I'll be working in Ephrata tomorrow and will stop by the Gameseum but not sure I'll be paying the $10 per hour entry .... do the math, at 25 cents a game, that's 40 games an hour you'd need to play to break even which is highly unlikely .... $5 to $7 per hour seems better to me and I'll even explain my thoughts to Steven if he is there. I will report back what I see and if he lets me in for a few courtesy games. Want to tell him that regular hardware stores nuts would solve the problem of missing leg bolts until he can get the stripped bracket plates replaced.

Note sure I'll be there that long to eat a few slices !!!!

I guess I'm comparing his bunch of EMs and arcades games he has to other pay by the hour places in the area that I've been too, if he had newer Sterns, JJP, etc. then I think $10 a hour is good value for your money. Pinball Gallery in Malvern, PA about an hour away with many newer games is $8/hr or $20 for the day and they have a lunch special from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm of $5/hr. Also, the Silverball Museum in NJ has good value for $12/hr or $25 for the whole day. It comes down to I don't care what something costs, if it is not good value for the $$s, then I have a hard time paying for it, whether it be $10/hr at Gameseum or the overpriced $100+ is cost for a day at Disney.

I was there yesterday and need to report more of my visit later today when I'm not at work and can write more. Briefly, the location is excellent in the downtown part of town in an old railroad freight building with plenty of parking and a beautiful railroad mural on the building outside and good size Gameseum sign. I didn't really know where the location was and drove by it while working. Yes, there are games that are not 100% working but I was kept busy playing for an hour. F-14 and Gorgar played excellent. The EMs are hit and miss. I talked to Steven and have to admit I wish him the best of luck and I know he is doing things his way and unconventional but he is doing this and hopefully the town of Ephrata will support him ....

.... from my visit on Wednesday. Building has some cool Railroad murals and this was an old railroad freight building with the tracks right next to the building where the sidewalk is in front of the cars. Diagonally behind the building is the old Ephrata railroad station redone as township offices. Caboose across the street adds to the railroad theme so if you like railroads which I do so this was a first good impression.

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I went to Gameseum knowing what Steven has gone through and that he is doing this his way so I didn't expect a full blown place full of working pins. There were 3 SSs, Comet played well but had display issues so you didn't know what ball you were on. F-14 and Gorgar played real good. The SSs are set to 3 balls and the EMs set to 5 balls. 8 EMs were turned on. Yes, there were the missing leg bolt pins and coin doors open on some which is a safety concern. The 5 EMs from Team One to Wild Wild West are non working and all except 4 Square look in decent shape so hopefully he can get these running. Rancho and Skipper are also "museum pieces". Strato Flight played well, MIBS played ok but the marbles didn't shoot up, Magnotron played ok, Lady Luck played but scoring was funky. Mayfair played real good. One reason I went there was to play Skyrocket as I have the partner game Firecracker. I know Skyrocket doesn't look that good but it played well however had a quirk were the lit 5,000 point firework playfield light gave you an extra ball. The firework display did work and is neat to watch as it stays rotating the lights until your ball hits a target/hole.

I would not drive far to go to this place but the next time I'm working in Ephrata, I will stop by to see how things are going. Folks around Ephrata may never have been to a real arcade before to know what a bigger venue has to offer with lots of games so maybe this kid can make a go of it at 22, I know when I was 22, I sure couldn't.

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