oa a oO CON O wm
Si Charts courtesy of {
PLAY METER
| WANT YOU MARVIN GAYE/Tamla T 54264F (Motown) 7 ONLY 16 DR. HOOK/Capitol P 4171 22 DREAM WEAVER GARY WRIGHT/Warner Bros. WBS 8167 22
TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER (GIVE UP THE FUNK) PARLIAMENT/Casablanca NB 856 = ‘5
UNION MAN THE CATE BROTHERS/Elektra 45294 15 SWEET LOVE COMMODORES/Motown M 1381F 25 DREAM ON AEROSMITH/Columbia 3 10278 23
TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN STEVE MILLER/Capitol P4260 4
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN THIN LIZZY/Mercury 73786 4 DANCE WIT ME RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN /
ABC 12179 7 MAKING OUR DREAMS COME TRUE CYNDI GRECCO/
Private Stock 086
LET HER IN JOHN TRAVOLTA/Midland Intl. MB 10623 (RCA) CRAZY ON YOU HEART/Mushroom 7021 YOUNG BLOOD BAD COMPANY/Swan Song SS 70108 1
DON'T STOP IT NOW HOT CHOCOLATE/Big Tree BT 16060 (Atlantic)
Won n
» 0
1.0.U. JIMMY DEAN/Casino 052 (GRT)
THAT'S WHERE THE HAPPY PEOPLE GO THE TRAMMPS/ Atlantic 3306
TODAY’S THE DAY AMERICA/Warner Bros. WBS 8212
BIGFOOT BRO SMITH/Big Tree BT 16061 (Atlantic)
YES, YES, YES BILL COSBY/Capitol P 4258
GET CLOSER SEALS & CROFTS/Warner Bros. WBS 8190
LOVE REALLY HURTS WITHOUT YOU BILLY OCEAN/ Ariola America P 7621 (Capitol) 10 IT’S OVER BOZ SCAGGS/Columbia 3 10319 11 YOUNG HEARTS RUN FREE CAND! STATON/ Warner Bros. WBS 8181 6 YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE LOU RAWLS/Phila. Intl. ZS8 3592 (CBS) 4 SWEET THING RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN/ ABC 12179 7
aan bo
YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND QUEEN/Elektra 45318 3 SAVE YOUR KISSES FOR ME BROTHERHOOD OF MAN/ Pye 71066 5 TURN THE BEAT AROUND VICKI SUE ROBINSON/RCA PB 10562 4 MAMMA MIA ABBA/Atlantic 3315 14
STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS PAUL SIMON / Columbia 3 10332 5 ONE PIECE AT A TIME JOHNNY CASH/Columbia 3 10321 3 IT MAKES ME GIGGLE JOHN DENVER/RCA PB 10687 4 COME ON OVER OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN/MCA 40525 13
WKS. ON CHART
‘50 WORLD
MONEY HONEY BAY CITY ROLLERS/Arista 0170 18 WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO J. GEILS BAND/Atlantic 3320 8 HAPPY MUSIC THE BLACKBYRDS/Fantasy F 762 14 SHOUT IT OUT LOUD KISS/Casablanca NB 854 12
ALL BY MYSELF ERIC CARMEN/Arista 0165 25
CHARTMAKER OF THE WEEK
— ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC
BEACH BOYS Brother/Reprise RPS 1354
THE LONELY ONE SPECIAL DELIVERY /Mainstream MRL 5581 3 I'VE GOT A FEELING (WE’LL BE SEEING EACH OTHER AGAIN) AL WILSON/Playboy P 6062 FOOL FOR THE CITY FOGHAT/Bearsville BSS 0307 (WB) SIXTEEN TONS DON HARRISON BAND /Atlantie 3323 WHO LOVES YOU BETTER THAN I DO ISLEY BROTHERS/ T-Neck ZS8 2260 (CBS) SOMETHING HE CAN FEEL ARETHA FRANKLIN /Atlantic 3326 | NEED TO BE IN LOVE CARPENTERS/A&M 1828 LONELY TEARDROPS NARVEL FELTS/ABC Dot DOA 17620 | WANT TO STAY WITH YOU GALLAGHER & LYLE/ A&M 1778 C'MON MARIANNE DONNY OSMOND /Polydor PD 14320 MARRIED BUT NOT TO EACH OTHER DENISE LaSALLE/ Westbound WT 5019 (20th Century) 4 SOPHISTICATED LADY NATALIE COLE/Capitol P 4259 1 GOOD VIBRATIONS TODD RUNDGREN /Bearsville BSS 0309
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(WB) 1 HURT ELVIS PRESLEY/RCA PB 10601 11 FRAMED CHEECH & CHONG/Ode 66124 (A&M) t THIS IS IT MELBA MOORE/Buddah BDA 519 3 NUMBER ONE BILLY SWAN/Monument ZS8 8697 (CBS) 3 NUTBUSH CITY LIMITS BOB SEGER/Capitol P 4269 1
A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN WALTER MURPHY & THE BIG APPLE BAND /Private Steck 073 = «1 FRIEND OF MINE LITTLE MILTON/Glades 1734 (TK) 3 ‘TIL | CAN MAKE IT ON MY OWN TAMMY WYNETTE/ Epic 8 50196 9 DON’T PULL YOUR LOVE/THEN YOU CAN TELL ME GOODBYE GLEN CAMPBELL/Capitol P 4245 11 THINKING OF YOU PAUL DAVIS/Bang B 724 | HOPE WE GET TO LOVE IN TIME MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS, JR./ABC 12170 2 I'D HAVE TO BE CRAZY WILLIE NELSON/Columbia 3 10327 1 RAIN, OH RAIN FOOLS GOLD/Morning Sky MS 700 (Arista) 1
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HAN GaN i ELUM WEE TELL SveLe
It's been some time since | dropped into my local favorite beer bar and country western hangout. | should really go more often, for there is an ambience about the place that is hard to find anywhere else. | have yet to put my finger on exactly what it is. Maybe it’s the people. Or maybe it’s the smell. You know the One--a mixture of Old Spice after- shave lotion, and beer. Granted, | also enjoy my local jazz club, and even the loud racous rock club, but there is something about that beer bar. | mean, really, if you haven't hung out In a beer bar, drunk beer and listened to ‘Pop A Top Again’”’ or “‘She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye’’, and cried in your beer, you haven't lived.
There is one thing | noticed when | was in the bar the other evening. And that’s that people are dancing to country music, something they’ve never done in the past (at least in and around Los Angeles). And, what they are dancing to are numbers that you should have in your jukeboxes. As we listen to the jukebox and the radio, and read what’s going on as far as pre-hit country singles go, there is some- thing that many of us may tend to overlook, and that is the surge in popularity of oldies on the country charts, not really oldies, but re- makes of old songs--and primarily old rock, or soul songs done in a country style.
The singles reviewed this month are all up-dates of old hits. | have thought about this for awhile now, and | can’t attribute this popularity to anything in particular. But , if you happen to hear in the weeks to
By Michael B. Klein
come about any “hot’’singles that are oldies, | would certainly keep my eye on them. DON’T PULL YOUR LOVE/THEN YOU CAN TELL ME GOODBYE-- Glenn Campbell/Capitol 4245
Glen Campbell has come back with another prospective hit, doing the Lambert and Potter material, “Don’t Pull Your Love.’” | must admit, | definitely like Glenn’s version much better than the one that was made popular on the rock charts not so long ago by Hamilton Joe Frank and Reynolds. This version has such a mellow and nice rockin’ beat, it is hard to even compare it to the obnoxious rock version. However, this is not the case with the second tune here, “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye.” Granted the two work together perfectly, but | like the original better. It is the lead tune here that carries this popular single. For your music machines that cater to either country or MOR fans, this is a must. LONELY TEARDROPS-Narvel Felts ABC/Dot 17620
Here we have another oldie but goodie, made a hit in the sixties by the great Jackie Wilson. As far as I'm concerned, there hasn’t been a version out yet that can touch his Original. To me, it is absurd to try and make this definite soul tune a country song, for it lacks the construction, lyrics, and emotional feeling that most country songs have. There is an interesting para- dox here though, and that’s that this tune will probably make it quite big, for most country fans aren’t into soul music and probably never were. So to them, this is a new
country song!
The tune was always a good one, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t make it big in your music boxes where country fans hang out. Even though it’s an oldie, put in your new release section, for not too many of your customers will know that it was ever a previous hit. And really, it isn’t done in the style that made it a soul tune; it bears no real resemblance to the original. SUSPICIOUS MIND-Waylon = and Jessi/RCA 10653
Okay Elvis, move aside. Unfortu- nately your version can’t touch this one, which has character, feeling and the warmth and tenderness of two great song stylists. And it meets the requirements for both country and college locations due to the popularity of Waylon and Jessi. It’s progressive country sound is a natural for operators where either Southern music or country music is in demand.
These are just a few of the country climbers that can be heard on the radio and coming out of jukeboxes in and around Los Angeles beer bars. However, not all of the bars, and hangouts have introduced them in their music machines. And believe me, after your third beer, sitting alone in a country western bar, wondering why your girl doesn’t want to see you any more, nothing would hit the spot better than “‘Don’t Pull Your Love/Then You Can Tell Me Good- bye.’’ It would set better than a fourth beer.
