St. George, UT
I'll be there sometime next week.
Can't move pins but I'd be happy to help clean machines, etc.
(Topic ID: 291537)
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2 weeks later
Quoted from too-many-pins:I think "soft skinned" customers might want to consider just skipping their visit if they are expecting to be treated like they are at Disney World or at one of the Casinos.
Quoted from too-many-pins:If you don't want to wear a mask just stay home and away from people trying to put an end to this mess.
Quoted from too-many-pins:If you don't like something about the place no one is forcing you to be their.
Quoted from too-many-pins:Bottom line is if you don't believe in his mission or you don't like Tim no one is forcing you to go to PHOF.
Quoted from too-many-pins:so just decide if you want to put up with who Tim is and enjoy his arcade or pass it by.
Quoted from too-many-pins:If you hate the way Tim runs "his place" it is really pretty simple go to another arcade.
Quoted from too-many-pins:Tim has never really been known as a "people person" so if your expecting something different maybe PHOF is not for you
Quoted from too-many-pins:stop beating a dead horse
Tim keeping the place open is contingent on following the mask order. A few pictures posted on social media of unmasked patrons could get PHOF shut down. I can't fault him on his policy. Even though the mask mandate has been lifted here, I know I have to wear one in Nevada, even though I hate it.
Look, I've been going to PHOF for almost 12 years and the guy has always been respectful to me. I get that he's a bit of a curmudgeon, but if you don't swear, slam the pins, put anything on the pins, have kids that run around the place, or tell him the story of the machine that got you into pinball when you were 6, you should be alright. ...and for the time being, wear a mask even though, I agree, it's a pain in the ass.
Going tomorrow to check out the new place.
1 week later
Quoted from prl867:So long as you have your vaccine card with legal ID to back it up, no mask is required. You’re given an identifier that must be worn in the building. Employees are still required to wear them regardless of vaccine.
Not sure about kids without ID. I’d say for them, mask up.
Is this for PHOF or casinos?
1 week later
From the PHOF Facebook page....Looks amazing!
71F64900-4693-42E8-A867-F01C6C309FE0 (resized).jpeg
Quoted from cfh:Bally Bazaar added...
http://pinballmuseum.org/games/games.php
My first pin! Bought it from Pismo Arcade in '79.
1 week later
Quoted from emguy:At the risk of being labeled a little odd by the pinball community (ha! - wouldn't that be ironic?), I'll admit I don't know why I like this game as much as I do. I used to own a really nice example of this game, and it's one of the few I regret selling. I appreciate that the PHoF keeps this one in great shape - all the pool balls light up, flippers work, scores correctly, etc. It's like a mystery to figure out where to shoot to un-light that last pool ball, and then guess where the pinball is going to appear from when it comes out down by the flippers.
[quoted image]
When I was a kid, this was one of my favorites, too. I also play it everytime I'm at PHOF.
3 weeks later
Quoted from cosmokramer:Packed today!
No proof of vaccine needed. Honor system for masks. Attendent told me they were tired of arguing with people...
[quoted image][quoted image]
I was also there yesterday. I showed my vaccination card to the woman and she told me they were no longer required. She said a couple of people got violent and they were tired of dealing with it.
It was a bit confusing because the signs on the door still say masks are required although when I was there, 90% of the people didn't have them.
Played a few games of Mandalorian and really enjoyed it. Can't wait until I get mine. The strangest thing I saw was a line (ok..two people but still) waiting to play Punchy The Clown. 
B13AC3D0-38C0-4D63-BF8C-6404C785C490 (resized).jpeg
Quoted from gamera9:What is the closest hotel?
Actually, this sketchy place is right next door. https://diamondinnlv.com
After walking the strip in the heat on Sunday, (we stayed at MGM), it was starting to look pretty good. 
1BB98547-CE5E-4C69-A02A-B90709105962_4_5005_c (resized).jpeg 2 months later
Quoted from prl867:I want to preface this post by saying that I sincerely hope my disagreement is not taken as an attack post, as that is not my intention at all. Be that as it may, I must disagree with the previous poster “cfh” on many levels. I will attempt to explain my disagreements section by section with the reasons as to why I disagree.
First, as I had mentioned in an earlier post, in the interest of full disclosure, I am directly involved at the PHoF as a volunteer. I run the front desk and my daughter is a lead tech. Having said that, I do not speak in an official or unofficial capacity for the PHoF and do not claim to represent them in any way on this forum. I only speak for myself.
