Considering you are in Vernon Hills, this news absolutely thrills me! It would be very difficult to suggest pins unless we have an idea of your budget.

Edit: It would also help to know a little about your business model. Is this going to be an entry fee type of deal where you get unlimited play, or are you charging people per game?

$80,000 is an impressive budget. You should be able to amass a very solid lineup. Who will be fixing these games, by the way? Will you have a full time tech on staff, or are you guys capable of fixing them yourself? The answer to these questions may affect what games I recommend. I guess I'm trying to get a handle on what your pinball background is. Are you guys pinheads, or just looking at it as a business opportunity? Also, how many pins can you comfortably fit in the space you are leasing?

You certainly can't go wrong with any of those.

I agree. Take a look at the games they have at CP Pinball. That's the type of lineup that will draw both pinheads and non-pinheads to your location.

I have not, but I've always wanted to. The problem, with CP is that they aren't open all the time. What type of operating hours are you guys thinking about?

I assume the name of the new establishment will be Skill Shots?

I think this is a great idea. The northern/northwest Chicago suburbs are totally dry when it comes to location pinball. The pinball community really needs something like this, and I predict it will be a huge success.

I've got a beautiful HUO SWE1 for sale if you are interested. It doesn't always get a lot of love from pinheads, but it's VERY popular with everyone else.

You're welcome to come over and play it any time. I'm just a hop skip and a jump away from Vernon Hills.

+2

I would say WOZ is a must.

Ditto.

Well hello, neighbor!

Like I said before, the area is dying for a place like this. It's pretty much the case of "If you build it, they will come".

As far as games, there have already been a lot of great suggestions. I think System 11s and DMD games should make up the bulk of your lineup, but I would definitely include a handful of great early SS pins. Throw in some titles like Fathom, Centaur, Paragon, etc. and the pinheads will be beating down your doors. And don't forget about the Zacs. You have to have at least one. Farfalla would be my choice. Oh, and if you still have room in your budget for one more, I'd highly recommend a SC. Pinballer22 recently had a nice one for sale. It may still be available. He's located near Des Moines:

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fs-or-ft-safecracker#post-160969

Welcome to Pinside, Clay! You've certainly provided a lot of food for thought. There are few people, if any, that have as much direct experience with this type of thing. I'm sure your words of wisdom have given SkillShots and his partner much to think about. As someone who is super excited by the prospect of a cool place like this opening near me, it's easy to overlook all the intricacies involved.

After reading about some of the things that went down at Tilt Town, it sounds to me like there needs to be a clear set of club rules that everyone must strictly adhere to. Members should be forced to sign a paper agreeing to the rules, and there should also be a copy of the rules posted for all to see. That way, if someone gets kicked out for violating the rules, they have nobody to blame but themselves. I also really like the idea of members sponsoring other members. It will help to weed out the random douchebags.

Now that is certainly an intriguing concept. In my experience, there is no better way to get a person to respect something than by giving them a stake in it.