Swift Current, SK
So I had to run my mom down to Regina, Saskatchewan Fri-Sat. She had some health issues come up and I needed take her to the hospital. We had to be at the hospital at 6am Friday morning for her tests. That's when I found out I had to say good bye and not return for "at least 6 hours" I was told. (Turned out to be over 9 hours.)
So I had no idea what the hell I was going to do in Regina at 6am. Breakfast was the first stop then I killed an hour laying in the backseat watching netflix.
A little work on my phone led me to understand there were only 2 places to play working pinball machines in Regina... the Rainbow Theatre in the Golden Mile Centre and a rundown arcade called Wonderland on Broad st.
So Wonderland was the first stop. I was blown away to find out they not only had 8 working pins... but all of their machines are on free play. They charge a flat rate of only $3/Hour during the day and you have the run of the place. Great for a player... but how the hell do these guys stay open???
I played pinball there for 2 hours... $6 later I was off to the Golden Mile Centre... but first the breakdown from Wonderland.
As mentioned 8 Pins... all in need of some attention.
First:
Game Show - Display was a little messed up but it seemed to work fine. Playfield was actually in good shape but the ramps were so scuffed up you couldn't see what was going on behind them which is kind of important on that game. Flippers were shot.
007 Goldfinger (I think it was a Goldfinger) - Very Dirty... flippers shot but and the satelite dish was trashed but otherwise... functional.
T2 - Right flipper shot and the machine was dirty. Otherwise... it was one of the best ones.
Rocky and Bullwinkle - Probably the pin in the best condition that they had both inside and out however one flipper didn't even have enough power to hit a ramp so the game was virtually unplayable. Sad... because it was in great condition.
Harley Davidson - Actually in decent condition... just very dirty. That and the game sucks.
Jokerz - I'd actually never played one of these before. When I got there the display was blank and there was a high pitched squeal coming out of it. I reached under... shut it off... turned it back on and it fired up. Actually a fun older game. Flippers were again... weak. And it was filthy. But that's a pin I'd actually look at if someone had one for a good price around here.
Monster Bash - This one saddened me. It was probably the belle of the ball... or at least it should have been. The playfield was dirty but appeared to be in good shape with the exception of the center scoop. If there ever was a case for a cliffy this would be it. The hole in the center of the table was worn so much it looked like someone had taken a hole saw to the centre of the table. I was stunned that the ball didn't simply fall down... miss the kickout assembly and fall somewhere inside the cabinet. I've simply never seen a hole worn this bad in my life. Sadly... all the toys seemed to work and as I mentioned, the rest of the playfield actually looked like it would have cleaned up ok.
And finally a beat up Road Show - The gal... Red had no eyes. They'd been gouched out I guess. Ted only had one eye. There must have been a switch stuck somewhere because there was a light flashing constantly and Red continuously made comments suggesting to me the machine thought I was hitting her over and over and over. I managed to lock the ball twice but the bulldozer wouldn't lift up so I couldn't trigger multiball. In short. This game was probably very fixable but a total mess.
Anyway... despite the fact these games were in pretty poor shape I was VERY grateful for the place to be open and the price was certainly right. If I had to be in Regina doing nothing for several hours again I'd go back.
Unfortunately, before I left I thought I'd ask the little old lady working if they'd consider selling their games. She directed me to the guy who owned the place and that conversation was a little disappointing. When I asked if they were for sale and asked for prices he didn't seem to eager to answer.
After some encouragement he told me the T2 and the Rocky were $2700 each. If they were in really great shape I'd consider those prices high but not ridiculous here so I asked about Monster Bash. (The same Monster Bash that needed to have the entire playfield replaced.)
He just rolled his eyes and told me I didn't want to know. I said actually I would like to know to which he replied "You can't afford it." Feeling a little insulted I asked him again what he wanted for it and his reply was... "I can sell it to another guy today for $8,000!" I resisted all urge to laugh in his face. I just told him he should call that guy and sell him that machine today because no one else is giving him $8000 for that pin with a playfield in that condition. And with that... I left... slightly soured by what had actually been a fun couple of hours despite the condition of his machines.
Off to the Golden Mile Center...
2 Pins..
Fishtales... in decent shape but for some reason my ball continually would go in to the bumpers at the top and go straight down the center drain on the way out. Of the 5 games I played on it I probably lost 7 balls that way. Frustrating.
Avengers - This was obviously pretty new and I'd never played it before. I actually liked it but was frustrated with the issues I'd heard about this game. (Got my ball stuck on Hulk probably 5 times and something about having the ball just roll along the backside of drop targets seems weird.)
I asked the guy at the theatre if these games would be for sale. He told me he'd give me the cel number of the guy who owns them... then mentioned that I could also just stop at Wonderland at talk to him. At that point I told the lad to not bother with his cel. If he wanted 8K for a destroyed Monster Bash he probably wants $30K for his avengers.
At any rate... some positive... some negative but I played 10 different pins in about 3 hours and probably ended up spending about $12 all told.
Mom's good now... and back home. What a day! 
Beaumont, TX
