Thanks Joe! I've been there, at the old and new locations, several times. It's a lot of fun and brings me back as well. The reason so many of the machines can be not working is that they use volunteers to fix them. When I worked at Bally Technologies, we had several electricians that would volunteer their time there. They are a not for profit operations and donate any profits to charity. It's a great place, but is a lot busier now than when they were on Tropicana, versus the strip. The only negative is the parking. They could use a bigger lot. I don't go there on the weekends...
Yeah thanks I didn't realize it was volunteers until I posted this video and got a lot of comments about that. I still think most people will it be cool paying a 5 or $10 cover just to get then that would cover the cost of paying technicians to get out there and have more machines available
What a dump. My cousin was in Vegas for his wedding and his son wanted to go inside, also immediately the son was harassed by his Hoodie he was wearing and was asked to leave. I call upon all my brown brothers and sisters to not go to this dump it's not worth your time.
It's not the machines that can't keep up, it's the personnel. I'm one of the repair folks and the problem is we can't get enough people to do the repair work. We went from about 250 machines in the old location and now we have over 400. We have room to go to 700 but we can't fix'em. All the "profit" goes to charity, in large part to the Salvation Army but also to a bunch of others .
Thanks for listening and filling Us in with that info good to know I had no idea was a charity operation that's fucking awesome. I think that is a common problem these days people just can't get quality employees. I hope the changes because it's a great place. I couldn't even imagine having 700 working machines how much better it would be. Keep up the good work
I’m young and I stopped in a year ago to get out of the heat after standing at the sign, so I guess they had just moved. Didn’t play any of the games, but I donated because it was beautiful to wander around admiring the old machines and comparing the designs between each era. About half of them were dark, but I agree, there was no end of things to do, especially since you can strike up a conversation easily about any aspect you’re interested in. There are hobbyists and employees all around just itching to chat if you’d like. Very chill, very fun. I heartily recommended this place yesterday to a friend as an alternative to the casinos since he was worried about nurturing his gambling tendencies-I told him to skip the casinos since nowadays they’re like walking into a sea of mobile games and they’ve abandoned their gimmicks, and to visit the Hall instead if he ever goes. It’s the sensible thing to do!
Amazing place, the owner is doing a great service keeping these machines alive. I spent my youth in arcades and think it's important for everyone to see where gaming started, today its worth more than the movie industry.
Owner Tim Arnold is a good guy, he has done a lot for the pinball hobby. No question he has his hands full keeping the games going, it is much more work than people imagine. I own six machines and it's hard to keep all of them working at the same time. Parts are available but expensive. And it is very time consuming. Think about how long it would take just to clean and wax over 500 pinball playfields. Not fun.
I went there a few years ago and I feel the same way. The place is cool and gives off a great nostalgic feel. But, everything is haphazardly placed around the space, with broken and non-working machines scattered about. In order for the owner to make things better, he should charge an entrance fee and then put all the machines on free play like many other old school pinball/arcades nowadays. A $15 or $20 entrance fee would generate the revenue he needs to pay a few people to help re-organize the space and allow some paid repairmen to maintain machines on a daily basis. This is how they run the Pinball museum in California & it works great. All the machines are working and they rotate a few machines in & out every week to keep things interesting with the large surplus of machines they have on hand in storage. I think $20 is a deal to play all day at places like this. But, I understand that this place run completely off of volunteers, so this is the end result.
that sucks.. ya, i dont think the guy can keep up with the wear and tear with the increased volume mixed with these aging games. he should charge $5 to get in and have more repair guys.
THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD WITH OVER 620 MACHINES IN ONE PLACE. YES ABOUT 20-25% ARE NOT WORKING. HE HAS PUT ADS IN LAS PAPERS FOR ARCADE MECHANICS BUT THEY WANT $25-27 AN HOUR PAY. 😂😂😂😂. IF HE PAYS SAY 5-7 MECHANICS THAT KIND OF MONEY HE WOULD HAVE TO CHARGE AN ENTRANCE FEE OF AT LEAST $20 TO GET IN MAYBE PARKING FEES AS WELL. HE WAS HOPING TO GET RETIRED MECHANICS TO COME IN AND TEACH YOUNGER PEOPLE HOW TO FIX BUT NO LUCK WITH RETIREMENT MECHANICS THEY ALL WANT $$$. WHAT A FEW LAS VEGAS COLLEGES SHOULD DO IS ONES THAT TEACH ELECTRONICS SHOULD DO APPRENTICE SHIPS WITH THIS PLACE. THEY LEARN AND GET COLLEGE CREDITS AND TIM GETS HELP HE SO DESPERATELY NEEDS .
