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AMI
AND UNIVERSAL LAUNCH PROMOTION FOR LIFEHOUSE
(Posted March 8, 2010 -- 3:15PM)
AMI Entertainment and Universal Music Group have launched a national jukebox music promotion featuring the rock band Lifehouse and their new album Smoke & Mirrors, which was released Tuesday, March 2. Running through March 30, the national promotion includes a short video clip that will play on thousands of AMI broadband-connected jukeboxes in bars, taverns, diners and other venues. The video prompts patrons to “Touch Here to Win” in order to submit their contact information and enter to win a signed guitar from Lifehouse. Other prizes include autographed posters and CDs.
RAW THRILLS PARTNERS WITH MEI
(Posted March 8, 2010 -- 3:15PM)
MEI has entered into a long-term exclusive agreement with arcade game developer Raw Thrills, whereby the latter is changing their payment systems specification to MEI, the two firms announced today. Beginning with the release of Terminator Salvation Arcade, and for the next three years, Raw Thrills’ coin-op games will ship standard-equipped with MEI Series 2000 bill validators.
Raw
Thrills has begun shipping new machines featuring MEI validators. Chris
Felix, MEI’s national amusement OEM manager, added: “We are excited and honored
to be awarded exclusivity on all Raw Thrills machines. Raw Thrills creates some
of the most profitable games in the industry, and this agreement demonstrates
their commitment to providing games that maximize operator revenue.”
GLOBAL VR PARTNERS
WITH ADRENALINE
AMUSEMENTS
(Posted March 8, 2010 -- 3:15PM)
Global VR and Adrenaline Amusements have struck a partnership that gives Global VR the exclusive sales and service rights for Adrenaline’s new redemption game, Kaboom, for both North and South America. Kaboom is the brain child of David Lachance and Stephanie Pichette. It incorporates interactive 3D video with the appeal of redemption.
“We are extremely pleased to be working with Global VR,” said Adrenaline’s Marc-Antoine Pinard. “They are known for their excellent product as well as their professional sales and service staff. We strongly believe that our product, Kaboom, is a natural fit with Global VR.”
Kaboom will be displayed at this week’s Amusement Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 10-12. For more details regarding this product or its distribution, log on to www.globalvr.com or www.adrenalineamusements.com.
CALIFORNIA
LOOKING AT PRIZE RESTRICTION
(Posted March 5, 2010 -- 2PM)
Some prize games would be restricted to giving out prizes that did not exceed the value of the cost to play the game under a bill that has been introduced in the California assembly. The measure, introduced by California lawmaker Isadore Hall of the Los Angeles area, would amend the state laws regarding slot machines, defining as a slot machine “any machine or device that offers any prize or consideration with a value greater than the price or amount to play the machine or device, regardless of chance, or the skill or knowledge of the operator.” The proposed law goes on to say that any machine qualifying under this new definition would also be defined as a “gambling machine” per that term’s meaning under federal law. To add further confusion to the situation, the language of Hall's bill reaffirms a state exemption that precludes amusement games of skill from being prosecuted under California gambling laws.
At this point, it’s not clear if the California trade is responding to this measure. The state’s operator association has gone dormant in recent years, although at least one of the state’s major distributors has been alerted to the existence of the bill.
"This is the dumbest proposal to come up anywhere in my entire experience," said RePlay columnist Tom Fricke, an attorney known for his expertise in the laws of redemption. "California has always been a 'predominance' state. It will still be a 'predominance' state. But putting into the law a definition that limits skill prizes, making the limitation ambiguous and putting it next to a total exception to that limitation, will certainly create ambiguity, embolden the zealots, spawn litigation and deprive an entire industry of the legal certainty that it now enjoys in California. Moreover, while a few other states, like Arizona, put tight limits on skill games for prizes and other states, like Louisiana, ban them altogether, the mainstream has never imposed such a draconian limitation on prizes for skill play. Why? Because there's not even a tenuous connection between prize value and the public safety, if you're talking about a skill-predominant game. Just ask the appeals court in Ohio, which this summer ruled that a similar prize value restriction was unconstitutional. This proposal didn't come from the Indian tribes. Let's hope that they don't decide to support it."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DAVE
PECKELS JOINS PIPELINE GAMES
(Posted March 5, 2010 -- 2PM)
James Ko, CEO of newly founded Pipeline Games, has appointed industry veteran Dave Peckels as the firm’s VP of sales. Peckels will be in charge of all U.S. sales of amusement games.
“I’ve known James Ko for over 20 years, and when he showed me the new products Pipeline Games will be offering, I jumped at the opportunity to work with him,” said Peckels. “We can’t wait to see the industry reaction to them at the AAMA/AMOA show later this month and believe that the operators will be impressed.” Dave can be reached at dave@pipelinegamesinc.com or 310/324-1882.