RESPONSE PAGE RESPONSE PAGE NO. NO. NO. NO. PEERS AL ETT Ee IIL ED IAL TN DE REE a EAT A ED TELA LG ap SP LEE 6 A EDIBLE TRAE REA 3 1. Adtech Power ............:+: 40 10. Imperial Billiards............ 49 19. Playmaster..............55: 2,3 San Francisco, Cal. Los Angeles, Cal. Columbia, Mo. 2. Advance Distributing Co. ....12 11. International Billiards ....... 45 20. Project Support Eng. ........ 17 St. Louis, Mo.; Miami, Fla. Houston, Texas Sunnyvale, Cal. 3. Amusement Service Co. ..... 34 12. International Sales Mktg ....26 21. Ramtek ........-e0eeee0eees 59 Atlanta, Ga. Pompano Beach, Fla. Sunnyvale, Cal. 4. Atarilinc. ..........0eeeeeeeee 2 13.Henry W.T. Mali & Co........ 24 22. Rock-Ola ...........00eeeees 60 Los Gatos, Cal. New York, N.Y. Chicago, Ill. 5. Bally Mfg. Corp.............. 53 14.Meadows Games ........... 13. 23. Standard Change Makers... .35 Chicago, Ill. Sunnyvale, Cal. Indianapolis, Ind. 6. Century Industries .......... 36 15. Midway Mfg. Corp. ......... 11 24. Suzo Trading Co............. 48 Blue Bell, Pa. Franklin Park, Ill. Rotterdam, The Netherlands 7. Dencal Corp...........20008: 34 16.Mirco Games ........+++++:: 30 «25. UU. Bil., INGkeesccccecisesaaaene 16 Holliston, Mass. Phoenix, Ariz. Union, N.J 8. Empire Distributors ......... 45 17.N.S.M./Lowen-Automaten ..28 26. United Games .............. 36 Chicago, Ill. Bingen Rhein, W. Germany Portland, Ore. 9. D. Gottlieb & Co............. 21 18. Performance Ent. .........-: 56 27. Venture Line, Inc. ........... 57
Freedom of Choice
That's what reading magazines is all about. You choose what you want to read, when you want to read it. You have the freedom to properly assess what you like in these pages at your leisure.
Reading Play Meter also gives you the freedom to compare product information from the coin-operated amusements manufacturers and service companies. If you would like to learn more about our advertisers and their products or services, feel free to find them in this alphabetical listing, then circle the corresponding number on our Reader Service Card between pages 8 and 11.
Northlake, Ill.
for Play Meter’s Jukebox Top 100
Please unfold page
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Tempe, Ariz.
HALF AV Id
manufacturing
Allied Hosts
Distributors In Miami!
Allied Leisure Industries Inc. host- ed their Spring National Distributors Convention last month at the Eden Roc Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida. Distributors were greeted by Rich- ard Shaw, Allied’s national sales manager. Shaw has been with Allied for several months. Before that, he managed his own import- export business.
Arnold A. Fisher, National Mar- keting Director of Allied, served as Master of Ceremonies during the two-day conference.
The major event of the meetings was the Saturday evening candle- light buffet dinner after which the new amusement games for 1976 were presented. These include Thunderbolt, Boogie, Daytona 500 and the Spirit of ‘76 tennis and pin cocktail table. Mr. Ron Halliburton,
Super-Shot . . game, a moneymaker!
e Ticket Dispenser e Adjustable percentages
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1950 HOWELL MILL ROAD, N.W.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30325 (404) 351-0414
Southeast’s Largest Supplier of Reconditioned Flippers & Games
Executive Vice-President of Engin- eering presented the machines to an enthusiastic audience.
Other highlights of the conven- tion were the honoring of David Braun on his 68th birthday and a special tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Al Bettelman. Braun has been Chair- man of the Board of Directors and Chief Officer of Allied Leisure since its incorporation in 1968; he has been involved in the coin machine industry for more than thirty-five years. The Bettelmans were honor- ed for having just celebrated forty years in the games industry.
In addition, national distributors were presented with placques to honor their respective years of service. The presentations were made by David Braun. Distributors were also introduced to a new
WRITE FOR BROCHURE!
Allied Leisure Chairman David Braun presents Alan Bruck, Banner
Specialty Co. Philadelphia, with six-year achievement plaque. /n background its Arnold A_ Fisher, Allied’s national marketing director.
incentive program to be called “Travel Around The World with Allied.’” The program, presented by representatives from Japan Aijr Lines, is designed to stimulate interests and sales among distrib- utors. The first trip is scheduled for October 1976 to Japan.
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Distributor Inquiries Invited
DENCAL CORP. Dept. SS-36 3 Kuniholm Drive
Holliston Mass. Tel: (617) 429-4778
Art Daddis, founder of U.B.lI., Inc., who has been in retirement for the past year, has recently decided to re-enter the amusement games industry. U.B.I., formerly United Billiards, Inc., is one of America’s leading producers of coin-operated pool tables. No longer associated with U.B.I., having sold his entire holdings in the company a little over a year ago, the 67-year old Daddis is nevertheless intent on starting again, building from the ground up, this time in Haleyville, Ala.
Other than that his wife is from the Haleyville area, Daddis stated, ‘The main reason | selected Haley- vile as a site to build a new manufacturing facility is because a very stable labor force exists there. Also, Haleyville is located near the exact center of the Southeast, one of the largest pool table and foosball
table markets in the United States. |
This will enable us to offer many of our buyers a quality product at reduced freight costs.”’
Daddis’ newly-formed company, Art Daddis, Inc. (ADI) will be involved primarily in the manufact- ure of coin-operated pool and
SKA
ices Mil cexePmn Lalere) seed etre,
Games Division Slalere) an'zelelany 7- Nan Comalielam-z-taallale t= with Mirco’s latest traffic building air-battle combo
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fore) ah aae) ice Womalelasiomilas
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Electrical and ; Dox: mechanical parts 6 25C or fo) mi ele) tamel- (ile - 16) Sp atcialel-1e Taheciaeiat-talel-r-lelicn 50¢ play.
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Art Daddis At it Again
foosball tables and associated prod- ucts. ‘‘Our new pool table,’’ says Daddis ‘‘will feature a revolutionary ball-drop mechanism that will have only one moving part. It will be available in either a push-chute or drop-chute design.”
The veteran of 42 years in the industry, who is a firm believer in protected distributorsips, plans to market his new table through selected distributorships throughout the country, concentrating on those who carry the major phonograph lines.
When asked to size up his competition, Daddis commented;’As
Sales.
long aS you can produce a good reliable product, | feel there’s enough business out there for everybody.’’ For the past several years the pool table business has been a major replacement market with the major manufacturers prod- ucting between 50,000 and 60,000 tables per year. If | can capture only ten percent of that market, | will be delighted.”’
In response to the question of why at his age, he is looking to start all over again, Daddis smiled and said, ‘‘After you’ve been married to this business for 42 years, how can you possibly give it up?”
Most amusement sales are impulse
You can encourage those impulses
by making correct change easily available.
bear
CHANGER
People who use coin-operated games, vending machines and amusement equipment always need change. If there’s an easy source of change handy, they not only buy, but they buy more.
Dependable STANDARD Bill and Coin Changers can provide that needed change, safely and inex-
pensively. Call or write for full information
today. You’l] increase both sales and profits.
tandard Change-Makers, Inc.
422 E. New York Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
Mirco Inc., Games Division 1960 West North Lane Phoenix, Arizona 85021 Tel (602) 997 s9 31 Telex 6664 3 Tel, (31 7) 639-3423 Be era ang 57 ca tolec aaed AAG 18 District Offices throughout U.S, and Canada to serve you,
Mirco Games GmbH 6078 Neu Isenberg Dornhotstr #38 Germany Mirco Games Australia Pty. Ltd. #4 Carlotta St —Suite 5 Anlarmon New South Wales Australia 2064 Te! 439
ww ir)
PLAY METER
Wildcat To Break Ground For New Texas Plant
Wildcat Chemical Co., Ft. Worth, Tex., will soon be breaking ground on the site of a new 17,000 square ‘foot manufacturing plant. The new facility is the result of an over- whelming acceptance of Wildcat products by both the amusement and vending industry over the past two years.
“For years the amusement and vending industries have needed specialized maintainance chemicals to accomodate the specialized equipment on the market today,” Wildcat President Joe Peters told PLAY METER. ‘Wildcat zeroed in on these specific needs with quality products that have been endorsed by many of the leading manufact- urers.
“Many of the nation’s foosball manufacturers package our foosball silicone with every game they produce. Bally Mfg. suggests the use of our playfield cleaner and polish in the supplemental service
5 games in
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manual that accompanies each game Bally ships. These endorse- ments have been received world- wide and have helped establish Wildcat as an international opera- tion,’’ Peters said.
Wildcat’s growth in the United States has also been increasing at a favorable rate. Wildcat is currently represented nationally by over 240 distributing outlets, including al- most every major distributorship in the country. “’ We are represented in all fifty states,’’ Peters claimed proudly, “and are expecting ex- cellent growth overseas.”’
Because of the rapid growth and ever-increasing demand for its prod- ucts, Wildcat’s sales staff was recently joined by Michael Meador formally of OBA Inc. Meador will hold the position of sales manager with Wildcat.
Established in 1970, Wildcat has for the past two years been serving the vending and amusement mach-
ine industries with such chemical products as spray adhesive, foosball silicone, pinball playfield cleaner, contact cleaner and lubricants.
WILDCAT
CHEMICAL COMPAI
[TEXAS 7%
A = \
Wildcat Chem. Pres. Joe Peters
[right] and Mike Meador, nat’/. sales mgr. at MAA |[N. Y.] exhibition.
Sega Reports Earnings Up
Sega Enterprises, Inc. recently reported net earnings for the third quarter ended March 31,1976 of $567,000 or 30 cents per share. This compares with $559,000 or 29 cents per share for the comparable period last year. Revenues in the quarter were $5,752,000 compared with $6,717,000 last year.