Have fun. I would call ahead to make sure those machines are working I would hate for you to get there and they're not and be disappointed LOL maybe if you call a few days before tell them you're coming just for those machines they'll make sure they're working
I used to LOVE this place, but the owner and employees were just so damn rude! Plus half of the machines don’t even work. I would absolutely not support this business. Player one on Maryland is way cooler. The owner Tim is such a miserable sad person. Just my thoughts.
@@JoeInVegasReviews yeah man, it’s on Maryland (admittedly a sketchy area) but it’s 5 bucks to get in and all the arcade games (except pinball) are free to play. The employees dress up as video game characters and they have a full bar. It’s smaller but definitely worth a visit.
I have to agree with you. If you look through these comments or on TripAdvisor and yelp, there are dozens of comments about the crotchety woman that works at the front counter and the Constant confrontations with customers. This place has a no fun policy.
Thanks Joe! I've been there, at the old and new locations, several times. It's a lot of fun and brings me back as well. The reason so many of the machines can be not working is that they use volunteers to fix them. When I worked at Bally Technologies, we had several electricians that would volunteer their time there. They are a not for profit operations and donate any profits to charity. It's a great place, but is a lot busier now than when they were on Tropicana, versus the strip. The only negative is the parking. They could use a bigger lot. I don't go there on the weekends...
Yeah thanks I didn't realize it was volunteers until I posted this video and got a lot of comments about that. I still think most people will it be cool paying a 5 or $10 cover just to get then that would cover the cost of paying technicians to get out there and have more machines available
What a dump. My cousin was in Vegas for his wedding and his son wanted to go inside, also immediately the son was harassed by his Hoodie he was wearing and was asked to leave. I call upon all my brown brothers and sisters to not go to this dump it's not worth your time.
Well, it makes you feel better. It’s not about race. They’re just shitty to Everybody
It's not the machines that can't keep up, it's the personnel. I'm one of the repair folks and the problem is we can't get enough people to do the repair work.
We went from about 250 machines in the old location and now we have over 400. We have room to go to 700 but we can't fix'em.
All the "profit" goes to charity, in large part to the Salvation Army but also to a bunch of others .
Thanks for listening and filling Us in with that info good to know I had no idea was a charity operation that's fucking awesome. I think that is a common problem these days people just can't get quality employees. I hope the changes because it's a great place. I couldn't even imagine having 700 working machines how much better it would be. Keep up the good work
I’m young and I stopped in a year ago to get out of the heat after standing at the sign, so I guess they had just moved. Didn’t play any of the games, but I donated because it was beautiful to wander around admiring the old machines and comparing the designs between each era. About half of them were dark, but I agree, there was no end of things to do, especially since you can strike up a conversation easily about any aspect you’re interested in. There are hobbyists and employees all around just itching to chat if you’d like. Very chill, very fun. I heartily recommended this place yesterday to a friend as an alternative to the casinos since he was worried about nurturing his gambling tendencies-I told him to skip the casinos since nowadays they’re like walking into a sea of mobile games and they’ve abandoned their gimmicks, and to visit the Hall instead if he ever goes. It’s the sensible thing to do!
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
Amazing place, the owner is doing a great service keeping these machines alive. I spent my youth in arcades and think it's important for everyone to see where gaming started, today its worth more than the movie industry.
My twins 11 and little guy 8. LOVE pinball machines. Coming to vegas in 2 weeks. We will definately be there!!!
Owner Tim Arnold is a good guy, he has done a lot for the pinball hobby. No question he has his hands full keeping the games going, it is much more work than people imagine. I own six machines and it's hard to keep all of them working at the same time. Parts are available but expensive. And it is very time consuming. Think about how long it would take just to clean and wax over 500 pinball playfields. Not fun.