“Dave and I have been friends for many years, and I know that we will work together very well,” added Ko. “We believe that when operators and distributors see what we will be bringing to market, we will both be very busy.”
MARC-ANTOINE
PINARD JOINS ADRENALINE AS NEW VP
(Posted March 5, 2010 -- 2PM)
Adrenaline Amusements reports that Marc-Antoine Pinard has joined the burgeoning supplier as its VP of business development and marketing. Marc-Antoine’s non-traditional marketing background will be a strong asset that suits the objectives of the manufacturer, said Francois Lachance, CEO of Adrenaline.
Marc boasts a background in marketing and distributing apparel and more, having recently trained professional service firms in sales and development. Marc will attend the upcoming Amusement Expo to help debut Adrenaline’s first new redemption game. Stop by booth 1042 to meet him and check out the game.
BIG
BUCK HUNTER IS
NOW SUPPORTING WI-FI
(Posted March 5, 2010 -- 2PM)
Big Buck Hunter Pro Open Season and Big Buck Safari now support WiFi, game creator PlayMechanix announced this week. PlayMechanix is also selling select hardware to get the games connected wirelessly, although operators can buy off-the-shelf components as well. Games must be running current software too. To learn more, contact PlayMechanix directly at www.coinup.com.
ANDAMIRO
NAMES NEW CEO, PREVIEWS SOFTWARE
(Posted March 5, 2010 -- 2PM)
Andamiro
USA announced the appointment this week of a new CEO, Bright Lee, who will head
the factory’s U.S. operations in the newly created position. Lee joined
Andamiro Korea in a senior management position in 2008. He holds a Bachelor’s
in engineering and an MBA in management and marketing with 23 years experience
in various industries to his credit. Lee will serve as a bridge between the sales
and marketing division in the U.S. and the game developer’s research and
production headquarters in Korea. Stop by Andamiro’s booth, no. 1123, at next
week’s Amusement Expo, to say hello to the new executive.
Andamiro will also be offering two new software updates for its classic Pump It Up dance game platform. Fiesta features 280 songs plus two new modes: the Music Train mode letting players select their favorite songs and the Quest World mode for more versatile play. The second upgrade is for the Pro version of Pump It Up. Pro 2 has 800 new step charts and many new modifiers plus new two-player features called Routine mode and Gauntlet mode. Contact your local Andamiro distributor to learn more about these releases.
ECAST
HONORS POWER TO THE GAMES
(Posted March 5, 2010 -- 2PM)
Ecast
has named Philadelphia-based operator Power to the Games (a.k.a. Apple Vending)
as the recipient for its annual Jukebox Hero award. The award recognizes the
operator who makes the most significant contribution within the calendar year
to growing the Ecast footprint. Power to the Games is a new-to-Ecast operator
who was also one of the company’s largest competitive operators in previous years.
In 2009, Power to the Games installed predominantly Ecast EQ digital jukeboxes.
“To
stay successful in today’s market, you need to stay competitive and
exceed
customer expectations,” said Tony Yula, owner, Power to the Games. “The
EQ makes me a rock star
with my best locations and gets me into new locations too. Nothing else
on the
market today comes close to what the EQ offers. It’s a must-have in the
product
portfolio for operators who are serious about success in today’s tough
marketplace.” The
award was presented to Yula by Scott Walker, Ecast VP of network
operations, at
an on-site visit and dinner in Philadelphia earlier this week. Yula
(right) was pictured with Power to the Games Chris Vecchione and Steve
Comer along with Ecast's Ryan Smith (left).
SMART INDUSTRIES PROMOS NEW GAME
(Posted March 3, 2010 -- 2PM)
The game creators at Smart Industries in Des Moines, Iowa, say their customers are poised to score some impressive earnings with their new game, Easy Touchdown, which combines the play dynamics of a pusher with the redemption power of a merchandise game, along with a unique feature that will entice players to keep coming back for more. The factory has yet to release a picture of the game, which will be unveiled next week at the Amusement Expo in Las Vegas. They have, however, posted a video of the game being played on their website at www.smartind.com/td.
OPERATORS
JOIN FORCES FOR MEGA ROUTE
(Posted March 3, 2010 -- 2PM)
A new nationwide route and management firm, Entertainment Experts LLC, came into existence this week as the result of a three-way merger by a group of already well-known and promotion-focused operators. Entertainment Experts represents a new partnership struck by industry veterans Jason Rubin of AJ Video, Baltimore, Md.; Gary S. Cohen and Matt Pascal of JES-Video, Amusement Vending and Travel Center Specialists, Denver, Colo.; and Jeff and Kama Reed of BJ Novelty, Covington, Ky.
The new national company says its goal is to “deliver on-premise platforms to elevate play, promotions and advertising in a wide array of locations where consumers come together to eat, drink and enjoy themselves.” The team brings more than 120 years of combined industry experience, having won numerous awards and enjoying a wide array of technical expertise on different suppliers' games and components. In fact, BJ Novelty celebrates 55 years in business this month.