For the first nine months of fiscal 1976 net earnings were $1,630,000 or 86 cents per share vs. $1,434,000 or 75 cents per share in 1975. Revenues for the nine months were $17,821,000 compared with $17,- 559,000 for the same period last year.
Sega attributed the decline in third quarter revenues and pre-tax earnings to economic conditions in Japan, its principal operating mar- ket, and to a reduced level of business in certain segments of its amusement operations. Start-up costs for the company’s manufact-
uring Operation in the United States also reduced pre-tax earnings. The gain in the quarterly net earnings reflects the low effective tax rate that has been used in the current fiscal year. Improved nine-month results were due to gains recorded in the first half.
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Se
onthe move
sega Announces Appointments For Three
David Rosen, chairman and president of Sega Enterprises, Inc., has recently announced new ap- pointments for Harry M. Kane, Edward P. Amormino and Duane M. Blough.
Kane becomes chief operating officer of Sega of America, the
corporation’s U.S. manufacturing.
and distribution division. Concurr- ent with Kane’s appointment, Rose announced a corporate change in marketing policy whereby all inter- national marketing, with the ex- ception of that of the Far East, will hereafter be conducted through the Sega of America division.
Kane, a vice president of the parent corporation, Sega Enterpris-
Coinco Names Douglass
James Douglass has been named national sales manager by Coin
Acceptors, Inc., according to Claud Trieman, president. Based at the company’s St. Louis, headquarters, Mr. Douglass will oversee the sales and service operations of 27 branch
* i f re oe “sy +. ont * nt +7 x * “iJ t n ~ i. 4 7 ; eg 4,
ues James Douglass
es, Inc., has for the past several years held the post of chief operat- ing officer of Sega Enterprises, Ltd., the corporation’s Japanese subsidi- ary.
Amormino becomes, effective June 1, vice president of manufact- uring of the parent corporation and will be resonsible for the co- ordination of the various manufact- uring activities conducted through- out the corporation. He will con- tinue to hold the post of director of manufacturing for Sega of America.
Blough, formerly vice president of General Instrument Corporation, re- places Kane as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
service offices in the United States and Canada. Coin Acceptors, Inc., manufacturing under the brand name “‘COINCO,” is the world’s largest manufacturer of electronic and mechanical coin mechanisms for the 8.8 billion dollar vending industry. Prior to being named to his new position Douglass was regional sales manager for COINCO’s south central region.
Mr. Douglass joined Coin Accept- ors’ HR Electronics Division in 1968, as an electrical engineer designing electronic coin changers. He was transferred to Coin Acceptors’ corp- orate organization in an executive Capacity and was later named production control manager. After serving a year in that capacity, Mr. Douglass was promoted to purchas- ing manager. A year and a half later Mr. Douglass was assigned to Coin Acceptors’ sales division and was named manager of the St. Louis sales and service branch office, a position he held until his advance- ment to regional sales manager in 1975.
A native of Kansas City, Ka., Mr. Douglass is a 1964 graduate of the
Edward P. Amormino
eA RMI ss oS es as, ?
Rigen ide
Duane Blough
University of Kansas where he received a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering, and did graduate work in computer design. Following his graduate studies, Mr. Douglass was employed by McDonnell Douglas Corporation, where he worked in computer programming in their electronic engineering division.
Mr. Douglass resides in the St. Louis suburb of Crestwood, Miss- ourl, with his wife Linda, and three children. He is active in his children’s school Parent-Teacher Organization, and enjoys fishing, and playing racquet ball, volleyball and basketball.
9 HALIW AV Id
: x
Quick Buck
Call it a Home of Ladies of the Night. Call it a House of Play for Pay. Call it a House of Painted Ladies--or of Negotiable Charms.
Or a Massage parlor! And every- one knows precisely what you are talking about. The world’s oldest profession. A recent cover story in Time magazine viewed many as- pects of ‘Porn,’ prostitution, strip joints and the like.
And what one phrase is seen and heard almost daily in reference to the rampant sexuality? The plethora of sex related subjects and raw sex that is at least a little obvious from Seattle to Miami, from Bangor, Maine to San Diego? VICTIMLESS CRIMES. :
Close down a massage parlor and the entrepreneur (who always seems to be a wealthy and respect-
& ed citizen of an opulent suberb) and = One opens up next door or around
38
ON
Wise Judgueent?
by WMorskall Corns
the corner. Last month, the ultra- liberal D.A. in San Francisco said he would not waste valuable docket time with so called victimless crimes and it was a toss-up who got to the men first at the Jack Tarr Hotel the bellboys or the hookers. The situa- tion in city after city across the country is the same: censors, licensing boards, law enforcement officers and public prosecutors don’t, indeed can’t differentiate legally between slut and smut and the gently titillating scenes in mov- ies that are nominated for academy awards.
Contrast this with Orpheus the Operator, driving from Cheektow- aga to Niskayana or Sproutville, New York {real places) with a free-play pinball game, circa 1945, to give to a church youth group. Orpheus is apprehended by the state police.
A victimless crime? No. Orpheus Operator is a victim. He has broken a state law and now he might find himself in court, being fined. He will probably have his car or station wagon confiscated and he will positively have this monstrous mechanism, this electro-mechanical pervert that leads to vile disease, human decadence and ultimate insanity confiscated.
But laws are laws. The more decadent a society becomes, the more laws it must pass to control its own decadence. And as the laws proliferate, the more confusing and the more difficult to enforce they become. This writer has appealed time and time again for the manu- facturers to create a ‘’public relat- ions kit” or an “‘information kit’’ to enable the average operator, or group of same, to make an intell-
igent presentation to the right people.
And we are taking extra-legal (non-legal) chances. For instance, in New York state, free play is not allowed--only extended play, or, as in pins, add-a-ball. But current interpretation is that the game in question can not be “‘readily conver- tible’’ from free play to add-a-ball and vice versa. Only one manufact- urer refuses to capitulate to distribu- tor and operator pressures to make a ‘convertible’ game. In all probabil- ity all other add-a-balls in New York may be, by the letter of the law, illegal. AND THIS IS NO SECRET.
Now let’s look at some of the recent developments concerning people whose /Aunger overrode their concern for (a) wise judgments, (b) legal implications, (c) the good of fellow business men in the com- munity and (d) industry image.
Case |.--A small, relatively new development-manufacturing com- pany in a small eastern state thought that pins were so hot that maybe ‘‘uprights’’ would be just as hot. Something else got hot: Smok- ey Bears (State Gendarmes). And now our friends are in hot water.
Case l|l.--Young scion decides that a few slots never hurt anyone-- just slip some in with the pins. After all who would know, who would care. Answer to both questions: The fuzz? No. The Smokeys? No. The Feds? Yes. Our friend is currently unable to be reached by telephone.
Case IIl--Major metropolitan area, major U.S. city. Law: limited num- ber of pins in appropriately licensed liquor-licensed premises, if licensed. No barber shops, drug stores, ‘‘malt shops,” in other words no resident- ial areas, no kid stops. A couple of weeks ago, the plugs were pulled on 17 (yes, XVII) pins, all unlicensed in a youth shop.
Case IV--Medium midwestern city, population well over 100,000: Young (old enough to know better) operator starts with small route exclusively pingames and pool tables and gets a private club as a location; they request a ‘‘fast’’ piece. Now junior operates over 30 bingos and city is just about ready to seriously consider closing down...
If we won’t police ourselves--we should be ready for the cops.
Sometimes we can surprise our- selves by finding that the legitimate, business-like way may be easier
than we believed. A. few months ago this writer was involved in a
change in laws, opening up a substantial number of locations. The people with whom we dealt were entirely sympathetic, readily admitted that ‘‘times have chang- ed,’ that the statutes then on the books were not serving the needs of the community, that a change was entirely realistic, and that the econ- mic community would gain by a change. Frankly, all of us at the meeting were stunned by the atti- tude of the powers we were visiting. It was worth the try, and we “copped” a victory.
Let's for the moment forget friends in high places, payoffs and influential geniuses. And this may sound childishly simplistic. And maybe ‘tis. But until a formal face to face appeal to the appropriate licen- sing authorities or elected federal or state officials has been rebuffed, for the good of a//, none of us has the right to cry foul or act rashly. And if any of us in the industry feel that unfair or inequitable laws justify rash or illegal tactics and practices, let's see your logic, old buddy. As recently as last week, we heard of a town that’s been closed for over 10 years that is slowly and cautiously licensing pingames again. The oper- ators involved kept it clean, kept it legal and, in the vernacular, had the smarts.
Another question that arises more and more frequently these days--ls the day of the pingame as we know it coming to an end? Is the solid-state pin the game of the future and if so, how much longer has the old-fashioned game got to go?
Who knows! But let’s speculate. The advantages of solid-state are obvious: price, reliability, flexibility.
Although these three factors are,
significant, we have a long way to go before we see an upheaval.
In addition, the demand for games is so strong that at this exact moment there is room for all. Beyond that, the Big Three surely will not sit idly back and not do what has to be done.
Moreover, cost-savings have not yet been demonstrated. In all prob- ability it will not be in the immediate future. Furthermore, reliability has yet to be demonstrated as a reality, if you inject serviceability as one of the factors within reliability. Finally, flexibility (changeability of a game or interchangeability within several
if he
games) will only evolve over a period of time.
Now do not misinterpret our position. We are not knocking solid-state pins. They will probably eventually become an important factor in our business. But don’t play taps for ye olde fashioned five-ball quite yet.
