Since I can remember, I've always loved putting quarters into coin op machines. The gumball machines at the local department store, the candy machine at my dad's work, the stand up arcade at the resturant, it was all so interesting how they worked. When I turned 10, a pool hall opened up in my little town. It was a magical place for a 10 year old boy. You could play air hockey, arcades, pool, a shuffle bowler, and of course pinball. I was a young impressionable kid hanging out with high schoolers. It kind of made you feel like you were cooler then you really were.
They had a Street Fighter and a FunHouse pinball machine and I was hooked. I remember completing my paper route on Wednesday afternoon and head straight to the pool hall to use up the quarters I had collected. It was a way to pass the time with friends and my brothers.
We took a family trip to Old Orchard Beach in Maine. They had 3 arcades massive arcades. Each of the arcades were lined with pinball machines and I could play for hours. Over the years one arcade after another started to close. Soon the only arcade left didn't even have a pinball machine since they were replaced with ticket redemption machines.
Fast forward 20 year later. Just a random night searching craigslist, I typed in pinball machines to see what was for sale. There was the ad, $250 for a New World Pinball machine. Having an electrical engineering degree I figured, why not get it and see if I can figure it out. I ended up spending the entire weekend working on the machine and then the next week playing it. I was hooked again, just like I was back in the pool hall.
Next thing I knew I had placed an ad on craigslist looking for old pinball machines to buy and a guy from Alabama was at my house delivering 8 pinball machines. (In need of serious help) I've now repaired machines for others and expanded my collection to other coin op including a shuffle bowler. Its an outstanding hobby, turned into a collection, that my wife would tell you borders on obsession.
