One thing I learned about pins is that you can't depend on them being there for you on location. They go away, they break down, whatever. You need to buy them and make friends with other collectors for machines to be reliable.

POTC from 2 chuck e cheeses in my area went away. sad times

There is a Shrek at the Chuck E Cheese in Concord, CA:

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I had to play it.

Pinball is pretty rare where im from. However, ive been fortunate enough to come into contact with the owners which led me to free games on location or invites to homes/personal collections.

Me too. Apparently there is an Elvis at a CEC in Natick but I'm not going into that grimy place no matter how many nostalgic memories of Showbiz I have. I'm not able to contact private owners either *sniff*

My friend was a GM there for over 7 years and he just recently left the company. He said they are pulling pins out of all the Chuck E Cheese's. The good news is that they are sending them all back to their warehouse and not destroying them. We just lost our POTC too at the location our family would go to on occasion and a new location opened up in my city and there is no pinball to be found. Pretty sad that they can't/won't make pinball work.

Ouch, 147 million + for the ticket on that Shrek. I bet that one doesn't pay out very much. I think our POTC was 90 million when it was here.

The bad news is that they changed who was reselling them and now the resale prices are insane. We are also getting to the last of the CEC inventory and the condition now compared to a couple of years ago is night and day. Most of the CEC inventory is basically parts machines now (at close to high used prices). If they sit on them, I fear they may just trash them in the end.

Do they have the slightest clue about what they are just trashing? And has anybody ever asked them about coming in once in a while to do routine maintenance on these things to keep them running?

_{Post edited by balselly: change "due" to "do"}

Most of the Chuck E Cheese Machines I have purchased had between $30,000 and $40,000 worth of earnings on them. In any other location, I could see where maintaining them would make some financial sense, but the chaos that is Chuck E Cheese is- Drop token, wait for immediate satisfaction of receiving ticket, drop another token, rinse and repeat. Chuck E Cheese is definitely a quantity over quality type of experience.

It's been a quite some time since my last visit to CEC, but I recall pretty much everything being one token. Even the little bike that kids ride on and fly in the air about 10 feet.

Are their pins set up for one token play? Or two? Either way, that's a lot of plays and I can only hope that my machines last that long in my personal collection.

If they are lasting that long, then somebody is doing some sort of maintenance on them. So why the need to trash these out. The whole idea of it frustrating to think about.

Based on what I have received, maintenance was pretty much pledge, a rag, and a torch for soldering.

All the Shreks and POTCs must be pretty trashed by now, must be a factor in them moving out of CEC locations. Seems like a Muppets pin could fill the void.

Everything at CEC is one token. Most of those plays probably lasted literally 45 seconds for a total game, so it isn't like a normal location in that respect.

Are you sure? I think you live in a great area for pinball. Some of the best locations between Lanes and Games in Cambridge, Pinball Wizard up in Pelham NH, and the Boston Pinball Association. Add in the tournaments up at JRs house in Maine and we live in what would be considered one of the best areas for pins.

Yeah, that was how many times the start button was pushed.... actual plays? Dunno... 50 or so?

the real tragedy is anyone that would willingly give their hard earned money to chucky cheese anymore.

Back in the day cec used to have pins and a ton of video games. now its nothing but crappy redemption games.
not even fun games like whack a mole where you actually got to do something fun.
now its nothing more than gambling. every place I go that has coin op entertainment I let management know that if they have pins in good working condition I will come in often and spend lots of money. if they give me the same old tired line of pins cost too much, or don't earn, or are too high maintenance etc. I tell them then you wont be getting any of my money.

I operate redemption games and pinballs. Amount earned.......there is no comparison at all. Pins do cost too much, don't earn, and are very high maintenance when compared to redemption. Pinball can and does work and is proven in barcade type places. CEC.........not so much.

I now have a baby, but if I took my nephews and nieces out, I only went to places that had pins too. These places want the money from the kids, but if the parents don't take them there, then they don't get anything. Have entertainment for the adults too.

My local CEC has Elvis, but it is so beat and dirty. It has a zip tie for a rubber ring, and two of the drop targets won't reset among other things.

Too good.

I rack up 150 and 75 point jumbo tickets playing POTC at my neighborhood C&C, and give all the tix to the kids.
Other kids go to the counter with 60, 70...my kid has 2400.
And...for 1 token, which usually can be found on the floor, I am playing a shopped POTC that is clean and constantly upkept. win, win, win

and I thought only I did this..

Actually they don't have any redemption games either. No skill cranes, stackers or anything where you win a prize on the spot. Only ticket dispensing games and a few driving/shooting games nowadays.

I thought ticket dispensers were considered redemption games.

from an operator point of view, I completely understand why redemption games win out. cost less, less upkeep, make a ton more money. that is the saddest part of it all. everyone I introduce pinball to and they learn the rules of a game they become hooked and want to find more games to play. this should be spreading like wildfire and making pins your biggest earners.