This sounds like heck of an endeavor. Best of luck Tim!

Seeing how this is RIGHT next to the airport, it would be free advertising if the top of the roof was painted to look like a pinball machine. Every flight in "look, there's a giant pinball machine! We should go visit there!"

phof_pinball_aerial (resized).png

all probably true.. at the very least itll be seen from google maps.

A few other things I'm seeing while exploring google maps. There is a police department directly across the street (so it should be pretty safe there, criminals tend to not hang around police stations), a fire department... There's a subway, panda express, mcdonalds, indian restaurant, liquor store .4 miles away (7 minute walk). There's a motel .2 miles away (4 minute walk) if you're just looking to fly in for a day on the cheap to play pinball. There's a helicopter tourism place 1/2 a mile down the road (those customers WOULD likely see the top of the roof).

Comparing current PHOF to new site as far as land:

phof_old_vs_new (resized).png

It's an hour walk around the airport. However, I believe you could take a shuttle to Mandalay bay for free (last time I checked I don't think they verify you have a reservation), then it IS a short walk to the PHOF.

Looks like banks charge between 5-35% on unsecured loans (don't know if owning a 2 million dollar building as collateral makes any difference on that rate), but yea:

million dollars:
5% over 15 years (but paid off before that date) is $7,900 per month
35% over 15 years is 29.3k per month

From what I've seen on tax filings for PHOF, Tim grosses between $500k-million per year.. So he's still going to be cash positive, but that's still money out the window to pay interest.

I think most people think Tim should donate less to charity and more into the games (whether that be to hire more people, replace displays when they start to go bad right away instead of waiting until there's enough lines out where you can't read it anymore, maybe use real leg protectors instead of shoving cardboard in-between so it looks like a museum not hobo pinball), but at the end of the day it's Tim's games, his establishment, and he can do whatever he wants to do with it.

Building upwards is surely more cost effective than what land costs in vegas, however I'm positive that the difference between building a single level building and a 2-story is dramatically different in cost because of the support structure you need to build to ensure that upper level can handle the weight of both people and the machines (plus you've potentially made your HVAC system more complicated and expensive because heat rises and you may need even more cooling on the 2nd floor).

yes, it was near freemont st. nothing seems to stay open over there. i think he still operates the pins in NY, NY

From pinball news

PHOF_map (resized).jpg

Most likely.. Some take aways (if you aren't inclined to watch 70 minutes of Tim talking)
1. Tim rarely uses a computer (but I think he's realizing he has to start learning)
2. Tim would like to see the PHOF continue on after he passes, but based on what happened to the liberace museum after he died (basically workers stealing everything), he worries anyone else will have his same passion.
3. If he were to find someone willing to replace himself, he would need about 5 years to properly train them.
4. His board of directors is Tim and a few friends, but he realizes this business has become too big and he needs to start bringing others to help make decisions.
5. He already has a buyer for the old building (a car wash) which is willing to wait 2 years for him to get his new building erected, and possibly a 10 month extension. They already bought the land for 2.8 million (more than it was valued at), and he is basically going to get to stay there rent free for the next 2 years (but have to pay $15k per month if he needs that extension).
6. There's a possibility to extend his land 40 feet south, but the harley dealer isn't very communicative or easily negotiated with.
7. There's a rule you need 3 parking spaces for every 1,000 sq feet of building (even if it's storage). You can build out that space, but when you go to sell the building that doesn't count as square footage (lost money).
8. Because this is on the strip, Tim can't build a plain white garage building.. It needs to be flashy (which may turn it into a legitimate museum, not just a pinaball club).
9. He needs 2 permits, one for the building itself, and a permit to operate a crane next to an airport because of the height. That goes above and beyond land surveys, soil samples, etc. Also that curve you see on the layout is required so a firetruck can make a 180 turn in his parking lot without backing up.
10. Tim owns the bally neon sign and plans to rebuild it and put it outside.
11. he also owns 5 of the pellet gun games from riverview in chicago and wants to fabricate targets to make it playable.

He also talked about closing off a private room that showcases the pre-flipper bagatelle games for members that support the club only. It's possible he might stick that in there as well (for responsible people, not the general public).

jack black just made an appearance there

And we played the first pinball that came to us,
Just so happened to be,
The Best Pinball in the World, it was The Best Pinball in the World

This is not The Greatest pinball in the World, no.
This is just a tribute.
Couldn't remember The Greatest pinball in the World, no, no.
This is a tribute, oh, to The Greatest pinball in the World,
All right! It was The Greatest pinball in the World,
All right! It was the best muthafuckin' pinball the greatest pinball in the world.

From TWIP:
Stern will be unveiling its newest game on Tuesday, January 8th, at 11:00 am PST at booth 21800 in South Hall 1. The unveiling will be streamed live by Twitch celebrity, Jack Danger, on his Twitch.TV channel, Dead Flip (Dead Flip on Twitch.TV).