Ah well that makes sense. Does location factor into that as well? Like if he was on the strip would he automatically be subject to a slew of new fees, hence why he chose his more off the beaten path location? Not sure how it all works over in Vegas.

US Jacksonville, FL

5y 75,650 3,714 20 353

Not To Troll,
But just pointing out for those that haven't watched my interview with Tim back in 2013...

Part 1...
» YouTube video
Tim ARnold's theories are AWESOME! thanks for posting the videos. I used to go to the Big Fun Nights back in the day.

By going off the beaten path, he got that giant building for only $1.5 million dollars.

On the Strip, that same building might be $15 million.

Well yeah I figured that, but I wondered if there were other fees, permits, etc that are required on the strip that aren't required at his current location.

Nope, rules are the same... $75/year per machine anywhere in Clark County. But i'm still trying to get a straight answer on whether a "coinless" debit card system negates the license fee.

Some cities disallow coin-op games... IN PRIVATE RESIDENCES?!?

Where is this? Teabaggistan?

Makes me want to hang the Come And Take It cannon flag on my front door.

Yep.

Once your nosy neighbor sees you carrying in "one of them there gamblin' machines" , the city gets a warrant and takes all your games (or if they are nice, gives you 14 days to get them off the property).

If there is one thing old people hate, it's video games and pinball.

Ha!! Pics or it didn't happen.

What judge is going to sign off on a warrant to kick down a door to confiscate arcade machines from a home? I'd have to take my chances...

It's probably one of those stupid laws where, yeah it's technically a law, but never enforced. Like having an ice cream cone in your back pocket while riding a horse on Sundays.

Unless someone ( neighbors ) complain.

A KLOV member about a decade ago used to open up his garage for people to come in and play for free. And he got served and had to get rid of them. I forget his name, but it was ugly.

LTG : )

Probably some coin-operators in the area calling the cops
to let them bust the competition.

Well that's lame and I hope that guy or gal moved soon afterwards. Sucks that you cannot pick your neighbors most of the time.

Hard to say. My old neighbors have someone across the street from them and down at the end of the block. They call the police on anything. Dog barking, kids having a birthday party in the back yard, anything.

Some people are ridiculous.

LTG : )

If you ever watched The Space Invaders documentary, it has people who had to get rid of their game collections because of the city.

One neighbor who hated the other, told the city that he was charging kids to play the games in his garage. The city removed all the games.

"Seattle Pinball Museum"
http://www.seattlepinballmuseum.com/

Sometimes the best tricks are the old tricks.
The "museum" has received "free machines to maintain history" as well.
Its a free enterprise, capitalistic world in those countries that can do it.

NOTE: This location is NOT non-profit...but kudos...

I was at the PHOF two weeks ago and it seemed most of the machines were playable. I guess the good thing about the PHOF is if you're playing a machine in bad shape, you can always find another machine that's in good shape... Yes, Tim seems tired and burned out. Also, he's absent from The Hall more often than years past. I'm seeing new people in the workshop area every time I go there.

One area that could be improved is marketing. I know Tim wants to give huge checks to the Salvation Army, but how about using a little bit of that money for marketing? I usually go to the PHOF on weekday evenings. When I'm there between 7pm and 11pm, Sunday thru Thursday, most of the time the place is deserted. Maybe there's five people playing the machines. Since this is Las Vegas, this place should be busy every night. If some advertising could be done through different media sources, I think the PHOF could be busy everyday in the evenings.

Or looking at it another why, if Tim wants to give more money to the Salvation Army, why wouldn't he want some merchandise to sell? You're in the tourist capital of the world, and you can't buy a PHOF T-shirt or hat or bumper sticker at the PHOF??? There's a big profit margin in souvenirs, so I'm not sure why Tim doesn't have a merchandise plan...

The article is somewhat misleading, because Tim isn't going anywhere. As far as the PHOF is concerned, he still has another 10+ years to go. Yes, eventually someone or some group will need to take over the PHOF, but for now Tim will be Tim and he will run the PHOF the way he wants to. Anyway, it's fortunate for us that we now have access to his machines on a daily basis, so I'm not complaining...

Yeah, when I was there, I thought I saw a Williams OXO in the workshop. I said, "That's a nice looking OXO." When I got back home and looked at my photos, it wasn't an OXO, it was a Triple X!... When you think you've heard of or seen every machine ever made, something new pops up... Amazing...

phof_emrow01_(resized).jpg

LLoyd, I *think* you might be referring to John Jamshid <sp?> aka Evil Exidy on the old RVAC forums. IIRC, he was residing in Florida and some neighbor made a complaint-not about the pins & vids, but the trucks that delivered them. This got the county involved and it did indeed turn out t be a huge bureaucratic quagmire....I believe he move out to Colorado....

My Grandma couldn't believe my dad bought us kids a gambling machine for Christmas....

Yes, he moved to CO. I helped him out several times and give versa for coin op parts. This is one of the reason why collectors don't publicize what they own in terms of collections. People overreact, sometimes with hate. This video is just a collection review after he moved to CO. The old Channel 8 "retribution" video after the FL city council attacked him is missing.

What made his collection special is WHAT he owned, not HOW MUCH he owned, as there are a ton of larger collectors in the USA alone. Interview had some errors.

I remember when I had 55+ pinball machines set up in my machine shop in the early 2000s. People really don't have any idea how much space they can really take up. That many machines side by side is over 200 feet (a few inches between each backbox) of you keep moving down the line in one direction.

