I don't think TZ ever did particularly well on location. It's too confusing for the casual player. The only reason they sold so many of them was because it came directly on the heels of TAF which was obviously a huge earner.

I currently have 2 on location. It happens that I am in the same building with them every day so I have a good idea what is going on with them. They aren't huge money makers yet, and it makes me nervous to have the public playing with my "babies" but, it brings great joy to see a couple of pre-teens, standing side by side, playing the greatest electronic games in the world...PINBALL!

Out of the three you mention I think TOM would at least be the most approachable as it seems to draw people in. CV would actually be the one that would attract me but then I really want one. TZ has always been a players game. I dont think any of the pins would survive too long today without an ops regular attention-that really hasnt changed since the golden era. Plastic protectors would go a long way with a pin on route. As far as others- I would bet that HS2 would still be popular in the wild. Outrunning the cops never goes out of style.

There's a TZ and a TOM on location near me. The TOM needs a little work and the TZ needs a ton of work. Both have bent targets that send balls flying up into the glass and elsewhere. The TZ mini playfield is pretty damaged because of it.

I have a TZ on location, and it is doing well. Most players I have talked to while there, comment that TAF and TZ are two of their favs from when pinball was everywhere.

I have a full set of cliffy's installed, plus the 'metal rod' behind the slot stand up to keep it from bending. LED's mean I don't have to change out bulbs. I go once a week, give it a spit and polish, and the glass a wipe down.

I also tend to find myself 'going for one pint' on a week night as well ....

Good on you mate! Wish I had ops like you near me. I would play in the wild much more. Do they have my Moosehead on tap?

No Moosehead

I just put Scared Stiff in last night after getting it all prettied up. MB is next, after I finish fixing the drac trac wear.

What are you doing or can you do to prevent future wear? I know there's a reinforced Drac bracket but that may not be entirely effective. Anything else?

I have installed the bracket. Currently, I am using clear to build up the wear back to level with the rest of the play field. After that (and it's taking longer than I thought), I have a Treasure Cove Decal that is going on to cover the wear. As long as the two surfaces are equal, I don't see future wear as an issue.

From the looks of it, the machine did not have a bracket for some time, and when shooting the right ramp and right loop shots, the ball started chipping away at the play field because of the sag.

011_-_Copy_(1024x768).jpg

Looks like a project! There was a guy (I think Gary on RGP) who was trying to fix & prevent sag with some under-playfield supports or something. Might be worth it to find out whether it worked or not.

Here's the thread if you want to look into it:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.pinball/browse_thread/thread/8feedaf0c469fa4/feea786f8f37c599?lnk=gst&q=gary+martin+monster+bash#feea786f8f37c599

There are some older machines around here but they have been sad for years and they do nothing with them.

good luck

There's a FT close to my house at a pizzeria nearby.

From a city with hundreds of machines on location, I can tell you that the games that get the most play are the usual suspects, the A-listers. Your MMs, AFMs, MB, TOMs, and TAFs, all see considerable attention. Also, games that have broadly appealing themes seem to do well. TSPP, LOTR, FGUY, IM, SM, and so forth. Hell, my op said that his best earning pin on any location that he has is a Sopranos. So much so that he traded for another one to put in my bar. And it rakes in cash.
Older classics without toys seem to suffer however as beginners don't seem interested in getting to know them very well. These include classics like BK, BK2K, Whirlwind, Earthshaker, Paragon, Flash Gordon, HS and HSII, Firepower, F14-Tomcat, etc. But its okay, because it means that I don't have to fight a crowd to play these machines.

Finding Williams/Bally pins on location isn't impossible. Finding them in decent condition is. Unless you're in the Pacific Northwest.

Maybe a noob question, but why is the Pacific Northwest still thriving? Is it just the huge young population out there? I'm thinking of visiting a friend in Portland and this is great to hear!

I don't know about the PNW, but in my town, I think people want to play, but there is no where to play. OPS remember the hey day of the early - mid ninety's, when their pins were pulling in huge cash. They saw the profit drop, and decided to move on to more profitable ventures (Golden Tee, BBH, etc.) and let the machines get wrecked, or sold them off. They were in it for profit, not the love of the game.