Oh, yes, while we're on the subject of knocking: In recent weeks there have been several quotations from within our industry knocking and impugning solid sate or TV games in general. Don’t be misled, don’t be left behind. Stay with it, my friend: whether you like it or not, youre in the market.
But, like the rest of the industry, once a Pin Man, always a Pin Man. It's a slice of Americana that is here to stay. Playboy magazine features a beautiful nude standing before a pingame. Advertising agencies use pingames for a mise en scene bit. Recently on the West Coast, we heard an advertisement for a Big Brother Association and part of the ad suggested that a Big Brother could take a young boy fishing or to a baseball game or to play a pin ball. Look into a new motel and you will probably see a game room. Look into a pub where the lawyers and members of the financial commun- ity have a bite of lunch and there is a good chance you will see a four- player pingame being heavily pat- ronized. There is not a major college campus in New England that does not have a game room in the Commons area or in individual
dorms.
No longer should a man in our industry feel that very slight twinge of sensitivity for the industry he is in is on the level with his community and our industry. If a man is looking to be a price gouger or an underhanded competitor in our industry or any other industry, then let him make peace if he finds it.
| for one think we are in a great industry--every aspect of same. Just remember one thing. Bible salesmen sell Bibles--not religion. A clothing salesman repping the most beautiful line of ladies’ wear imaginable, cannot make a queen out of an ugly duckling.
By the same token, neither you nor | can be responsible for our whole community, but we can damn well police our own activities at every level, in every way.
HALAW AV Id
= PLAY METER
TECAINICAL Torito
Many problems with video games are caused by inadequate DC power supplies. A video game consists of a display system, a complex mini- computer that frequently contains over 200 delicate integrated circuits (IC’s] a control system and a DC power supply. The following article discusses some of the common problems caused by use of an inadequate DC power supply in video games.
1. Erratic Operation of the Game. Noise pulses from adjacent pinball machines and other solenoid opera- ted games produce high frequency noise on the power line. This noise feeds through the DC power supply and causes false signals to be seen by the low-level IC’s.
This can usually be corrected by using an electrostatically shielded (Faraday Shield) transformer to greatly reduce the feed-through of noise pulses. High frequency bypass capacitors will further re- duce what little signal does feed through.
2. Frequent Field Failure of /C’s. Even on a properly designed game, this problem is usually caused by poor regulator design in the power supply, which permits inpur line voltage transients to raise the output voltage of the IC’s above their specified values. Transistor- transistor logic (TTL) IC’s, for instance, frequently used in video games, operate properly with a range of 4.5 to 5.5 volts. If the power supply voltage exceeds /7V even momentarily, it will cause destruction of IC’s. If the voltage exceeds 5.5V in the usually poorly ventilated game enclosure, heat failures can be caused in seconds.
This problem is especially preva- lent with very low-cost DC supplies that use zener diode regulation or three terminal regulators with inade- quate sensing and filtering. The
by J. F. McNulty
solution is to use a conservatively rated, fully closed loop, computer- quality regulator circuit with ade- quate filtering. The heavy filtering reduces line transients up to five times more than some marginal systems and the more elaborate regulator detects changes of less than one millivo/t and corrects for these changes in microseconds.
Don't play. games with |
DC power supplies.
It’s a game you can’t afford to lose... even once. We’d be happy to show you how to win every time. The selection of the right power supply can be tricky, especially for video games, We sell more D.C. power supplies to game manufacturers than any other company, so you'll be getting good advice. Let our pros help you improve your game. Call us at (714) 634-9211. Since the D.C.
supply is the ‘‘heart’’ of your
game, we Can save you from
one thing: (you guessed it)
heart failure.
1621 South Sinclair St., Anaheim, California 92806
3. Unit Fails to Operate Properly at Certain Times of Day or Year. This is frequently due to low AC line voltage and inadequate transformer and capacitor size in the power supply. The better DC supply will have a larger transformer and Capacitor for more reserve power.
4. Failure of Power Supplies. Many low-cost DC power supplies operate with their components over- stressed or very near the stress limits in order to minimize cost. When these supplies are operated at their full ratings and enclosed in a wooden or fiberboard enclosure with poor ventilation, the heat rise within the enclosure will Cause overstressing of the components, causing premature failure. The most frequent causes of this type of failure are:
a) Filter capacitors that are too small for the required ripple current, causing the heating of the capaci- tor; each 10 degree C rise in temperature reduces the capicitor life by 50 per cent.
b) Rectifiers running to close to their rating. A rectifier’s surge-cur- rent rating decreases with tempera- ture rise and, although the power supply may check out fine in the lab, after running hot for several hours when the power supply is switched off and on while hot, the rectifier will fail due to the high surge-cur- rent drawn by the filter capacitor
c) Plastic power transistors and power regulators are unreliable when mounted to an inadequate heat sink and with their leads bent into a printed circuit board. The mechanical stresses caused by high heating and cooling will crack the plastic at the lead junction, causing failure of the transistor and possible destruction of IC’s connected to the power supply.
The better quality DC power supply manufacturers, such as Ad-
(Continued on page 53)
(Continued from page 27) ing until he fails a total of eight times. The challenge in STUNT CYCLE is in successfully timing the take-off, throttling up to the exact speed necessary to leap over the required distance. The incen- tive is to leap over the largest number of buses. STUNT CYCLE is an exciting game that demands the utmost in hand-eye co-
ordination from the player.
Of the other two Atari games, OUTLAW and QU/Z SHOW, OUTLAW is the more outstanding.
QU/Z SHOW is simply Atari's version of Ramtek’s 7AR/V/A_ or Nutting’s COMPUTER QU/Z. The principle behind OUTLAW* is very similar to that behind the above mentioned W/ILD GUNMAN. But instead of duelling against a two-dimensional image on a pro- jection screen, the player shoots it out with an adversary portrayed on a video screen in the usual fashion.
Ramtek’s H/T ME isa refreshing new game that gets away from the combat theme of many of the new games. H/T ME allows the player to contend with elements of chance and skill in a video version of the card game known as Black Jack or
21. For you paranoid ones out there who are afraid that the game could be legally classified as a gambling device, have no fear. Several district attorneys, we are told, have said after inspecting the game that it is no more a gambling device than is a jukebox.
HIT ME starts out each player (up to four) with 40 chips, then deals the game on a video screen from a ‘microprocessor’ deck of 52 cards. The player can wager as many of his 40 chips as he wishes, but when he’s out of chips, he’s out of the game. The play of the game proceeds just as it would if it were the card game. The player signals whether he wants a card or whether he wants to stand. When play is up (after five hands), the player with the most chips is the winner. H/T ME should not only make a great arcade piece but an excellent bar piece as well.
Exidy’s DEATH RACE 98 is the
most morbid game to come along in quite a while. While in other games the player can blow up tanks or ships, shoot planes out of the sky, or gun “bad men” down, in DEATH RACE 98 he runs people down with his automobile. This one or two player driving game combines the driving skills of Exidy’s DES- TRUCTION DERBY with the kill-
er instincts of SEA WOLF. At all times during the game, two people- like figures, which are supposed to be monsters, are running across the screen in random fashion (in much the same manner as the sharks on P.S.E.’s MANEATER). The object is to maneuver your automobile over the dodging mon- sters. Every time a monster is run Over, a Cross appears on the screen marking the spot where he was run over. The player racking up the highest number of corpses is de- clared the winner. Running some- body over is no simple task in DEATH RACE 98. Almost every time the player thinks he is about to run a monster over, the monster veers off in a different direction and he’s after him again. DEATH RACE 98 is an arcade game with a different twist, pride in its own goriness.
Project Support Engineering’s KNIGHTS /1N ARMOR carries the combat theme back to the days of King Arthur. A two-player game, KNIGHTS IN ARMOR, pits the legendary Black Knight against the White Knight in a good old-time joust. Each knight is mounted on a horse and carries a shield in one hand and a lance in the other. There are two controls for each
(Continued on page 49)
:
a
42
new products
Hit Me
Ramtek Deals Black Jack
Now available from Ramtek Corp. is Hit Me, a video game based on 21 or Black Jack. In Hit Me, one, two, three or four players can compete with each other or against the house.
To play the game, each player deposits 25 cents. The computer randomly shuffles two decks of playing cards and assigns 40 chips to each player. The hands are dealt, players receiving two cards face up, the dealer one up and one down.
When the players receive their cards they must determine whether they desire to play the cards they were dealt or be hit by pushing corresponding buttons. They press an ante button to bet the number of chips desired.
A game consists of a maximum of five hands or until the players lose their assigned 40 chips.
Because every game is different, the machine should have a long location life. Pete Entringer of Advance Distributing Co., St. Louis praises the game, calling Hit Me one
of those games that stir the comp- etitive instinct in all who see it.”
Hit Me is not a gambling or payout machine and meets all test requirements to keep it from being deemed a gambling machine. deemed a gambling machine. Crat- ed the game measures 64 by 33 by 33 inches. It is equipped with a Micro Processor and extra large cash box to hold collections.
fo m4 Fd rs Baw. = \ Le
Daytona 500
Allied Shifts
Into Gear With Daytona 500
Allied Leisure Industries, Inc. also introduced at their Spring National Distributor’s Convention a new electronic racing game.
The Daytona 500 is one of Allied’s first major new games for 1976. It has all the features and thrills of the famed Daytona 500 stockcar race with such standard equipment as authentic shifting gears, speeding car sounds, hairpin turns and squealing tires.
The driver’s car is controlled with a steering wheel, 4-speed stick shift and speed control foot pedal. The game includes all solid state logic and sound which is designed to minimize down time. It’s a thrill and skill teaser for every player.