Some people are just very critical.

Wow, this was great to watch. Thanks for sharing.

Does Tim still do the Pinball Summer Camp? My vacation is spoke for this year, but I think I'd like to give it a shot next year.

Chris

Tim just needs to sell it outright
He already had two heart attacks

Next one might be fatal

Sell it. , visit maybe ones in a while
And talk nostalgic.
Put a big plack on the wall with his Picture & name
and game over!

Now where did my damn quarter go Tim !!!

You want to move there and we can run it together Robert ...

rd

He can't sell it, as he doesn't own anything there. It belongs to the organization.

Let's put the rumors to rest. Tim plans to expand.

image_(resized).jpeg

What paper is that? Do you know if that article is online?

Neck-saving link:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/life/owner-says-pinball-hall-fame-alive-and-well-las-vegas

http://www.reviewjournal.com/life/owner-says-pinball-hall-fame-alive-and-well-las-vegas

Thanks for the links

I pointed that out about a week ago, that he was planning to expand. Good for him and us!!

Couple of observations. Just painting the ceiling black would go a long way to making the PHoF look more "arcade" like, and less of run down retail space... I had to chuckle at the "it's my favorite place to go in Vegas" comments. I LOVE pinball... But if this is your favorite place to go in Vegas, Vegas isn't your town... "I don't really like to gamble so we love to come here. Says it all. "More fun than Video Poker!" WTF? Because they are so similar???
Thought the Whoa Nellie on the opening of the video was an funny choice.
I know Tim doesn't really embrace technology(post 1972), but he should try to step up to the modern era and have the "historic facts" on an app that uses RFID or QR (even cheaper) to ID the historically significant machines, and either plays the history of the machine in Tim's voice (would be the best) or at least shows a written description that he has on the yellowed index cards on a customers phone or tablet.
-S

Now that would be something that someone could volunteer their time and donate to the PHOF.

Make some QR Code stickers to go on the glass near the apron.

It's been offered, and it was declined.

Now that the Stevens Brothers own the entire block of Fremont between The Las Vegas Club and Mermaids, I would LOVE to see a PHoF outpost over there, like there was in The Riv before it closed.

QR codes (and printed info cards for those without scanners) would be nice, as would better lighting, some color on the walls, and separation between play and repair areas.

precisely.

Spring is here outside my window, PHOF remains in Tim's hands.....

IMG_4594_(resized).JPG

Which I will imagine it will, until Tims hands are no longer moving (if you know what I mean ...)

rd

Expanding the PHOF doesn't make sense if he can't keep up with what he has, but at the same time if he bought the building next door for a good price, it might be cheaper than his storage.. Seems that was the same reason clay bought the VFW, he could store AND play his machines for less in the long run by buying a building.

While I too like to complain about run down machines at PHOF, I can understand not being able to keep up. While everyone will chime in "hey, hire some people to help", imagine if your wife said "Hey, i invited a bunch of your friends to fix your machines.. I think they all know what their doing".. You might be reluctant to agree to that. I think Clay is fortunate to have friends he can trust to help work on pins.

So serious question, Tim always talks about how "Come play sooner than later. When I'm gone, there will be a sign on the door that says closed". Anyone want to chime in about what will really happen when Tim passes on? Does he have family it would get passed onto? Would local pinball club people get first dibs? Does he have a Will and testament that says all his stuff gets sold at auction and donated to charity?

If you go there more than a few times, you will note that on average, 97% of the games are working just fine.

There are always going to be some broken games. That's just how pinball is.

The museum is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club - a non-profit corporation, of which Tim is the president. If Tim were no longer here, the remaining directors of the corporation could appoint someone else to replace him, chose another way to operate the museum, or opt to just disband. (there are 5 officers) But the assets would have to be redistributed to another non-profit - they can't be sold.

I think Tim donated his games to the LVPCC, but I'm not 100% on that. If they are owned by the LVCC, they can't be sold. Maybe he allows them to use his games (Commissions are mentioned in the tax filing)

If you want some insight into their org - read a recent tax filing - http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/260/060/2014-260060884-0b78c2f6-9.pdf

I believe the assets can be sold so long as the proceeds of said sale are donated to another charity (non-profit).

I've seen references to say otherwise (I tried researching before making that reply). But I'm no CPA. It would make sense to not allow sale, because otherwise you can just deplete the place as an inside job and who cares what proceeds you give to the next guy. I don't think they are allowed to liquidate.. only sell stuff if it were to advance their charitable objective.

Like.. sell an old game to buy a new one.. probably can do. Liquidate the collection and then just hand the procedes on? I don't think they can.

The LVCC does not own the majority of the games, Tim does. Except for a handful of newer games, all games are Tim's and are not owned by the LVCC.

Is that what the commissions are in their tax report? Tim lending the games to the LVCC in exchange for upkeep and royalties?

I assume the newer games they buy, are coming from the coin drop proceeds.

There is a video from one of the expos in the last few years where Tim goes into great detail of how the assets are set up.

IMG_4678_(resized).JPG

I do not think the LVCC bought any building next door, just a big empty (parking) lot.

I believe this is what you're referring to...

It's a damn good and insightful presentation!

Quoted from toyotaboy:
"but at the same time if he bought the building next door for a good price, it might be cheaper than his storage...

His storage is at his residence aka no overhead...

Quoted from pinwiztom
"I do not think the LVCC bought any building next door, just a big empty (parking) lot.

Correct, they own a big piece of property next to the PHOF.