Several times.

Most of the pins within a reasonable distance from me are badly routed. It's extremely disappointing.

I even expressed interest to the owners to see if they would be willing to sell them, but I never heard back.

At Salisbury Beach in Mass there is a Star Wars Trilogy pin. It sits right in the front of the arcade where the salty ocean water is slow rotting this machine. Its got a broken flipper, broken pop bumper, rusty legs and a filthy playfield.
About 2 years ago I offered the guy $1200 to rescue this machine. He said maybe at the end of the summer, there is still profit to be made.
How the hell does this guy expect to make $1200 in profit on a machine that is unplayable?
Sadly, that machine is still there.

Yeah that used to happen to me quite abit, go for long drive to play a machine ive been looking forward to playing, get there and its broken, lately here in Melbourne though the main operator of pins is really doing a fantastic job, and the pins are generally working well. either way if you just took a punt on world cup soccer you cant go wrong its a great game and priced in the lower price range but has a lot to offer, PAPA have been using it in there tournaments for ever, so that has to mean something..

I'm trying to think of one I haven't found like that...

I know the exact machine you're talking about. I don't play any of that dudes pins anymore. None of them work right.

I tried to buy multiple pins from Joe's playland, they think they are sitting on gold mines. Just for kicks I offered 7500+for that ancient MM, they said it earns too much to let go. That was in 2010-2011 when the MM was on its way out. I reminded them it needed a new pf, mechs, decals, practically everything.

I also offered silly money back in the day for mb at Canobie Lake ( my wife's family grew up with one of the families that owns the park), the grand dad wanted to keep ALL the pins in the park, so no offers were entertained. Uhm, ok??

They do make money, and they obviously must, or he likely would sell them. You sound surprised that he doesn't want to sell something that is making him money? If there no money to be made, and no financial incentive, I'm sure they would sell.

I pulled a Gladiators from a place that the property owner owned himself. It barely played, all GI out, everything weak, dirty as shit, no ramps could be hit, nothing registered if you could. Only reason he finally wanted to sell was because they wanted to change the use of the area for a reno, but he noted that one machine netted him $200-$400 a month - just sitting there doing nothing with zero (perceived) maintenance.

Someone might say $500 would be too generous for that game in that shape. Other's might say $1000 would be absurd given the condition, but you have to look at it from their point - sure, your offer might be fair given the condition AND if they were selling, but if it's raking in cash that far supersedes what they could sell it for, AND they still have the value of the machine later if they do want to sell - why on earth would they?

The machine has paid for itself many times over the last 19 years.

Even a broken filthy machine will generate some income.

A vacant space will generate nothing.

The op could get $1000 maximum from a sale, but then has to come up with another $4000 for a new Stern Pro and start the cycle all over again.

There is a NGG within walking distance from my house that should be shot to put it out of its misery.
It has been bad to the point of being unplayable for several years. And yet there it sits, waiting for some poor slob to drop a couple of quarters into every once in a while.
Blah.

I'm not faulting anyone for making money. But since I have a passion for these items, I was hoping if not buying the pins, then at least hoping to generate renewed interest to the guys operating these to clean them up and get them working 100%.

A broken pin generates 200-400 a month, and how many of those folks are leaving there thinking this place is a dump?

Places like pin Wizzards and Mikes place in Cambridge, they are REAL operators. Not just coin collectors.

And don't come back on me with stuff like 'but the majority of folks playing these routed pins are just passing by'. The End does not justify the means.

Thanks operators for making folks think pinball machines are garbage wastes of money. REINVEST!!! CHRIST on a cracker!!

I've been waiting for a pin at my local movie theater for a few years. Well I finally got one. A filthy Stern Rolling Stones with more issues than a politician.
The vending company is out of town and there is no number on the equipment to call. The theater is run by kids.

It seems the argument is I won't sell the machine because it's making money sitting there. And the machine won't get fixed because everyone playing it is just passing through, dropping in a quarter before realizing the game is broken.

Why fix something that's generating income as it sits?

Just an idea: how about carrying post it notes with you when you go out to play routed games. Slap a couple post its on the glass with the issues. The next guy to come along will think twice before he puts in his quarters. The location owner/employee will see the post it notes and become aware of the problem. And with enough pressure they might convey your concerns to the machine owner/ route opporators.

I doubt it will change anything, but who knows, it might just get some of these games fixed up a bit.

Just wanted to depress you more

I live an hour from CP pinball. Arguably the best mother F'n Pincade in existence.

Example: if something is wrong with 1 of the 75 bad ass games there I just walk up to the owner & say "hey some fat ugly dude broke your Walking Dead game"

To which he replies "what did you do to it"

Then it gets fixed & I eat a slice of pizza

The only way things will change is if guys on here get their c and d list pins on site/route and lift the industry standard by having venues replace crap ops with good ones.

Yep, Silver Beach Carousel. I refuse to play it.

Funny thing is if a pin was unplayable, and I mean CANNOT play it at all, I'd just turn it off. Sure enough the owners would have it turned back on before I left. Then ( years ago) I'd jam slugs into the coin mechs I found outside that were just larger than quarters so no one could put quarters in it.

Cuz f*** em, that's why. You wanna rip folks off? Here's some back atcha. You're not running a business, you're stealing. Simple.

What are slugs & why are they just sitting outside a business awaiting your diabolical usage?

I assumed he meant either a washer of similar size or more likely a coin similar to a quarter that is slightly larger. personally I'd just leave a sticky note as other mentioned.

