Fair enough... It was a bit like that with the other folk that were manning the store on that day. Still totally worth going out there while I was in Vegas.. Will probably visit it again next time I am there.

I love the PHOF, it would be crazy to maintain that collection. With that said, I have a friend who moved to Vegas two years ago. He is a class A restorer. He never comes on Pinside, just operates over the phone with people he knows and usually restores a machine and only sells it to rebuild another for his collection of around 50 machines. Basically he is a great tech and I would let him touch my machines. Sealclubber and LITZ know him and can vouch.

This guy has gone into PHOF a couple of times to try and help. He is a very nice guy,not a tool. Tim lets him help by handing out quarters. This is not a job that he gives keys out to the help. I know everybody says, stop bitching, volunteer. While that sounds nice, Tim is no different than any other collector that does not want anybody working on his machines.

I think it will take a long time for Tim to let a person in to really help. He does not like to even hand out keys to level the machines. Anybody that is worth their weight will not spend that much time, they probably have their own projects to work.

Like I said, love the place, it is great, I hate to see the machines needing cleaning/repair but not going to bitch. I do think people should know what to expect and they should still make it a point to visit. Well worth it, go see it yourself.

**EDIT: Toyotaboy said that same thing, missed it before. Tim does not like people working on them.

Yeah, I have to say the same thing. It feels like you're playing half of the machine because things don't work. I remember the castle gate in MM would never go up and therefore you couldn't destroy the castles. I understand that these machines get used a lot and do break apart, but I think there could be a lot more maintenance going on. We're putting our quarters in (for charity or not) to get entertained, not to get frustrated because things don't work. Buuuuuutt.., I'm glad this place is there. It's better than nothing.

I literally had to start and operate my own arcade before Tim trusted me to even clean his games . I was just there this past Saturday and spent several hours cleaning and waxing and doing the most minor of repairs. At least it's something and I am happy to contribute to his place. I do not have a lot of free time but you might see me there cleaning some machines from time to time.

I can understand Tim being nervous about letting anyone near the inside of the games, especially volunteers who really have nothing to lose if they mess things up. Some of those games are incredibly rare and valuable and even cleaning a game can result in a plastic getting snagged by a rag and snapped. Imagine how much that would suck to happen on some old game that you will likely never find that part for again.

In fact, something like this did happen not too long ago when the hanging "Lolita" doll from inside the Pinball Circus (as seen here: http://ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=4354&picno=30289 ) broke during a routine cleaning. Now there's a part that will never be seen again and from a pinball machine that is one of the most rare on earth.

When you consider incidents like this it doesn't surprise me at all that he is so careful with who he gives access to. Remember that to Tim Arnold, these are not just pinball machines, they are priceless artifacts in a one of a kind museum. Some days I chuckle at that thought, but other days when I am walking the aisles amazed at the history of some of those machines I believe it.

Visited the PHOF this past weekend and had a great time as usual. Most games I happily paid to play were 100% operational and an absolute joy to experience. The last time I visited was off season and during the week. Saturday morning was an eye opener. While it's great that lots of folks are showing up to play, I hate crowds. (Call the whahhhhhhmbulance!!) Otherwise it was great. Best game ever on Eight Ball Deluxe. Played Pinball Circus for the first time ever and made it to the top twice! (5 balls for a dollar? Bargain!) I would put that right up there with playing BBB at last years TPF. Awesome. Only noticed one person interested in playing the Metallica. No one was playing WoZ. Might have been broke but I really didn't look that closely. I played it at TPF and didn't care for it. As for transport, I was staying at T.I. mid-strip and opted not to rent a car this trip. The wife is disabled so the bus or walking is out of the question. We went by cab from the hotel and asked the driver about getting him for the return. He explained that his company has two categories of drivers. Strip pick-up and non strip pick-up. He can only pick up at strip hotels but gave us a company card. Called when we were ready and had a cab there in 5 minutes. Excellent! I will go to the PHOF EVERY CHANCE I GET. Someday it will be gone and we all will miss it. Period.

I talked to Tim Arnold for the first time on my last visit to th PHOF (7-26-13). He was de-soldering some components on a board at the time, but he still found no problem acknowledging my presence. Although it was a short conversation, Tim was definitely a genuine individual. He was very receptive to all my questions. I have lived in Las Vegas for over 23 years and the PHOF is by far the cheapest and most entertaining experience I have ever encountered here. Keep up the amazing work!
There aren't many places where you and your girlfriend can put the FIRST nine games on a NIB Metallica Premium for $6...(He literally placed the game near the front door with a pinball dolly, set the volume in the audits, and I walked over to the game.) People really need to cut this guy some slack and simply appreciate what he has/is doing for pinball.

Side note: My new top three games, in no particular order, are AC/DC, Baywatch, & Metallica.

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