Outlaw
Gunfight at Video Corral
Atari announces the release of Outlaw, a completely new video concept. Outlaw is a_ fast-draw shootout that invites the player to match his fast-draw skill against a video gunfighter.
‘Because it is a game that physically involves the player in one of America’s most traditional good guy, bad guy contests and offers new player and operator options, we think that Outlaw will be the next big video winner,’’ said Frank Ballouz, Atari National Sales Man- ager.
Outlaw’s attention-getting feat- ures include audio footsteps, gun- fire and realistic video animation. The gunfighter swaggers out from behind buildings in an authentic Western town which is graphically illustrated on the monitor. He turns, waits, and fires unless shot first by player. Players fast-draw a full-scale replica of a Colt.45.
New player options include two selectable fast draw times, Half-Fast Pete and Billy the Kid, and opera- tors can adjust Outlaw for the number of ‘‘hits’’ needed to achieve Dude, Greenhorn or Top Gun end-of-game ratings. Panels dis- playing ratings light up according to: number of hits scored. Extended
play can be awarded to ‘‘Top Guns” at operator’s selection.
Illuminated warning panels flash if gun is drawn early or is not returned to holster before next shootout sequence. Game automatically shuts off if the pistol is left out of the holster for an extended time.
Standard exclusive features in- clude a 23”’ monitor, locking cash- box, hinged cash door and Dura- stress tested solid-state electronics. To protect against damage, Outlaw features a tempered glass front panel. The pistol is made of tough, long-wearing material that will not scratch the cabinet.
.
PONEY ISLAND =
Chicago Coin |¥
Coney Island
ChiCoin Intros New Rifle Game
Following a series of demanding location tests, shipments are be- ginning on Chicago Coin’s new Coney Island Rifle, reports Robert Sherwood, director of marketing for
Chicago Dynamic Industries, Inc.
“We are delighted with Coney Island’s test results,’ Sherwood said. ‘““The volume of play and the flawless performance indicate a long and highly profitable location life.
“Along with the appeal of ever- popular rifle gallery games, Coney Island makes play incentive even stronger with an array of uniquely humorous targets, striking black light effects and the colorful atmos- phere of a realistic carnival midway. Moving targets include the amusing “Leapin’ Louie’ character who bounces across the midway on a pogo stick.When hit, he scores 100 points and reverses direction, giving players added scoring opportunities. There’s also a travelling bullseye in the midway’s shooting gallery that
scores 100 points for each hit.
“Pop-up targets appear in unpre- dictable sequence, calling on the player for fast, accurate shooting against time. Pop-ups include e ticket seller in his booth, a sewer worker under a manhole cover, a witch, and a trembling ghost and vibrating skeleton in the Haunted House. When hit, these targets score 100 points and disappear. Adding to the high score potential, a Flash-O-Matic bullseye on a ferris wheel scores 100 to 500 points,’’ Sherwood concluded.
Coney Island also features a semi-automatic rifle, realistic ad- justable rifle shot sounds, adjustable extended play score and adjustable playing time. Play is priced at one quarter each play adjustable to two plays for a quarter.
AstroPrint
Allied Bows AstroPrint
Allied Leisure Industries, Inc., Hialeah, Fl. unveiled at the Spring National Distributor’s Convention the newest innovation in computer- ized photoprint equipment, the Astro Print. The Convention was held at the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach.
The Astro Print allows from one to three people to sit on an upholstered fiberglass bench in front of a console housing two television monitors and a television camera.
The machine operator focuses the television camera on the subjects as their images are displayed on the television monitors. The operator then locks in the image on an electronic computor-type high- speed printer that prints out com- binations of letters, numbers and other symbols.
The results are an_ intricately shaded 14” X 14” photographic portrait of the subjects, a permanent souvenir suitable for framing.
HALF AV id
_ ——
PLAY METER
Old Chicago
Bally Lights Up Old Chicago
“Drop targets, introduced in Air Aces in 1975, gain extra special importance in Old Chicago,”’ ex- plained Paul Calamari, sales man- ager of Bally Manufacturing Corp., announcing delivery last month of the new four-player flipper pinball game.
“Drop targets in Old Chicago,” Calamari explained, ‘‘are not only the key to two different ways to score specials, including an out-ball special; they also light the signal which causes a ball in the out-hole to return to the shooter-tip, as an extra ball.
“The out-hole is also important as one of two ways to collect the build-up, spell-name bonus. The out-ball bonus is doubled if collect- ed with the double bonus signal lit. This bonus signal is adjustable to light automatically at different per- iods of play.
“While the out-hole bonus resets the bonus to starting point, bonus may also be collected without reset by shooting the ball in to the center kickout hole. The player may thus collect the accumulated bonus,
continue to build the bonus and collect repeatedly with each ball in play.
“World-wide location tests indi- cate that ‘Old Chicago’ will be in the Wizard class for play appeal and earning power,’’ Calamari added.
Stunt Cycle
Atari Wheels In New Cycle Game
Atari has announced the latest
addition to its stable of motor sports video games, the new Stunt Cycle.
Stunt Cycle is a totally new video concept. A realistic handlegrip throttle accelerates a video motor- cycle on a 19”’ screen. Riders try to jump over a line of buses (that increases in number after each pass) without crashing. The player crash- ing more than eight times is wiped out.
High speed wheelies, realistic acceleration, crashes and crowd cheer sound effects add to the overall excitement of this one or two player game.
Stunt Cycle options include ad- justability for game time and num-
ber of misses. It is switch adjustable from 25 cents per player to 25 cents for two single plays or 25 cents for one two-player game, and operator adjustable for free plays.
“With all the interest and excite- ment surrounding bike riding in general and daredevil riding specifi- cally, we believe this all-new attrac- tion will appeal to players of every age in a wide variety of locations,” Gene Lipkin, Atari vice-president of marketing said.
TIER \ a : + .. 3
ea Shot Super Shot
Mixes Pachinko With Bingo
Super Shot, distributed nationally by Amusement Service of Atlanta, has opened the eyes of operators all over the United States and abroad. The game features fine quality and workmanship with logic board, relays, and easy servicing.
In this pachinko-like game, which has digital scoring, the player cata- pults a plastic ball through a maze of nails then lands into a numbered pocket which lights up on the playfield. When three numbers are lit vertically, diagonally, or horizon- tally points are scored. The Super Shot is available with standard feat- ures; a free game replay unit will give a free game at a certain score, and if the game is placed in a non-free game replay area, the operator simply installs a chrome cover on the replay button which turns the game into an “amusement only game.”
A feature new on this video game is a playfield that is 85 times larger than what the player can see. The playfield is ever-changing. The driver must be ever on the alert, eye out for oil slicks and wrecked cars on the track.
Gottlieb Draws Royal Flush
D. Gottlieb & Co. announces a new four-player flipper game, Royal my Flush. The game, which will take advantage of the magnetic appeal of playing cards, features nine drop targets lighting five combinations of cards in a new Scan-Bonus, a double bonus scoring up to 30,000 points, three Joker Sequence lights rollovers for 3000 scoring and a kick-out hole for specials, and three targets and three rollovers to score Jokers.
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Fun Games Enters Race
Fun Games, Inc., Oakland, Cal., announces the release of Race, a new video game. A one or two player game, Race provides the realistic sounds of a race car speeding around corners, the feel and the thrill of race driving.
Race
SUMMER GAMES
Mid. Goal Tender
Mid. Dune Buggy
Mid. Chopper
Atari Qwak
CC TV Flipper
Mid. Playtime
Mid TV Ball Park
U.S. Billiards Shark .. Ramtek Baseball
ACA Sport Center.... Mid. Winner Il
Mid. Winner IV
Ali Tennis Tourney .$100 Ali Pong Doubles
Mid. Leader
COME & GET os Target Zero Ali Monte Carlo Bally Hill Climb Bally Alley Kaye Stanley Cup .... Mid. Whirlybird
MCI Air Ball NA Computer Space .$100 CC Star Hockey
MCI U-Boat
Sega Jet Rocket
Taito Pass
Ali Chopper
Ali Super Shifter
Bally Road Runnere$195 CC Flying Tiger
CC Speed Shift
NEW GAME SPECIALS
Ramtek Hockey CC TV Tennis Ali Paddle Battle
Sega Bullet Mark.... Ramtek Trivia Electra Avenger
Variety. We got it.
Billiards is the name of the game, and variety is what we have. One-piece, two-piece and multi-piece cue sticks. Domestic and imported balls. Billiard cloth, cue and table repair items and accessories. Novelties and decorator items. And the best freight connections for immediate delivery.
\.7 INTERNATIONAL BILLIARDS, INC.
2311 Washington, P.O. Box 7693, Houston, Texas 77007 713/869-3237 1-800-392-2209 Texas 1-800-231-1282 Outof State
Atari Jet Fighter ....
Atari Qwack
Atari Pin Pong
Sega Balloon Gun....
U.S. Billiards Shark . .$ 895
Fun Games Bi-Plane .$1295 Ali Firepower
CC Big League CC Speed Shift
Q RETURNS ON SPECIALS
Ree Empire Distributing. Inc.
ie 120 S. Sangamon Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607 Phone: 312/421-5200 TELEX: 25-4026
Branch Offices: Detroit, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Indianapolis
Anybody out there?
by Marshall Caras
Almost every value we have known, every aspect of our lives, has changed in a very compressed post-1950 era.