Ok, now that all my personal legal stuff is done, let me say that as someone who has been a regular patron of the PHoF for over a decade and more recently as a volunteer spending upwards of 25-35 hours per week there, I can say with utmost certainty that a majority of what I ascertain to be assumptions of the previous poster are highly and largely inaccurate. An opinion is one thing. Everyone has one. And that is perfectly fine. However, the blurred area of opinion versus fact must be pointed out.
I have come to know Tim what I would consider to be fairly well. I would not consider him to be my “friend” but I would consider him to be a respected peer, my “boss” of sorts, and the owner/proprietor/Chairman of the Board of the LVPCC, owners of the PHoF. All facts.
“Control freak” is a general form of name calling, and is certainly subjective and rather pejorative. Being that he is the head honcho, all the workings of the PHoF do indeed fall under his prevue, but he empowers and trusts his team with large degrees of latitude to get their own individual jobs done without micro managing in the slightest. I can provide specific examples of such whereupon Tim behaved and managed in such a way that I would consider “control freak” to be only applicable if we were having a round table and openly discussing terms that in no way describe Tim Arnold. I can think of many adjectives that describe him. Many positive abs negative, but “control freak” is most certainly not one of them.
Next section is the ludicrous statement that techs must supply their own tools and parts. Stated as if this was factual, I can debunk that easily. My daughter has never in her life purchased a tool of any kind. Yet she has a full toolkit, soldering iron, micrometer, etc that she is free to take home every day. 100% provided free of charge by the PHoF. This also applies to me and all volunteers. I know this because I manage the front desk. And I am NOT Tim.
Next section I take issue with includes the statement stated as fact that all parts are under “lock and key.” If by lock and key you mean that the building has working locks and is secured nightly at closing, then that’s true, but we all know that’s not what you meant. Parts are not kept under lock and key. Parts are readily available and organized by machine type, in the secured workshop area that any official volunteer of the PHoF can access. The workshop is not customer accessible, as it shouldn’t be. Money is obviously kept secured. Parts and tools are accessible to any tech that needs them.
I do not take issue with the section on Tim repairing things differently than others. He does have his own way of repairing. I agree with that, and I have no problem with that.
Finally, the last section, is true in that banning had games set on free play so the 3-4x a year that the place was open to the public, no quarters were needed.
The PHoF is open every day of the year (except when it was forced to close at the start of Covid) and yes, all machines operate on quarters. Not tokens. Not swipe cards. Quarters.
Perhaps the previous poster has never routed a machine or seen the inside of a routed machine. In that case, I would understand the incorrect assumption that there would need to be “guards” to watch the cash boxes.”
Inside a pinball machine that is routed, there is a cash box, made of metal, that is physically locked, with a padlock, securing the coinage and lockbox to the interior of the machine. This is done so a routed machine can still be maintained by a tech without fear of the machine being robbed as the tech does not have access to the lockbox.
There are often visiting techs from other establishments around the country that have pinball, and all are welcomed to share their expertise and help out the PHoF with their skills. It is always greatly appreciated from what I have noticed.
But that’s just me.
I'm not sure if you're the person I'm referring to or the daughter, but there's a volunteer that works the front and repairs pins that is always over the top kind to me whenever I visit PHOF. I usually wear my PHOF shirt when I'm there and she/you've pulled me aside to "test" repaired games a few times.
Next time I'm there, I'll properly introduce myself but I just wanted to thank you for always making my trip to PHOF that much more special.
2 months later
I was at a friends' house on Thanksgiving and he had the Raiders/Cowboys game on. Coming back from a commercial, they had a nice promo for the PHOF.
3 weeks later
Mandalay Bay is our go to place to stay. Super close to PHOF.
Yeah, the Diamond Inn is super sketch, especially at night. I cross the street when walking back to Mandalay Bay just to avoid it.
1 week later
As someone who lives close to PHOF and goes often, I really apprciate it's existence, especially the new place.
To read a few of the critiques, you'd think Tim was charging $25 admission and only a third of the games were working. 
Every single time I've gone to either location (I'm probably knocking on 100) I've had a blast. The VOLUNTEERS are always amazing. I feel so bad for them though, especially the last couple of years when they're being verbally abused by customers simply for asking them to adhere to the rules.
Quoted from Tranquilize:I don't get how polite criticism gets lumped in with not appreciating Tim it his charity.
For my first visit, my wife flew us to Vegas to the phof for my bday years ago, and while it was still good fun, the state of almost every popular classic was abysmal. That is simply just the truth, and it was a huge disappointment.
I have worked on pins for years. Logic chip replacement and board work etc. It's not insanely difficult. If the charity is making so much money, hire techs so the games play well. This will make MORE money! Why have so many non/barely functioning games in a nice new venue?
Just my two cents.
