I'll be there in 2 days. My first visit.

With all due respect to Tim, I used to go to the PHoF but I got tired of the many broken games and the dumpy feel of the place. That was cool when I was 14 but now I'm 46 with some disposable income and I'm looking for something more.

Now, when I go to Vegas, I go to NYNY and play your games. Hell, I was just there two weeks ago and dropped a bunch of money into your games. They're awesome. I'll be back soon and spending more money at NYNY and your games. I appreciate the effort you make to keep your games tip top and looking good.

Why don't you forget about the PHoF and the sub par location and do your own thing. Might I suggest "Pinball Thunderdome" as a potential name for your new establishment.

QSS

Vegas is the place for the PHOF hands down but if all the games are in disrepair then it's just bad for pinball. Think of all the people coming through that town that thought pinball was dead and then they find this magical place only to walk in and see all these broke dunk machines. It's like an old age home next to a cemetery. It just proves their theory (pinball is dead) and that's just not what's happening right now. Tim needs to relinquish the keys to someone that would have control and own it. Worship it. Live it. And rebuild it current. Like 80's current but now man.
Yes the charity aspect is great but it's just not realistic to keeping all these pins working. Staff is! And that costs man. Give a portion to charity and hold events for charity but make enough money to hire a staff to keep the machines tip top. You are the one!!!!
I live in Baltimore.

This is exactly what I was thinking reading through this thread. 50 great playing games out of 50 makes you one of the best locations in the world. 50 great playing games out of 200 is a dump.

Open up shop right next door with 30 great playing pins. I bet it wouldn't take long for him to see the value in running a place differently.

I don't know Tim, but maybe someone who does could chime in. The "no one else could do it" refrain is commonly repeated. Yeah, big route ops don't take good care of games, and maybe 99% of people don't know how to fix games, but that other 1% is doing a hell of a job right now with destination pinball arcades and even some on route.

Has he not been to the places that have 30, 40, or 50+ great playing games?

You'd lose the bet. Nothing has changed him yet, in all the years.

Well, no one has. Only Tim has. And quite successfully.

People may not agree with how the PHOF is run. But as is it makes great money and isn't likely to change.

And it is easy to be an armchair quarterback and post how it should be run. But the way it is run now, works. You go and change all that, and there is no guarantee on what happens next. Might make money, might make more money, might make less.

LTG : )

From what ive been reading just here in this thread it doesnt really seem to work though.....

What ever happened to people volunteering their time and expertise? I live a bit far away but would LOVE LOVE LOVE to help out and see his great work continue for those who need it. Its not always about the all might $$$$$$$$$$
I am glad PHOF still exists as most of us selfish people horde these beauties in our own place and Joe public never gets to play.
Best wishes to PHOF.

Anyone can go help Tim now. He has a sales trailer in the back yard behind the PHoF where you can stay for free. It's actually pretty comfortable. Bedroom, full bath, small (really small) kitchen, large louge area. It's in the locked fenced yard so no one bothers you. That's where people stay that help Tim for more than a day.

But Tim doesn't want someone to come work for a couple hours. he wants you there 8 hours a day, or it's not worth his time. He has a particular way to do things, and you must follow his protocol. It takes a bit to learn it, so he doesn't want to expend the energy to do that if you're not serious and not willing to work full days.

The post about coins and his paranoia of theft is a real issue. Tim is very paranoid people are stealing. It's a problem with his family, Tim/Tom/Ted all have this issue. Money drives these folks and they always think someone is stealing from them. Heck they may be right, but regardless, it's a freaky thing and it bothers me when i visit tim.

I stayed an entire week to help him last year, and this is all on point. It was fun, but not worth doing again in my opinion.

I was in Vegas a month ago and the one word which comes to mind when describing the PHOF is 'underwhelming'. Maybe it was my own fault that my expectations were too high. Almost every pin I played on had some sort of issue.
The pins in NYNY on the other hand were mint. Two out of the three times I was in there playing the tech was adjusting and testing each pin in turn.

Its bad for pinball.Looks bad,smells bad,bad location,bad,broken games.If it makes GREAT money,why is it in such a bad neighborhood?
Its the polar opposite of what a good arcade experience should be.

Man this place is making bank. I just looked up their 2014, 2013, and 2012 990s (public record) and here are the highlights:

Coin drop

2014 - $776k
2013 - $745k
2012 - $644k

Money given to local charities

2014 - $85k
2013 - $22k
2012 - Unsure

Repairs expense

2014 - 13k
2013 - 15k
2012 - unsure

total change in net assets (net income for For Profit Companies)

2014 - 513k
2013 - 480k
2012 - Unsure

Cash at the end of the year

2014 - 898k
2013 - 332k
2012 - over 1 million in cash and investments (a ton of it was used to pay off debt in 2013)

No debt at the end of 2013 and 2014. They reported around 225k in equipment (pinball machines) in 2014.