Now, all those people who played in the golden days have no where to play. In my situation, it's a 'Field of Dreams' scenario ... 'Build it, and they will come'. And that's what I have noticed ... profit has been steadily increasing as the weeks progress, and the word get's out.

A friend told me he saw someone on Facebook exclaiming in their status 'Why didn't anyone tell me there was a working Addams Family in town!' So, I have started the social networking thing to get the word out to more and more people. Seems to be working so far!

Everyone loves pinball ... they just haven't played in a long time, or not at all.

+1

There is a TOM at the sports bar I work at in the Cleveland area. I have worked there for nearly 2 months and the only person I've seen play it is me. Of course, I spend a great deal of time in the kitchen area but in 2 months I'd expect to see at least 1 other person playing it especially when there is a wait at the door.

Whereas, the LOTR in the bar in the small town in South Dakota I attended law school always saw a lot of play.

If you work in Cleveland, why does it say you are located in Sioux Falls, SD? That's one hell of a commute!

^^
I currently reside in Akron but I recently took a position in Sioux Falls as a CPA starting in December. I am just so excited to be leaving NE Ohio that I couldn't wait to update my location on here!

I haven't seen a pin on location for a long, long, time. I talked to a local operator and he spoke of a few places he had pins at. They were all for the most part really odd locations like paintball parks and places I would never have thought. Not one bar though. Golden tee and that touch screen garbage are all I ever see.

There's a nice MM at the Kearny Mesa Bowling alley in San Diego, not in Collectors shape, but everything works perfect.

I've never understood the whole Golden Tee craze. I grew up with video games and I'm an avid golfer, and yet I've never even had the slightest desire to put a quarter in one.

Yes, being at a bar and drinking with friends has never had me sit down and think, "man if only I could play a nice turn by turn round of golf". Its funny because I too am a very avid golfer. Pinball's fast gameplay and themes work so well with bars.

I have 3 pins on location, all in the same place. I have a TFTC (great earner!), LW, and a Stern Magic.

The players love the Two DE games, and the kids love the older Stern, as it is lower, and easier for them to see, it has basic sounds, and is an easy game to play. I picked up a Flash Gordon, which needs a little TLC, then it'll be on location with the rest.

I also have a DE Robo Cop arcade there, sucks on the income side, but I only paid $50 for it, so I'm not worried. I'll be putting in a Sega Star Wars sit down Pod Racer in this weekend, and my Hard Driving arcade, when my parts come in for that.

Smokedog I am doing the same thing here in Australia, I have been restoring the old Bally/Williams machines back to very nice condition inc new cabinet decals and LEDs etc, and have found very good results from this. I am selling off most of my BBH's and Golfs etc and replacing them with pinball. New and old but trying to bullet-proof them. People are loving the older titles, Yes I say "Build it and they will come" a lot to myself when I am putting in all the work. I will be going down this path mainly now as Videos are just too hard to make money from (not including car games). I currently operate 40 pins and 200 videos and would like to double the amount of pins in the next few years and half the amount of videos. I have even started making custom decals for drab looking older pins like JM and Indy 500 etc.

I have the moosehead on tap! I just need a few more pins (and to finish up the the basement reno), then I'll be set.

My machines each got over 600 plays at the pinball showdown last weekend. I know it was a pinball convention, and that's why people were there, but it was nice to see my titles still drawing lots of interest. Keeping them in good working order is the key.

I don't hink I am ready to take the plunge and put them on location, but it was nice to see them supporting the kind of audience they were built to support.

All of this talk from people who have pins on location got me wondering. What do the OP offer to the establishment who provides them the space for the pin? What is the common etiquette? I was thinking of doing this with a few pins and was curious about it.

Usually split the money 50/50

I did 50/50 as well but me and the location owner SPLIT the repair costs (parts only, no labor)

What kind of money can you make with them? Of course game and location make a huge difference. Just wondering if it's worth investing some money into or not?

I've had TZ since it came out. Had a TOM when it came out and wore out the playfield on it. Had a CV later.

I don't think it's so much stress, but keeping it maintained properly.

Someday when I can I'd get another TOM. I'd never get another CV, it just didn't earn here.

LTG