We certainly will not belabor the point as it relates to our industry. The technology--of games, music Pare mvisiarellale pea alclsmevar-lare(s1eme-lellerel ha
a
ne fp)
affecting the C.A. (coin industry activated) and in just that order of magnitude--games, music and ven- oliarer
The tools of our trade have changed. Our press has changed. Just recently and just perceptibly, (ol0] au 010] ©) (om |nat-e{cmu ar-lowm ol-re [Ulam comm ele] itself up.
NM alactomcallale syarclsmGalch nec ie1 Com comelels industry, have resisted change in raalismvzalia| ecole) me) meral-lale(omiamuyallera ms c~ TVic¥an Lure movalicemelelaelaremallmilale(-imiia the vortex of a draining sink--smack Tata dalctemanl(e(e|(sMmOlMmmcUlael0](-lalercner-lale) bone dry.
1. IMAGE
We need concerted, industry- VVke Kc Wumaalc¥-faliare paul pmmerelal=t-IhVA-mer-1 are direct PR effort. Something more than the local reporter's human Taleciastsiansicelaar-] olelei aman MalcmClUlalolalciam or the young attorney who just played 172 consecutive games on a new pinball while simultaneously eating 26 dozen oysters and spitting 6 watermelon seeds 32 feet away Tai cede el] cer- mt NAO mesar-lanlolciauolele
Just now are the public operating compaines (although some have been in games and music for well over 10 years) realizing how good, how exciting and how profitable is laalicmiarelercieavallancem 2a) le1a mom lanlaalcl esi our lives. Maybe now we'll get some image-boosters in action.
2. SERVICE
The service aspect of our industry is so plagued with inconsistencies that even the most experienced operator would do well to re-evaluate his service policies, schedules, routes, costs and the like.
We are reminded of an_up- country operator 25 years ago who would throw a sixth ball in a five-ball pingame--so that the “kids would think they were beating the game” because the game was about 50 per cent operative and the old-timer crolullelamanih ania
Precious few operators give heed to the concept of ‘‘preventive maintenance.’ We're operating space age machines, made from space age material and we're servic- Take mn catsian Mian (alomel-1.em
3. TRADE ASSOCIATIONS.
We pay our dues and proudly display the emblem. And then what? If a city is threatened with ‘being closed down,’ or ASCAP Is looking for a new tax on us or a state imposes a tax on vending machines, we rush to fill the meeting hall; the rest of the year we
stare at the neat emblem on our wall.
Ultimately, if there’s something wrong, we are responsible, for we make up the organizations. But maybe a more cogent answer is this: our trade association, because of our lack of interest are not anywhere near as responsive, creative or effective as they could be.
The MOA executives met in Hawaii on March 25, 26 and 27, Russ Mawdsley, a past presidents oro lU fare! mantsianl ol: aurclale mm macro mm Cle-lale(-1e executive director, both indicated the need for change. As Fred Granger expressed it, they are Foxe) ,a]aremncoms o)aialemdal=mi\'/1O/ Mmm ialcomeals 1970's.’ Is a name change in the oh ailare Pan ioweMatelanlcmeiatclare[cminrellerei (cre kd Is the MOA show really a music show?
Some of the most astute and successful street-location cirarette machine operators, and fulltime vendors (we've already mentioned re] ele Nic Galowe ole] e)ilome)elsie-heiaremere)anl orca ies) are also heavily invested in fe) aveyarese [acl olamclareme|-[aalomaolenciPm Amare were they to do last year--with the MOA in Chicago and the NAMA in INTeN Van ©] a(ct=] atcvam ©lalcmm olger- lens) el-1eleaeian) operator wanted to go to the MOA--’’but he’d never been in New Orleans.”
sXolom oi lelalelasie pan =>.<s1eLe neh Zomne ll aciei ce) of the |.A.A.P.A. (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions), saw the IAAPA show (‘Beach and Park’’ Show) in Atlanta last fall reach new heights. But even then, he’s not satisfied. BM atcure]aerele(-We) ols) e-)celecmr- lacus ol-1ecelanliare) omen aaleleialer- lun t-lei ce) aula Mme lelammiarelel-10a\7 that, even though there was a iaasvantsiale(elersmaelaalelen mehmre] qer-[e (ome) Ole] a icolasmralaremanlereiamce)ancalcianmcom-ici-m-] ale! a jam-packed arcade workshop, Blundred is working on_ several projects to make the IAAPA even more responsive.
R.S.V.P.--"“Answer please, the favor of your reply is requested.” We ask that you write to Play Meter and indicate your feelings. Just rearragne the letters RSVP and add a few more letters and you'll come up with RESPONS/VE. That's the one thread that ites together the three areas we have discussed above--IMAGE. SERVICE. TRADE ANS S101 01-W ETO] \ ioe
We're successful because we're making money, but we are failing ourselves and our industry in the Kolave mauler
We have failed to be responsive Comm daToMmoreanianlelalia aecmm olecel am nat-(e[-mme) us.
We have failed to be responsive enough to the needs of the com- munity and how we can ‘serve’ it--to pay it back in part or in some way--for our prosperity.
We have failed to be responsive to more effective, more efficient service and preventive maintenan- ors van Malsie|isiealolence)ar-laremaar-lalenrcleieele er should be coerced, yes, even forced to run more service schools and seminars on service, not so that the operator can work or service harder or faster, but smarter.
It's a shame that there are tots in a few communities that we know Valo merclacime|cen/’1ale Mme) OMmGaliaL Glare mm carci “OUT OF ORDER” is the way to spell AMUSEMENT DEVICE.
PAN ave milatel Nucl icin \ Zc Ress) ocelaleliare mmce our own trade associations, in order to make them responsive to our needs.
We ask then--RSVP--that you let Play Meter know your thoughts on these pertinent, timely questions.
1. What can we do to strengthen
our national trade associations so
that they can respond to our aleisve kom-lalemcveccialelealc1amelelameles-jielelal in the eyes of the unitiated?
VV ate) encvalelelcemdatcmaat-lalenrclereelacis
lave mel isvea] oleice) are (em Kom anleliom-18i-101 &
ively respond to the needs of the operator?
3. What can an operator do to
“open” a territory: is there a PR
kit to tell the story? What aids are
Weel l fel elicea
How can we get up-to-date
Tabcolanat<lelelameccemcat-)an/\Z-mer-lamr-le)ie(>
by the laws of various cities and
states, but not be hog-tied by them?
4. What can we do as a unified
afeherelarelMmanteha-aalslalam coms (e)iam cele (<6:
her with a national purpose for olelamiarelhvarelerc]mexeanlanlelaliersi-34
ope AVaatehaxercl a \come rem com nal oleehuomelels
service on a human relations basis
in each and every tap, bar, restaurant and location in the
exelu ranean a?
6. What can we do so that with- out stifling competition we can take to heart and to mind cer- tain of the credos that are the watch words of our existing trade associations?
R.S.V.P.
HALAIW AV kei
— ~]
international dateline|Rock-Ola Highlights Nova
Serose, Switzerland Gets Aparate Display
New Marketing Chief
Louis J. Nicastro, president and chairman of the board of Seeburg Industries Inc., Chicago, Ill. recently announced the appointment of Edgar Michel to the post of interna- tional sales manager for Serose Holding A.G., Switzerland.
Serose, the Seeburg sales wing based in Zug, Switzerland, covers the European market, the Middle East and Africa.
In his new position, Michel will be responsible for the total sales and marketing of Seeburg coin phono- graphs, hot and cold drink vending equipment and Williams amusement games throughout these areas.
Previously, Michel served as gen-
m=O) © / ’ al a <i
SW), es) 0
eral manager of Seeben N.V., the Seeburg Belgium subsidiary for more than 10 years.
In making the appointment, Nicastro commented, “‘Michel has been a member of the Seeburg family for over 15 years. He brings to his new position in-depth expertise concerned with both See- burg products and the coin-operat- ed industry. With his strong back- ground in sales, marketing and distributorship management, | am confident he will represent Seeburg well.”
Michel currently resides in Ant- werp with his wife and children.
Nova Apparate, Europe’s leading importer and distributor of coin- operated machines, devoted a major portion of their impressive booth at the recent DAT/ima ‘76 Exhibition in West Berlin to the newest Rock-Ola phonographs.
Nova Apparate’s extensive dis- play included the spectacular new Model 464 with its neon-type red, white and blue colors, the Model 456 furniture-styled console, and the new compact phonograph Model 461. The exhibit also featured Rock-Ola’s dynamic Quadphonic sound system.
The association of Alfred W. Adickes, Nova Apparate President, and Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corp- Oration dates back to 1932. Since 1953 Nova Apparate has played a large part in Rock-Ola becoming the leading exporter of coin-operated phonographs.
au kinnsor SPARE PARTS
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SUZO TRADING CY. C.V. - SCHONEBERGERWEG 85-87 ROTTERDAM 3006 - NETHERLANDS - PHONE 010 - 766848
PLAY METER
(Continued from page 41) player, simulating a lance grip and a shield grip. The object is for each player to dismount his charg- ing opponent while protecting him- self. KN/IGHTS IN ARMOR is more a game of stategy than of gore and presents a true challenge to its players.
As always, there are a lot of good pinballs on the market. Judging from the reports we get from prototype owners Gottlieb’s ROYAL FLUSH is sure to be another winner for them. Bally’s OLD CHICAGO is out now and we hear it's doing well also. Williams is making SPACE ODYSSEY, a two- player version of the sensational four-player game. SPACE MIS- S/ON, and it is guaranteed to do well.
But the best judge of a pinball is a seasoned player, and such a player is Roger Sharpe, author of Jhe Pinball Book. We can think of no other person more qualified to render an unbiased professional opinion on the new pinballs. We're looking forward beginning next month to his contributions to this new department of PLAY METER, and we hope you are too.
