I recently visited the Pinball Hall of Fame this last weekend in Vegas. While it was neat to see and play some old and rare games, I was disappointed in the general feel of the place.

For reference, last month I had visited the Silverball Museum in Asbury Park, NJ, so I was expecting something along those lines.

What I found was something that had more of a Amusement Auction feel; rows of games lined up, many non-working (around 25-30% I'd estimate), few of them actually restored, along with non-setup games among the rows, with a mix of random non-pinball games (redemption/claw, video arcade, misc novelty).

I did see a tech or two maintaining and cleaning games, but also saw several games in what looked like a state of repair that had been started but long forgotten.

Very much felt like I was just at a gaming auction.

There were a good amount of people there. I bought a t-shirt and spent about $15 there on games (Centigrade 37 probably got the most coinage), but felt disheartened to see the hacked up Addams Family with missing, wrong parts, and other various classics that needed help. Seems like the place needs quite a bit of help. I understand the monumental task of repairing and maintaining all those games (heck, I have enough trouble maintaining the 28 or so I have), so I know there's no magic wand that can help out the situation there. It was a neat place to visit but sad at the same time.

Regardless, next time I visit Las Vegas I'll definitely visit again, and maybe see if there's some way to donate some tech time toward the cause as well.