“Entertainment Experts has been formed to bring restaurants, taverns and other distribution destinations a wide array of leading-edge games and entertainment systems to better serve and attract consumers to these venues,” said Jason Rubin, a co-founder of Entertainment Experts.
“Our new company leverages our size and scale to bring better products and pricing to the retail marketplace,” said Gary S. Cohen. “This provides enormous value to local single site establishments and large national chains alike by helping these companies better serve their customer’s entertainment interests.”
The combined company will employ 80 people and cover more than 2,000 locations in dozens of states. All of the firms involved were also involved in the formation and development of Club Lucky Group, and the business will remain an integral part of that marketing and promotion cooperative. “Entertainment Experts provides our customers not only with new and expanded revenue opportunities but with a way to solidify their local customer relationships with affordable and enjoyable entertainment programs,” said Kama Reed. “Effectively, our entertainment solutions create enduring connections to each individual business establishment.”
LAI GAMES ANNOUNCES FREE FREIGHT SPECIAL
(Posted March 3, 2010 -- 2PM)
LAI is offering free shipping on all so-called Mini products to anywhere in the continental U.S. This promotion includes the two mini photo booths, Mini Star Blitz and the brand-new Snapshot, as well as the Mini Little Masterpiecetouch-screen coloring game, and Mini Stacker, the compact version of the award-winning Stacker prize vending game. Games must be purchased by March 31, 2010.
COAST TO COAST REACHES
MILESTONE WITH PYRAMID
(Posted March 3, 2010 -- 2PM)
Game maker Coast to Coast Entertainment has just reached a milestone with its bill validator supplier, Pyramid Technologies, marking the $250,000 level in purchasing from Pyramid. Ted Furkin from Pyramid personally phoned Gary Balaban at Coast to Coast to inform him and offer his congratulations. “We are honored to be part of such a prestigious group, and we look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial relationship,” said Balaban.
BENCHMARK TO ROLL OUT ARCADE PACKAGES AT EXPO
(Posted March 3, 2010 -- 2PM)
Benchmark Games will next week unveil its “Benchmark Arcade” at the co-mingled Amusement Expo in Las Vegas, March 10-12. The Benchmark Arcade will showcase two packages the company is offering. “We’ve created two packages to offer at the Amusement Expo for both the well-established redemption game operators and for start-up facilities. Both of these packages are ideal for skating rinks, bowling centers and pizza parlors and more,” said Al Kress of Benchmark. “These are tested and proven workhorses of our business. Each of the packages are great investments ready to plug in and begin increasing revenues.”
The Benchmark Arcade’s Ticket Redemption Turnkey Package features eight machines, plus spare parts kit for all machines and $1,000 worth of prizes. The second package is called the Turnkey 2010 All-In-One Ticket Redemption Solution and includes eight machines, plus a free product starter kit for Ticket-to-Prizes and Acme Crane worth $1,000.” Visit the Benchmark booth to get more detail on the two arcade packages or contact the factory directly via www.benchmarkgames.com.
ALABAMA BINGO SAID TO BE COVERT GAMING
(Posted March 1, 2010 -- 4:30PM)
The hot topic of gaming in Alabama continues to generate
opinions on both sides of the proposed referendum to let voters
authorize 10 large bingo casinos or reject gaming altogether. One
argument, which appeared as a commentary in the Montgomery Advisor,
holds that gaming is alive and well with slot machines being disguised
as bingo and employees bearing the brunt of recent crack downs.
“For the last six or seven years, casinos using slot machines to
play so-called ‘electronic bingo’ have employed people, mostly at
minimum wage, so they can hide behind their employees to run an illegal
operation,” wrote Renea Smith. “The real victims here are the employees
of these dishonest casino bosses. Rather than being upset with law
enforcement officers and the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling,
the employees should be outraged at the person who hired them to
promote an illegal activity. Certainly no one in Alabama would
intentionally defend a person breaking the law. Let’s get our facts
straight.”
Governor Bob Riley recently ran into conflict with local
communities served by the bingo casinos, which legally operate as an
extension of paper bingo, by recently launching a task force to shut
them down.
AMOT TO SPONSOR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP BENEFIT
(Posted March 1, 2010 -- 4:30PM)
The Amusement and Music Operators of Texas will sponsor the
Michael D. Hello Memorial Golf Tournament on Saturday, March 27, at the
Teravista Golf Club in Round Rock, Texas. A portion of the $85 fee,
which in addition to the game includes a burger bar, raffle and award
ceremony, will benefit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. with a 1:30 p.m. shotgun start.
Registration is required by March 18, also the deadline for raffle donations. Direct inquiries to Amy Edelmon, aedelmon@austin.rr.com.
Instant RePlay News Archive (for 2010 news stories)
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