Suzo Parts Collection Europe s Largest
Suzo Spare. Parts, Rotterdam The Netherlands, announces the publication of a new price cat- alogue, available free to anyone writing and requesting it.
The company also announces that they will in the future be carrying parts for the Spanish Recel machines in addition to the many other lines they already carry. ‘“‘We think that our variety in parts is the biggest in the world,”’ says L.J. Suverein, Suzo spokesman. ‘“‘We now have in stock approximately 16,000 different components for coin-operated amusement machines and are still working to have our stock completed for the future, so we can give the operators all the service they want.’’ Suzo’s new slogan, adds Suverein, is ‘‘Suzo means the largest assortment in the world.”’
Shown at the DAT/ima ‘76 Exhibition in Berlin talking to Ulrich Schulze , N.S.M. chief, is Professor Benesch who spoke to the convention about the use of coin-operated games in homes for handicapped children.
Suzo, which carries only parts, no complete machines, represents a number of the large American manufacturers in Europe. The company’s full address is Schon- ebergerweg 85-87, Rotterdam 3006, Netherlands.
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One of the most intriguing exhi- bits at the DAT/ima Exhibition was this one by N.S.M., the West German mnufacturers of phono- graphs. N.S.M. emphasized the versatility and durability of their products by installing one of their machines inside a glass fish tank. The machine played records while exotic fish swam around it.
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Subscribe now to Play Meter. For the price, no one else can deliver as much up-to-the-minute news about your industry, nor from so many levels or viewpoints. And where else can you find as much political, economic or technical information and entertaining features about the music and games business. So sit back, enjoy the articles and features and think of your subscription to Play Meter as an investment in your business future.
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(Continued from page 40)
tech Power, solve these problems by:
a)Using 10-year life computer- grade filter capacitors,
b) Using larger rectifiers operating at about half their rated current or less, and
c) Using higher powered, metal- cased, hermetically sealed power transistors and regulators.
Considering the high loss of
revenue when a game is not operating, plus the high cost of service calls and the increasing complexity of video game circuits, it pays to use the higher quality computer-grade power supply. The higher quality power supply usually adds less than 0.5 per cent to the cost of the video game but it virtually eliminates failures. _ Therefore, when a video game has one or more of the above problems, here is what can be done to resolve each problem:
a) Noise Problem: A commercial AC line filter connected between the AC input of the power supply and the fine cord will usually correct this problem.
b) Frequent /C Failures: Connect- ing a GE metal oxide varistor (MOV) across the transformer primary and an overvoltage protector (OVP) across the output of the power supply will usually protect the IC’s. Caution! Do not use an OVP unit unless the power supply has fold- back current limiting to protect it when the OVP operates.
c) Low Line Voltage: A step-up autotransformer 110 to 120V or 115 to 120V) will resolve this problem, although it may cause problems if high line voltage also occurs. In this case, an AC regulating transformer will solve the problem, although it would be cheaper to replace the power supply with a higher quality power supply which would have a wider input voltage range to com- pensate for low and high line voltages automatically.
d) Power Supply Failures: Heat is the biggest enemy of power sup- plies. A number of cooling holes in the cabinet around the periphery of the power supply and vent holes above the power supply in the top or sides of the cabinet will often provide enough cooling to save the marginal power supply. Care must be taken to locate the holes to prevent spillage into the cabinet,
and they should be screened to prevent tampering.
SUMMARY
Usually the best solution to persistent problems associated with power supplies in video games is to replace the marginal power supply design with a high grade computer- quality power supply. Most cabi- nets have more than adequate room and the wiring is quite simple. Be sure to observe polarity on the power supply output. The high quality supply will usually cost less than $50.00 and can be installed in the field.
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(Continued from page 16)
BERESTH: Are you asking me as a seller or as a buyer?
PLAY METER: A buyer.
BERESTH: It’s like anything else: the seller would like to sell for the highest price he can get, the buyer would like to buy for the lowest price. And today if somebody gave me a ride for 40 times or even 30 times, I might not be interested, but next year, because of economic conditions and the way my business is structured, I might be willing to pay 70 times depending on how it fits into my picture.
It depends on the route. And it depends on competition, so sometimes I may overpay or pay a price that may look from an outsider’s point of view extremely high. It depends on what it’s worth only to me.
PLAY METER: Okay. Let’s say I have a route to sell, and we agree on the wood value of the equipment. How many week’s take do you want to pay me for my route? What would be your first offer?
BERESTH: Well, it would have to be within reason, in all fairness to the individual sitting across the table. If I am an interested buyer and he’s an interested seller, I’m not going to sit down and waste his time, or mine. I would look not so much at the gross value but I would look at profitability. For my own particular route I don’t think I would consider less than sixty times my weekly net. PLAY METER: That’s more than a year’s take. BERESTH: Definitely. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m right but that’s what I feel my route is worth asaminimum. But I also realize that anyone else, coming completely cold into the area, cannot profit the same way we do.
Let’s say tomorrow morning ARA became interested in my route. They would analyze it completely differently because they know histor- ically that they cannot produce the same amount of profit as the independent operator can. There’s no way. This is why when they evaluate routes, and I use ARA just as an example, they must look at it with a completely different pair of eyes. Whereas if my competitor in the next town looked at my route, his profitability would be that much greater. PLAY METER: So the guy across town might be willing to pay a bit more than ARA would? BERESTH: That’s right, if he can fit it into his route. It makes sense for him to buy me out even if he has to overpay, as long as it fits into his picture. He’s eliminating competition and he’s solidifying his position in his area.
You look at that painting on the wall--it’s a ship--and you say, ‘I don’t want that.’ But I’m willing to pay $2,000 for that painting. It’s the same thing in business. No two pair of eyes analyze things the same way.
PLAY METER: You're saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
BERESTH: Right.
PLAY METER: Can we put that in business terms: acquisition price is in the eye of the beholder? BERESTH: Exactly. You have rough guidelines to go by but there are so many variables. You can’t list them. Again: is the man buying interested in equity
or in profitability? PLAY METER: Let’s talk for a minute about equity.
BERESTH: I mean equity in the sense of what the buyer projects for the future. What is his interest in a route? Many times I have bought routes because of my labor. You reach the point of diminishing returns--your labor is in excess of what it should be and you re caught. Sometimes you need additional growth just to keep all those people busy. So you buy not so much for profitability as out of need. Today I may be so interested in a route that I’d pay 70 times. Tomorrow I might not be interested in the route if you gave it to me.
Again, sometimes a guy will buy a route, not because he wants it, but because he has to--it’s a necessity--and if he buys it under those conditions, he'll pay a ridiculous amount. Other times he just has no interest. Today, I think, interest in buying is getting less and less. My interest has gotten less; I don't think I'd even consider buying a route right now. It’d have to be a small route because I’m geared for what I have. And I’m just not interested in looking at a route from the equity standpoint any longer.
PLAY METER: So you feel that that’s been one of the biggest changes in the business, the equity end of it.
BERESTH: Well, I think so. In my area. I really don't have an opportunity to see the country as a whole.
PLAY METER: In your area though, there have become fewer and fewer operators, which has
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PLAY METER
on ir)
resulted in fewer and fewer people looking to buy routes.
BERESTH: There are virtually no buyers. A large route will always sell because there’s enough in terms of volume and income for it to sustain its own overhead, but the only one who would buy a mediocre size operation is one who can incorporate it into his present operation, assuming he has a fairly substantial operation to begin with.
PLAY METER: Let’s talk a minute about the methods of operating over the last fifteen to twenty years. Have they changed all that much? BERESTH: No.
PLAY METER: Certainly they’ve gotten more sophisticated in some areas.
BERESTH: Yes. Being a cigarette operator first was an advantage for me | think, because it’s a heck of a lot easier to operate music and games. The cigarette operator always works in small figures because it’s basically a penny business. So as a cigarette operator you develop a pretty good insight into profitability; you are always very conscious of prices and you don’t let things get away from you.
I've talked to music and games operators who have gone into the cigarette business and in turn I have known cigarette operators who have gone into the music and games business. To this day, being basically a cigarette operator, when I go into a location--even if I have a very substantial revenue coming from that location--I'll still fight to keep that cigarette commission down. Because I am a cigarette operator, I know that the key in the
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cigarette business is to have a low commission even if the account could be generating a couple hundred dollars a week and I'll fight them to save a half cent or a penny a pack. But when the music operator turns to the cigarette business, he may well say to himself, ‘I’m taking out $200 a week in my music and games so I'll give the guy an extra cent and a half on cigarettes.’ He’s not as picky about it. But I’ve learned: in the cigarette business you have to keep the commission down because over the years, it’s creeping up and up and up and up. And you have to be on top of it all the time. Also the cigarette operator has always worked with figures whereas in the music and games business you don’t work with figures. Today you have to, but years ago you didn’t.
PLAY METER: What figures in particular? BERESTH: You know, you're watching pennies and pennies add upto dollars.You’re very conscious of prices, youre very conscious of the small expenses which you may not have the ability to control in many cases.
PLAY METER: Okay. We've established then that operating methods are pretty much the same as years ago but more sophisticated.
BERESTH: They are especially more sophisticated from the standpoint of accounting and accounting procedures. Profitability, depreciation--these are things that everybody takes into consideration--but now you've got things like estate planning; you've got just so many problems. If you don’t recognize potential problems, for example, your assets can be very much dissipated. This business just doesn’t stop with a quarter dropping into a juke box; it goes all the way right to death. Let’s face it: we all have to die, and we have to plan for it.