A local video arcade in the early '80s used not quarters, but *dimes* for its games. That was a great bargain and a lot of fun.
Great review! I've only been to the East Tropicana location.
You should check this one out too. Thanks for listening
I went there a few years ago and I feel the same way. The place is cool and gives off a great nostalgic feel. But, everything is haphazardly placed around the space, with broken and non-working machines scattered about. In order for the owner to make things better, he should charge an entrance fee and then put all the machines on free play like many other old school pinball/arcades nowadays. A $15 or $20 entrance fee would generate the revenue he needs to pay a few people to help re-organize the space and allow some paid repairmen to maintain machines on a daily basis. This is how they run the Pinball museum in California & it works great. All the machines are working and they rotate a few machines in & out every week to keep things interesting with the large surplus of machines they have on hand in storage. I think $20 is a deal to play all day at places like this. But, I understand that this place run completely off of volunteers, so this is the end result.
Yep exactly. I'm sure they've talked about it over the years but decided to keep it as it is
About to go today!!!
Enjoy
@@JoeInVegasReviews it was pretty cool! $10 lasted 2-hours!
youre not gonna find a better bang for your buck anywhere
@@chocolateshogun2511
Since they moved, that cool popcorn vending machine is gone
We really liked the popcorn but what we had was Genuine Theater popcorn, We had a local theater do the popping and they're out of biz.
I was there about 6 months ago and a large percent of the games weren't working.
that sucks.. ya, i dont think the guy can keep up with the wear and tear with the increased volume mixed with these aging games. he should charge $5 to get in and have more repair guys.
This is a non profit, the guy running it fixes everything himself so have some patience.
It's not a non profit business.
THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD WITH OVER 620 MACHINES IN ONE PLACE. YES ABOUT 20-25% ARE NOT WORKING. HE HAS PUT ADS IN LAS PAPERS FOR ARCADE MECHANICS BUT THEY WANT $25-27 AN HOUR PAY. 😂😂😂😂.
IF HE PAYS SAY 5-7 MECHANICS THAT KIND OF MONEY HE WOULD HAVE TO CHARGE AN ENTRANCE FEE OF AT LEAST $20 TO GET IN MAYBE PARKING FEES AS WELL.
HE WAS HOPING TO GET RETIRED MECHANICS TO COME IN AND TEACH YOUNGER PEOPLE HOW TO FIX BUT NO LUCK WITH RETIREMENT MECHANICS THEY ALL WANT $$$. WHAT A FEW LAS VEGAS COLLEGES SHOULD DO IS ONES THAT TEACH ELECTRONICS SHOULD DO APPRENTICE SHIPS WITH THIS PLACE. THEY LEARN AND GET COLLEGE CREDITS AND TIM GETS HELP HE SO DESPERATELY NEEDS .
I’m going to Vegas to only go here. Open to close. Star Wars and T2 all the way.
Have fun. I would call ahead to make sure those machines are working I would hate for you to get there and they're not and be disappointed LOL maybe if you call a few days before tell them you're coming just for those machines they'll make sure they're working
@@JoeInVegasReviews I guess my antique buddy sells him pinball machines. Vegas is a small town. I’ll call ahead for sure.
I used to LOVE this place, but the owner and employees were just so damn rude! Plus half of the machines don’t even work. I would absolutely not support this business. Player one on Maryland is way cooler. The owner Tim is such a miserable sad person. Just my thoughts.
I never even heard of player one. Is that a similar type of place? With old arcades? Maybe I'll check it out
@@JoeInVegasReviews yeah man, it’s on Maryland (admittedly a sketchy area) but it’s 5 bucks to get in and all the arcade games (except pinball) are free to play. The employees dress up as video game characters and they have a full bar. It’s smaller but definitely worth a visit.
I have to agree with you. If you look through these comments or on TripAdvisor and yelp, there are dozens of comments about the crotchety woman that works at the front counter and the Constant confrontations with customers. This place has a no fun policy.
You swear, I leave
Well, shit