Disclaimer: I like Tim's dedication and collection just as much as all of you!
If you're referencing my post, please note that I said "a few of the critiques".
I have a couple of friends that are well known and respected in the hobby and are very knowledgeable at pin repair who have offered their services to Tim for free and were turned down.
I have to admit....I'll never understand this.
1 month later
I'm the former owner of the RonDeeVoo and as far as my visits to both PHOFs have seen, it has always been out of order. It always worked when I owned it.
Quoted from prl867:Unfortunately I couldn’t RUSH to open it. I’m sure Tim will get it done by tomorrow.
[quoted image]
Nice.....see you on Monday to play it!
3 months later
Another great time at PHOF. Played Rush and Godzilla for the first time. Both were a blast.
EHOH was down as was the cold bottle water vending machine but those were the only disappointments. Every machine played great.
1 month later
Just got back from my twice a month visit to PHOF.
As always, I had a blast playing new and older games. First time playing Funhouse with the Rudy's Nightmare conversion kit. The more I play Godzilla and Rush, the more fun they are. (even though the trough in Rush still rejects balls)
Have to admit though that it seemed that there were many more games turned off that I can ever recall in the past. EHOH has been out of order my last few visits. I'm sure Tim will get caught up though, it must be a daunting task keeping all of the pins working.
Quoted from timarnold:Tim here again.
In the last year we have started a gift shop, going from nothing when we opened to almost 10 percent of our income. Right now we are selling just shirts and hats along with a few low cost item like used pinballs.
Ramping up to get to this point took a LOT of time and effort. We are 2/3rds of the way thru a 16,000 piece order of tie dye shirts. They arrive from the dyer in Montana on pallets, which must then be transported to the printer. They have to be hauled back to the PHOF, checked, sorted and stored. Then they have to be replenished in the showcases. This has taken away time from repairs. The hope is that once the last third arrives and moves thru, we will not have to spend any effort on this for a long time.
Same with the toys we need for the crane and keychain machines. Just got a 440 case order in from China. Each box must be counted, opened, mixed together with others of the same size, reboxed and stored. Keep in mind that during Covid, we bought NOTHING, not even knowing if or what we would be in the future.
I am sure there are a lot of pinheads that would say "You should be a pure pinball operation, NO TOYS OR GIFT SHOP!". I would like to remind everyone that the ONLY reason we can devote a large amount of our expensive floor space to QUARTER EM GAMES is because the merch and toys pull the weight of the money losing EM's. A compromise, sure! But one that taxes the STUPID (crane players) and rewards the SMART. (value menu EM players)
We are being tested on a daily basis, but one thing that has NEVER wavered. Our staff's comittment to showing up EVERY day, 98 hours a week, and working our asses off. By continuing to take a long term view and slowly and methodically making tiny improvements, we will make our museum better.
Without losing money.
One thing I neglected to mention on my last post was how impressed I was with the addition of merch. In the past I've had issues finding the right size or color of a shirt I wanted and I was pleasantly surprised with the selection you now offer.
I now own a black, grey and blue version of your shirts and the quality is top notch.
Quoted from pinwiztom:Can you post a photo of you sporting one of the T-shirts?
9AB61855-5DD1-4982-82F8-46E8045C35A5 (resized).jpegA1731965-564E-4A09-8D77-39432080456C (resized).jpegQuoted from pinwiztom:I thought they were tie dye shirts??
They have tie dye along with many other colors.
2 weeks later
Just got back once again and I'm happy to report that many more games are turned back on. Had a nice chat with one of the volunteers and things are going great there.
3 weeks later
Quoted from tpin1:Pinball Hall of Fame made it to the front page on Las Vegas Review Journal online.
https://archive.ph/yI08Q
I guess this explains what the lawsuit and court appearance days Tim mentioned above was all about.
Expanding the property after less than 2 years in business! He managed to lower the net parcel cost per sqft!
With regards to the Aviation authority, I wonder what game they will pick for their breakroom
Glad to see that it's settled and the survey company's insurance will take care of it.
4 weeks later
Just got back from my monthly trip and I'm bummed to say that approximately 60% of the pins are down. EHOH hasn't worked in months. Rows of EMs turned off. Even pins that are on like Munsters play sluggishly.
This is probably a temporary thing as there are times when 80% are up and working. This is just one of those visits where I was in and out in an hour.
Oof.
I'm bummed that my post created this discussion. It wasn’t my intention. As someone who goes there often, it was just an update. Tim and the VOLUNTEERS do an amazing job keeping the PHOF running and I applaud all of them. There are times that I go there that most everything is working. This trip wasn't one of them.
Kudos to Skip for checking in.
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