This is where the changes are: the operator is no longer simply running a route--it’s a very sophisti- cated business, and he'd better start acting like a businessman. We have to know everything from soup to nuts. And if you don’t know, you just have to pay for the brains--it’s as simple as all that. And that’s where we should invest.
PLAY METER: Could we talk about some of the financial aspects of the business?
BERESTH: Like most operators, when we first started we financed a good portion of our equipment but we haven’t financed a piece of equipment in probably the last four years.
PLAY METER: You've bought on an open account? BERESTH: Right. I don’t mean to say that we haven’t gone into a bank, but we have not financed a piece of equipment. We've had the ability, because of the way we operate, to grow and to start amortizing our routes--we’re still paying for routes we bought a couple of summers ago. I don’t know if it’s our overhead or the way we operate, we still have the ability to grow without going into financing.
This takes us into the philosophy of operating with regard to where you allocate your dollars to be spent. You can talk about video games, you can talk about jukes, you can talk about shuffles, you can talk about pins. We have our own philosophy of operating and it’s worked for us. We're satisfied. I’ve no incentive at this point to change the way we operate unless the picture changes; then we'll be
flexible with the times.
PLAY METER: What would you say has been the secret to your success, if there is one?
BERESTH: That’s a very difficult question to answer. This is still a business you have to work at. We as operators can’t run like General Motors; we can’t push buttons. You really have to go out in the field. I come to conventions and everybody sits down and everybody’s dressed in a suit and tie; and talking to people, you have to think everybody's the greatest operator in the world.
We all have our pitfalls. You come into one of our shops and you'll see a mess on location. You'll see the average operator on his own truck because one of his men didn’t show up. He’s out working. This is his success. You have to work. The day you turn your back to it is the day you have to do one of two things: you either have to sell your business or you have to decide that your profitability is going to fall, So I think the secret of success is really just work- ing at your business and understanding it fully, not just to the point where you see income and you're satisfied. You have to recognize where your profit is. I find that a lot of operators--including myself at one time--don’t do that.
PLAY METER: How do you approach your own profit situation?
BERESTH: I equate profit with the bottom line. We're not concerned about volume. Or we're concerned to a degree but sometimes more is less. I find that I am not concerned today as much with growth as I am with taking care of existing business. For example, we had the opportunity a
Everyone is faced with the problem of having old video games collecting dust in the warehouse because people are tired of tennis and hockey games not to mention the fact that such games are worth next to nothing in trade.
THE LOGICAL...
while back to pick up a new location, which was a diner, for music. Diners in some areas are probably quite good in terms of music revenue. In Connecti- cut I have just never been successful operating in a diner. And you're talking about mavbe $14,000 worth if equipment. My partner and I sat down and we decided instead to take the same dollars and put them back into our existing route, to kick our games up, to buy new games or possibly music.
I've got good equipment on my route. I have not neglected the bread and butter of my business, which is still my music, my shuffles, my games, my pool tables. This is to me of utmost importance, keeping my bread and butter or my prime pieces of equipment in the best possible shape I can. I think we as operators can lose sight of the bread and butter. I talk to many operators and we talk video games, we talk about cocktail tables. I’m not basically opposed to them but I’m interested in them only at such time as I have taken care of my present business, I’ve invested the amount of money I have to in my existing operation, in keeping my games up to date and in making it very, very difficult for competition. Theoretically with better equipment, we would reduce our service. I think that the problems to the customers are a lot less. This, for us, is the way to go. We’ve never really worried about growth. We all enjoy growth but first I like to take care of my own backyard. PLAY METER: Growth then comes about as a natural result or extension of taking care of what’s going on in your own backyard.
(See next page)
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BERESTH: Yes. I think what bears here is that when anybody looks to buy a route, jhe never really looks at what exists. You always feel that there’s potential growth when you buy. You'll change a piece, youll move a piece, you'll add a piece. And this in itself just goes to prove, I think, that there’s plenty of work to do within your own route, plenty of improvement to be made--to hell with the new locations. I’m not saying, “Don’t go get new locations,’ but don’t overlook your present ones. And this seems to be the sort of thing I’m seeing in this business: everybody’s dashing out, worrying about the other guy’s getting a new location. Sure we want our share of route stops but we must be very conscious of our existing business.
It’s amazing when I go out--maybe a collector is sick or I'll just walk around the route on a particular day, not so much because I can’t send anybody else but because I think it’s healthy for me to get out once in a while. It’s amazing the information I come back with. I see a dirty piece on location or I'll see a pool table that should have been re-covered or one where the rails may be split or worn, and my collector just neglected to tell me. This disturbs me. But there isn’t an operator in the country who, if he didn’t go out of his shop for a day or two days to visit every one of his locations, wouldn’t get sick to his stomach with some of the things he would see, right on his own route. But nobody talks about it. The large operator just doesn’t get out in the field enough. We draw beautiful pictures, and we like to sit here thinking, ‘T’m the greatest operator in the world.’ And it’s just baloney. We all have our dirty laundry.
PLAY METER: What are some of the biggest or the most irritating problems?
BERESTH: [ hear a lot of operators complain about loans; I hear about problems with repairs. I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. In this business, it seems to me, the big problems are few and far between. It’s just that it’s such a detailed business; there are a million details. You’ve got ten men, you've got ten problems, and then ten more--they multiply. You’ve got twenty men, the multiples change. It’s like pushing a balloon down in the water, it just pops up some place else.
PLAY METER: But you can at least identify some of the problems, and that’s half the solution. BERESTH: Now, we don’t have problems from a profitability standpoint, so I can’t complain about that. Sure I can complain about equipment giving me problems from time to time, but that’s equipment. Who am I kidding to say we're not going to have problems? I'd be a fool to sit here and say, Sir, your machines are going to work 100 per cent of the time.” It just isn’t going to happen. I don’t care if you buy a new car or a new piece of equipment, no matter who the manufacturer is, there are going to be problems. So again, major problems we don’t have.
We do have problems;for example, our mechanics in many cases have repair difficulties. Unfortunate- ly the industry had a very, very low wage scale. We don't have the ability to pay for top-level
= mechanics, and I don’t know what the answer is in
:
this area. I talk to people from all over the country
and sometimes I think my wage scale is relatively low considering the experience it takes, the number of years before you have a really well- -qualified mechanic. And I wish there was something I could do because I would like to see my men enjoy a good standard of living. But then I look at my investment, I look at my return. I still have to come out with a reasonable profit. It’s hard for the mechanics to produce for the company in terms of revenue; they can’t do anything to induce sales. Sure your mechanics can help you keep your equipment working, but that can’t stimulate additional revenue. I try, but it’s hard for us as operators to really reward our good personnel. PLAY METER: Certainly by ‘protecting revenue,’ the mechanic performs an important function. How do you justify paying your mechanics less than you feel they deserve?
BERESTH: A smaller one or two man operation has the ability to pay a mechanic more actually than a larger operation because the larger operator really can’t compensate his men on an individual level. Even a large operation is small in terms of employees. In a small company, it’s very difficult to pay the men on different levels, and this is the prob- lem. You increase one man’s salary and you have to increase everyone’s across the board. Some of them you're undercompensating, and some of them youre overcompensating. It becomes very, very difficult.
Iran into a problem also when we bought route; in some cases the pay scale of the new men was higher, and some cases it was lower. You'd be surprised at the friction that causes. How do you explain to your existing men, when you take over a company that the new man’s scale is higher. It’s pretty hard to do. The value of a good man to a small operator is immense--without his key men he couldn’t exist--whereas a large operator has no man he can't get by without. Nobody is that important. This is what’s difficult: you'll find that the small operators will usually pay more for their key men.
PLAY METER: More positively now: are there any particular accomplishments in your business that youre especially proud of?
BERESTH: That’s a very difficult question to answer; it really is. I think in most cases, when a son goes into the business, the majority of the work, the hard work has been done by the father. In my father’s case we're talking about forty-five years of experience. But I was at least able to maintain the business he had built and in addition we built our own music and games business. I think this is the greatest accomplishment--I’m not just Ed Beresth’s son, but I’m Neil Beresth. In many father-son relationships there is that conflict of ‘could I have done it on my own’? So knowing the music and games could exist without the cigarette business gives me a great feeling of accomplish- ment. Now, even though I have a fairly substantial cigarette route, my own personal emphasis is more on the music and games business; I feel it’s more a part of me than what was handed down to me. In some cases, I may even neglect my cigarette business because I’m more interested in music and games.
The Rock-Ola 464. finything else is less.
When you order a jukebox, you have a clear-cut choice. You can order a Rock-Ola 464. Or you can order some- thing less. Because, until we start work on next year’s model, the 464 is as good as jukeboxes get.
lts neon-inspired graphics grab the customers’ atten- tion. Its blinking, colorful selection/control panel makes playing easy and exciting.
And the 464 sounds as good as it looks. Because inside, a specially-designed acoustical chamber dis- perses the music properly. Nothing stays trapped inside to vibrate and muffle.
Being a Rock-Ola, the 464 is unaffected by dirt. Dust.
Greasy air. Grime. Hard use. Liquids. And time. It’s built to take it all and keep right on playing, while other machines overheat, overwork or just plain wear out.
Besides all that, the 464 helps you count your take. An optional computerized change counter (Model 2181) keeps track, and even gives you a complete printed record.
So, it comes down to your choice. You can have Rock-Ola 464, with features other machines can only copy. Or you can-have something less.
But then that’s always been true of Rock-Ola.
HOCK-OLA BS
Is there really anything else ?