I've just never seen a business with washers & strange coins littered all over the exterior

I've played two acdc'a that kick two balls in, I'm determined to try a acdc that's works so I can see how it really plays. Those ticket redemption games score big for operators, he's simply putting his time where his effort will yeild the best results. It's a shame for you though as you drove 3 hours to play. If I were you I'd make a note on the pinball locator about the condition of machines and check to see if the pinball locator app has that functional well (I need to check that myself)

Oh and again, love that avatar (aquabats)

It was a beach arcade, tons of crap spread out everywhere. Anything shaped roundish that could be jammed into a mech worked.

A few years ago in Seaside Park, NJ was a small arcade with a few pins. Next to a TAF with an "out of order" sign was a White Water that someone left a credit in it. Just about all the rubber was gone, but it still played. I kind of wish I made an effort to rescue that one. Hurricane Sandy probably took it to the bottom of the ocean.

frogs snacks. then we cheeched.

I always wanted to play a Popeye. Months ago I expressed my desire to play one and a local fellow pinhead jonogo pointed me to a little laundromat just a few minutes from my house that actually had one. I went over there and it was out of order...of course. I went on April 21st and it had an out of order sign on it dated February 15th. I waited another month and went back, out of order again with a new out of order sign that was dated June 6th. I figured, this thing can't be making them any money and most cost a fortune to fix. The out of order signs were literally taped over the coin slots, so it couldn't have been making any money. I looked for operator tags and there was nothing. There is a skill crane with an operator tag on it, so I called them and it wasn't their's, so I thought the laundromat must own it. It is an unmanned laundromat so there was no one to talk to, so I started calling their help number and leaving messages and filing out comments cards and putting them under the door as instructed, but no dice. Never got a response and I was going to keep trying, but I was discouraged. I told jonogo about my frustrations and he did some digging and found out that an "Emergency Number" that was posted there was actually the owner's cell phone. That was the one number I didn't try since even I couldn't justify a broken pinball machine as an emergency. Jonogo called, talked to the owner and asked about selling. The owner jumped at the chance to sell and we negotiated a nice price last week and I am now the proud owner of a working (he thankfully had the game fixed again before I bought it), but filthy Popeye. Game cleaned up really nicely and I love having it in the collection. It has a different ruleset and feel and the game is really challenging. Here is my son playing it in the laundromat and here it is after I cleaned it up, shopped it and replaced all the dead bulbs.

!!!6.jpg
!!!6--.jpg
!!!6-.jpg

The ones that annoy me the most aren't the really broken games, but the ones that don't work because of really stupid shit. Played a LOTR on location once where the ball always got stuck under the plastic above the left wireform. Any shot to the left ramp, the Shire or the Paths of the Dead meant tilting to get the ball unstuck. Completely unplayable, and the worst part was that it was a two-minute fix. I've been back several times since and nothing has been done to fix it.

Oh, yeah...so many times when I see pins out on location they are in bad shape...a year ago we had the family down for a theme park trip in FL. We stopped by Disney Quest to blow some time at their massive arcade (which I encouraged because it has a lot of pins). Here's what I found (taken from another thread):

"Just to update this thread... (and, as a courtesy to Disney, I did bring this to their attention)... they currently have about 7 pins and 2 virtual pins on the 5th floor of Disney Quest. With the exception of The Avengers...the pins are all pretty much trashed. Most barely have any GI Lighting...tons of inserts out...pop-bumbers not working...sound on most is inaudible...switches dead...the playfields are bombed out with dirt...the playfield glass on the machines have a coating of dust...playfield toys are busted. It's sad.

Disney Quest is awesome...it is an outstanding arcade. My kids loved it...and all of the arcade machines (old and new) are beautiful and most are in 100% working order. So that part is good.

The pins, though... wow...not so much. Hard to see a SM, Tron, IM, among others just sitting there...barely alive. We are talking code red, end of life, barely alive. As I worked my way down the line trying to find a playable pin, I saw at least 4 or 5 kids approach a machine, press start, pull the plunger and then just walk off. The pins are just that dead."

Theres a place by me that I've taken the kids a few times over the past couple years that has a TSPP. Right flipper on the mini playfield hasn't ever worked. Talk about frustrating...

There was a Checkpoint at a pub near me we used to play against in a pool comp. Every year we played away games there it was getting worse and worse until it just took coins. I asked the publican who owned it and would they sell it he said he wasn't sure. We needed to borrow a van and pick it up for a service.

Local onsite machine - took six months of repeatedly contacting the operator before it got "fixed" (a 60 second repair job with a cable tie).

Narcoleptic Sandman-96.JPG

I don't get it- do these operators not collect money from their games, or are they just completely oblivious to the state of the machine when they do?

There was a bar near me with a great looking HS2 in it a few years ago but it was always neglected and out of order. I offered to fix it and keep it working for nothing more than the cost of parts / supplies just so I could play it when there. The owner just said no, nothing more, no reason, just no. I never went back to that bar and it closed shortly after.

It's not THAT different. Graphics and violence level (substantially more nasty on the arcade version lmao ) is the biggest different really. Love them both, but yes, the NES version is "special". You have to really love punishing games to get through the cycle tunnel.

Yesterday, I reached the Dark Queen(final boss) for the first time on the nes. Getting so close...!!

This game TOADALLY rules!

Dark_Queen.png

_{Post edited by pinBilly: edit: beat it. no five toad code but I did use warps. =D}