Quoted from NicoVolta:No way man. PHOF survives because it is cheap, has lots of variety, owns the land it sits upon, and runs on a tireless human engine with deep knowledge of antiquated technology.
If you ditch the EM's, jack up the prices, and move it to the strip it would be bankrupt within a week. Faster still without my coin, because the vast majority of what I play are EM's.
Pinball as a form of entertainment, alone, cannot financially sustain itself outside of an inexpensive, tax-advantaged venue with passionate, knowledgeable techs. Upkeep is expensive and among the most demanding of any form of amusement on the planet. Have a look at the pinball arcade at New York, New York. That's the only sustainable model outside of the "museum" approach/private collection: Fewer games, higher prices, bigger crowds, and bolstered by alcohol and food sales.
That's the thing though, it isn't a tireless human engine because he has grown tired of it and/or no longer wants to do it. Likewise the antiquated tech is a huge hurdle, especially the em's. If you need to get a machine repaired and it's an ss machine, it's easier to find a tech to do it. With em's, many that repair ss machine won't touch em's at all and it becomes substantially more difficult to deal with machine failure. Not to mention that your typical em machine is usually just one token to play, whereas you can get away with four tokens on an ss machine, so ss machines can earn a better return.
It sounds like Tim was a very unique and dedicated guy, but in that respect it seems unlikely to find someone else like him that is willing to devote all that time and energy to keep this going the way it is. Better location combined with redemption machines could be the way to go, perhaps without booze to keep it all family friendly. This seems to work for the Playland Arcade at the Santa Monica pier, which I know many here don't care for that place but at the end of the day it's always jam packed with people because of it's prime tourist foot traffic location and it doesn't even offer any booze.
Thousand Oaks, CA