Seems to me there is lots of room to hire reasonable staff, and also significantly increase their yearly giving to local charities.

Therein lies the rub. Tim just doesn't want to do things differently.

I can empathize. I should be doing things differently with my own business. It makes enough money that I should have whole teams of people working for me. But I choose not to, because I don't feel like it.

The difference though is I haven't created my own personal hell every day from this decision and let things fall apart around me.

You're forgetting the Tim Arnold retirement fund

Shame that bull-headedness gets in the way of something that could be great. I can see that he doesn't want to hand his baby over to someone else. I'd have the same holdbacks as well if I started something somewhat successful and had people telling me to step down and let someone else take over.

But damn. I how can I start my own non-profit to make bank? Indiana Pinball Museum, here I come! Sorry MSA.

Dudes getting almost 2k in coin drop per day. That's nuts.

I think the other issue at hand and this was mentioned in an earlier post is hoarding. I think not wanting to hand over the keys, sell it or hire anyone for help is where the hoarding issue comes in. The machines are his babies, his pride and joy's and they are of great value and importance to him, no matter what state of disrepair they are in. Probably in his mind....NO ONE knows how to repair and work on them as good as he does and that is where the issue is at hand.

....let it go man, cash out and let someone breathe new life in the PHOF.

As for comments of moving it. That would be a huge mistake. The PHOF is a destination in Las Vegas and has gotten a reputation as a tourist attraction and regardless of how in disrepair it is. I can't think of any of the times I have went there hasn't been at least 50 people in there at all times.

Jeez, if I was in charge of that, I'd have 15 employees minimum. I respect the hell out of Tim from the few interviews I've read and most the stories I've heard. But he is the only reason he is so stressed out.

With the amount of games it would be cool if the place was re-vamped and you could play through the decades.
40's, 50's, 60's, 70's , 80's, 90's , 2000 - 2010 and the 2010 forward.

Make it an experience where you can play in sequential order the best games of every decade.

Not going to happen but it would be cool.

I'm not sure those numbers show the whole picture. Unless someone is donating electricity, insurance, building repair funds, water, etc. I'm not saying the place doesn't make money but there is more to running a business than game repair expenses...

That's why I showed their cash balance at the end of each year and their net change in net assets for each year. Those include those numbers. At the end of the day, cash is king, and they have a lot of it.

My bad, thanks for the clarification.

We visited Tim's place a couple of years back and I can echo a lot of the comments here. But honestly I didn't go into it with an expectation that I would find room full of 300 pinball machines that had been rubbed with a diaper like the pampered games in all of our basements. I have one toe in that world and another toe in the operating world and frankly, I am just not willing to stand next to the games 12 hours a day and wipe them down in between every game, and change every light bulb that goes out before it even gets cold. For folks like Lloyd that are doing this my hat is off but its not my full time job so I do the best I can.

I also tend to pay more attention to the comments in threads like this that come from business owners over just the home collectors. Business owners are wired different than everyone else (at least the successful ones are). And I have found the #1 rule is not to offer them advice on running their business unless they ask for it, and they likely won't so don't hold your breath. Paranoia is a common trait, they feel like they are alone and the rest of the world either doesn't get it, or is part of the group that is out to get them in some way. Tim seems to confirm a lot of these traits. In his mind unless you are walking in his shoes you don't get it, and if you are you are the competition and he will fear you. There is no way in, I agree with the assessment that things will never change there as long as he can still stand.

first of all, stick LEDs in there. it reduces the workload of replacing bulbs by several orders of magnitude.

but really i don't think anyone here is asking for 250 diaper-rubbed HEP-worthy pins at the PHOF. Just games that aren't mostly broken, and that represent the hobby reasonably well. it 's probably an impossible task for one man (and the occasional volunteer). i think that is our point.

All the advice is well and good but has no effect on Tim. His personality is firmly set. He is a type of person that does not compromise or make changes for any reason other than the financial bottom line. He does not care if you don't approve or even have a really good idea. I'm not criticizing. I believe this to be fact.

Just my opinion. I'd tend to belive the comments of CFH as he seems to know him personally.

with those kind of numbers, there is no reason he can't hire someone to maintain games full time. PAPA does it, why can't he?

IMO this is the correct answer to all questions about Tim's business practices:

PAPA needs full time techs? I thought they we're only open a couple times a year?

Not to sound like a broken record, but this can't be said enough. Just got back from spending 5 nights at NYNY and logged in about 80 games on the pins. Every one played like a dream. Every mod you can think of. I'm now hooked on GOT.

My visit to PHOF just made me sad.

