Looks awesome! I wish I was closer! I would come on over and hangout!

Wow! I might have to take a trip down 35W straight south to Dallas! I salute you and your game room! Fantastic!

Nice work Shan....hope to come see you sometime and play your pins/talk about the hobby. You really are "all-in" with pinball

Nice garage!

Nice. I see the pins are getting played. The videos game not so much. That is what happens in my game room the video game get no love.

What an awesome setup!
I'll be right over!

I LOVE your attitude! We had an old family friend come over last weekend, and I didn't even know if he'd be into pinball or not (much less his two kids), but within one hour of playing, he was enthusiastically planning for when he would have not one, but two, in his basement. He asked if we could hook him up with intel and guidance when he was ready. And his boys were already competing to best each other on AC/DC.

I agree, that is how the hobby will spread. It lives or dies on word of mouth, and in the new social media age, it's NOT that hard to do that. One pinball fan can make a difference in the hobby. We all can.

That's a great set-up and cool of you to share it with everyone.

Making me wish I lived in Dallas so I could come hang out.

"Remarkably, doing this actually soured my reputation with some locals as I used my tried/true aggressive marketing I have utilized in the car industry over the last 9 years to achieve those results."

That's oversimplfying things quite a bit. Suffice to say, there is a huge schism in our local community right now, and it's making things NOT FUN for a lot of people and it needs to be resolved. Sucks. It's a major freakin' buzzkill that I can't just simply invite everyone in the area to events because a few people can't get along.

That F2K looks friggin sweet...everything working already? I thought it was a project pin lol..

I wouldn't worry about having a high-end title. I'd love to have a Rollergames and a Taxi, and my only table is a Ninja Turtles.

... Jurassic Park.

If I find myself in your neighborhood, I'd love to hang out. Unlikely at this point in time, but hey, who knows?

I like what you're doing...and it's a refreshing and innovative approach: an intermediate way of attracting the general public's (or at least the neighborhood's) attention to pinball in a positive manner. This is much better than hoarding pins in your basement that few people get to play. The public can occasionally play your machines, even if not in a true public location.

However, I don't think you'll be able to convert many people into pinball hobbyists.

There are plenty of people who enjoy pinball that are not hobbyists; some are new players that have just discovered it, and some have played for many years. In our league here in town of about 20, I am one of four members that actually own machines. And two of the four that do only have a single machine, with one other having two machines. Most of our leaguers have no interest in owning a machine; it's not for everyone, for various reasons.

I still believe the best way to spread pinball to the public is to operate. Even if you only operate a single machine, in the right location (that Pizza Hut?), it will draw a lot of interest...people will be talking about it, especially if pinball has been absent for a while. I know it's not practical for everyone to do so, but if you are able to, give it a try. You will be surprised by the thanks you will receive from random local people, many you would have never met in a league or at a show. And, you might just generate a little cash flow on the side. You don't have to have a brand new Stern LE or Medieval Madness...a Rollergames, Bride of Pinbot, or Dr. Dude will do.

-Mark

Looks great man! wish I was closer

Thanks for sharing... cool game room... I wonder if the neighbors are okay with your setup?

Nice selection of games...go pinball go

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As long as people keep hosting parties and events like Bakushan and Frax, the DFW schism aspect will fade.

Haters will hate. Whiners will whine. Beetches will beetch. Cussers will cuss.

And anyone in the DFW area that still clings to the past, my advice is to just get over it already.
Or sit it out. Either way, tournaments, parties, leagues and events will continue to happen in DFW.

Focus on the great things ahead of us like Stern Star Trek, Skit-B Predator, JJP Wizard of Oz, Hallow-Scream in Austin, Houston Expo, Texas Pinball Festival, IFPA State Championship, Jammed Quarters & Flip Off Hunger.

The Pinball good time train is running full steam ahead!!

Xerico

I wouldn't waste 2 brain cycles on worrying about the haters. Keep on truckin'!

Well said!!! A++++

Great job in what you're doing. Love the garage and the attitude of wanting to share your hobby to complete strangers so I salute you sir! I would be there in a heartbeat!

it works for religious groups....

While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I don't appreciate you generalizing about operators and location games. My games are clean and working 99% of the time. When one has a problem, I get a call and the game gets fixed within 24 hours. I regularly get compliments on my games. There are plenty of other operators here on pinside like me that take pride in operating clean and working (and fun) games. The one or two locations near me (225 locations, 527 games) that charge $1 a game (I don't) also offer 3 games for $2.

While location pinball isn't growing as fast as home ownership, it is growing. The pinball maps show it. I just recently got a new location and now have 3 more of my games out there. Looking at the pinball map, the Dallas/ FT Worth area has 20 locations with 45 games. Do you ever go to those locations? Have you ever considered operating any of your games? Now is a very good time to solicit business owners.

The absolute best way to support the hobby is to operate games. The second best way to support the hobby is to play on location regularly. And if you really think location play is 'stuck in the mud', keep an eye on the link below. It's not.

http://pinballmap.com/

No idea if the underlying facts are correct, but you make a compelling case. Well articulated.

There isn't enough wealth in this country to keep home ownership growing at the rate it's been growing lately. A pinball machine in the home is a luxury item most can not afford. Even if the growth among home buyers could be sustained, do you really want to play only with people who have upper middle class incomes? I enjoy playing with folks from all walks of life. Money should not be an obstacle to enjoying the hobby. In my area, it isn't.

I really do appreciate your enthusiasm. If the location scene in your area is weak, please use some of that enthusiasm to help improve it. Talk to the operators. If that doesn't work, talk to the business owner. I've had very good success doing those things in my area. More home buyers is good, but more location players is better. The home market is close to saturation. Sooner or later, you'll find diminishing returns. Not so with location play. Location pinball used to make more money every year in this country than the movie industry. Wouldn't it be awesome if that happened again?

I need to go down to Texas!!!!

Bakusha, glad you are doing what you are doing! I know from playing on location and pretty much ANYWHERE that people do enjoy pinball, but the machines do need to work to some degree and that we're quite lucky to have great operators in the SF Bay Area like phishrace and others.

If/when I get out your way would love to take some photos and maybe interview you too about what you're doing and the scene out there. If you get out to the Bay Area, let us know - all of us location players are pretty friendly and there's a pretty diverse mix of people out here.