I'm sorry, but you're incorrect. The way it is run simply does not work. Broken and malfunctioning equipment, by definition, does not work. This fact is further supported by the overwhelming negative comments here on this forum. I'm not the armchair quarterback criticizing the place, I'm the seconds string QB sent in to save the game. I own and operate arcades here in town, including the set up at NYNY, and the method by which the PHOF is currently run simply does not work.

If I'm blessed to be given the opportunity to operate the PHOF, I CAN guarantee on what happens next as I understand how successful businesses operate. There is no "might". It will make more money, it will be more successful, and it will grow in popularity. And I flat out guarantee this as I'm the one willing to put my money, my time, and my resources to accomplish this.... if given the opportunity.

I visited the PHOF many years ago when he first opened with my buddy Chris. We thought it was so much fun and soon after we were both looking for our first pinball machines. Yes, it sucks that many machines are down, but luckily you have a large amount of games to choose from. In a perfect world every machine would work perfectly and be in mint condition. I respect Tim and the way he does things. He has been in business for a very long time in MI/NV. So he must be doing something right.

I'm curious, are you hauling in the kind of numbers Tim does ?

I hope you get the chance. I'd love to read glowing reports of the PHOF, rather than all the bad, except for the coin drop.

LTG : )

Finding pinball technicians that have the full spectrum of experience from EMs to modern SS is much harder than people may realize, even in Vegas. Particularly at "bargain bin" hourly wages. Young retirees or financially independent people would be a good hedge, but they are not necessarily common together in tandem.

He should just keep going til he croaks, then have it all thrown into the big shed, put the casket on top and set it alight. A massive pinball Viking funeral.

Who says you can't take it with you?

I have never been to the PHOF but it is on my to do list for sure if it remains around long enough.

Reading this thread and the state of the machines made me think of the colossal undertaking it would be to get the place to the level that it should be.

First off the place would have to be closed for at least 3 months to have proper techs basically shop out all of the machines and from what I have read here that may not be enough time.

How many hacks must be addressed?

What is the parts inventory like? For proper inventory on that many machines the cost to fully stock a proper parts inventory would be considerable.

For the SS machines

Do the boards need to be upgraded with remote holders .NVRAM etc?

Do the machines need Super bands to save the cost of replacing broken flipper rubbers?

Should all of the machines get LEDs to cut costs and other heat damage expenses?

Should Bill acceptors be installed?

Should they eliminate coins and bills altogether and have the games played on a pay per time basis?

This system works well at MPNYC

This would eliminate coin mechs and Bill acceptor failures and the threat of Tech theft which is claimed in this thread as part of the Tims' concerns.

Before Modern Pinball opened all and more of these were discussed and most were dismissed so the work I had done on getting the machines to be beautiful examples went out the window in short time.

There is something about the old time operators that just want to do everything on the cheap and don't seem to understand that quality doesn't come that way. I m not even sure if that mindset even understands or sees the difference in what real quality is.

Old school….. Is the flipper flipping? YES. Is the flipper rubber good? NO is the bat aligned NO, is it sticking? YES, is it weak.YES Can it make a shot ? NO its still flipping so its working. that seems to be the train of thought.

The owners of MPNYC also didn't want to hire real techs just hacks and it showed in the degraded state of the machines.

Now too they are using Hack Volunteers so they don't have to pay anyone.

The reason I bring up MPNYC is that it is basically the same scenario that the PHOF is going through so I can relate in a way to the situation.

Volunteers are good to a point but the fun factor wears thin quickly and it becomes pure labor with frustration because if the place they work for doesn't have money for techs then they don't have money for parts or other needed supplies to repair machines.

The PHOF from what I gather started out the degraded way from the get go and continued on the same path and now its finally catching up.

Tim Arnold however must be credited for what he has accomplished on such a scale, it's almost mind numbing. That being said, its sad that he appears to be his own worse enemy and his dream is slowly decaying into a nightmare.

The PHOF ,with that name, should be the Mecca of Pinball and the representation of Pinball of the highest order. The PHOF is probably the first experience with Pinball that people, especially children, will have. First impressions are everything.

Its a catch 22 that Tim doesn't seem to get or simply ignores. Tim wants to be charitable with the SA and yet if he doesn't keep the PHOF open he won't be able to give to the SA any more.

He must use the SA donation money for at least some time to get his house in order then he can resume his contributions to them.

From what i have read here about Mr Arnold this will not happen. Tim has used his love of Pinball and all of his resources and youth to climb the mountain of creating the PHOF but once he reached the top both the resources and energy he has left are not enough to keep him from falling back down the mountain.

I haven't even begun to comment on what it would entail to upgrade the facility. my head is spinning at what it would take.

Merchandising, Signage, Facility upgrade and on and on.

I only wish Mr Arnold all the best, I can imagine that he must bust his ass everyday and that he has given his heart, soul and sweat in the place 1000% I get it that it is his labor of Love but he is only one man and his health and age have taken its toll.

Long Live Tim Arnold and Long Live the PHOF!

Now if the PHOF were in NYC he just might have the guy he needs!!

You wouldn't necessarily have to find one that already knows what they are doing. I taught myself through interactions on here and YouTube videos. I still learn something new everyday.I couldn't imagine how fast I would have learned if I had someone actually teaching me. Hire some techy college kids. Sure, I know Tim would never even think of doing this, but its an example of what could be done.

I'm with you. I've tried to work there and it's just too difficult. Tim is too strict and things that I see need done one way he sees as needs done another way. It's really painful. I just spent time with Troy who was out there for a number of weeks working full-time for Tim. He says he'll never do it again. Tim makes things a lot harder than they need to be, but that's how he wants it. I personally just can't deal with it and I think a lot of other people have a hard time dealing with it too. But that's Tim and how he wants to do things. It's his pony show so you have to play by his rules. That's just how it is. Deal with it or leave. Unfortunately I think most do the latter.

You can't count on Pinside for anything other than it's slanted views.

People here will bitch about Pinball Pete's in Ann Arbor: "The MM was actually worn to the wood in front of Merlin!!!!! I could not believe the condition of the games !!!!"

As if a game, played 14 hours a day for 20 years in a college town, would not have some wear on the playfield.

=

I've been to PHOF probably 50 times. Of course a few games will be turned off. But most of the games are working just fine.

I've never gone away with my soul crushed because there was wear or a broken plastic on some of the games.

Am I in the F#@&ing twilight zone? It's like...deja vu all over again.

Oh jesus don't put too much stock in the diaper rubbers on Pinside.

"Play for time" is a business model I actively discourage, very much dislike, and will never implement.

It ruins the fun of earning specials.
It increases wear and tear on dollar-for-dollar income.
People walk away from half-finished games.
People click up 4p games for themselves.
I don't want to tell any customer to "get lost" when their time is up.
I don't want people even THINKING about clocks... I want them to lose track of time altogether.
It discourages people from stopping by for "just a game or two"

Only museums and festivals work on an "all you can play" model in my opinion. Otherwise, no thank you.

In fairness there is one example of a person that expects that. And in my years of reading threads here there have been plenty of folks that have said they wouldn't coin drop a game that wasn't as clean as their own at home, that to put money in a machine is only deserved if it's as nice as what they already have. That is pretty unrealistic IMHO. To have that at PHOF would require one tech per game standing next to it for the entire time the place is open.

Understand, I get that things could be better there. There is just not a reasonable way to keep that number of games pristine. At least not as long as Tim still owns the place.

Yeah I was gonna say the same thing, there would be some games down when I'd go there but it really wasn't that bad, most seemed to be working.

Round1's "play for time" is one of the best things I've ever come across. If I have to pay $1 / credit to play a pinball machine, there's no room for any type of practicing and / or error. Whereas if I have 90 minutes of play for $10, I'm going to be practicing my bounce passes and just generally exploring what works and what doesn't.

And on topic, i finally walked up to Tim at this year's Arcade Expo and told him that I never wanted to bother him at the PHoF but I really appreciate what he's done, and he was very nice and he liked that I didn't bother him at his job.

And finally, two of my friends got caught In flagrante delicto in the bathroom at the old location. they're banned for life.

Whether it works or doesn't work...that's a really subjective definition. But, there are a few facts:

1) Tim is worn out, and has been telling everyone this for years.
2) The machines are generally in enough disrepair that many of the target customers are not returning for a second visit.
3) Non-working (or poorly playing) machines being left out on location reflect poorly the venue, and on pinball in general.

All of these things can be changed or improved. None of us has been tasked with making improvements, so our suggestions really don't mean anything. But, given #1, it's not surprising that these conversations keep happening. It sounds to me like the things he says to people regarding his sanity & enthusiasm is opening himself up to unsolicited advice. (Although this article almost certainly took one comment out of context and ran with it).

Great post from someone that actually knows.

For everyone saying "He needs to LED all his games", hes already started or done most of the EM games and while most on here probably think that its blasphemy to LED an EM with cool white frosted bulbs, i think its better than having regular bulbs in the game using more power and further damaging backglasses, etc...

As much as I hate LEDs, I think in this kind of situation, that's your only bet. At my house, I do not LED but I can also check every month or so to make sure they aren't getting covered in coil dust and heating up plastics and backglasses. With 250 games, there is no way to check that many.

If anyone thinks they can do it better, they should just do it.

Show me a Barcade that has a million dollars left over at the end of the year that they can donate to charity.

Show me an Arcade with 300 pinball machines where every game is working and none have a broken plastic or wear on the playfield.

If any of that stuff was doable, someone would already be doing it.