What's the charity work he does? I don't know any details on the phof and was just wondering if someone could give me a run down, does he donate the profits from the phof or something?

He used to donate to the local Salvation Army, but I think there was some fall out there. Not sure who gets it now.

Why am I not surprised that you would think that?

Amazing.

There are the casual customers (trolls)
There are the pin-heads (trolls)
and then there are those that have/do volunteer there (typically not trolls).
Who would you spend time getting to know and associated most with?
Tim knows how to manage the PHOF like no other.
Yeah, we all have our views on things we'd change, but we're guests.

I hope this isn't true. I have been to the PHoF twice and I would like to see someone step up and continue to run it. But if he is set on selling it all off, then I had better start saving my pennies.

Me too. All the work and money Tim put into it. All the people who helped. All the people who donated to it from when it was a dream until it became a reality.

It would be nice to continue.

LTG : )

I went out to Vegas back in January for close to a week and had the time of my life at the PHOF. I spent many hours there almost every day, much of which was documenting every game there and then updating pinside when I got home. Anyway, I had watched every youtube video of Tim Arnold and the PHOF prior to going there and knew going in not to bug the guy and expect to chit chat with him for half an hour. I was blown away by everything I saw there (being relatively new to the hobby) and enjoyed every last minute of it. When I did speak to Tim he was not rude to me or anything. A couple of times I had a stuck ball, and another time on the last day I was there I simply told him how much I appreciated what he has done and that it was a wonderful gift to the pinball community. Also let him know I was updating Pinside. So it's important to know going in what to expect and to appreciate it for what it is, which to many is something very special and important. The fact that he comes off as grumpy to some people does not diminish my appreciation and admiration for what he has been able to accomplish. We all have our faults, and we all have bad days now and then.

This thread is fascinating.

Some things I've learned:

° I'm not the only who finds Mr. Arnold an imposing figure
° us Tims are an ornery lot!
° for as many places as there are to play in Southern California, Southern California pinball players don't seem to be the nicest bunch

So if the PHoF really does turn to "Pinball Sale" when Tim turns 65, what's to stop someone from buying the place up and
Re-opening the doors?

No one, including myself, really cares if you're surprised or not.

To attack someone and criticize someone who has done so much for others in the amount this person has, is really what's amazing.

No good deed goes unpunished. How fitting.

I really don't think too many people could take over the PHoF, if Tim would even allow that. You would need to be a master pinball tech, master business man, and master coin op historian. There are not too many people that could fill those shoes, and those that can, probably don't want the job. So no one is going to take over the PHoF in 5 years... I just can't see it happening. And if they do, it would probably close within a year, for a variety of reasons. Plus Tim wouldn't sell anything for less than market value. You would have to have pretty deep pockets!

We run a gig similar to Tim's (dedicated pinball place) with over 250 games. But the big difference is we're only open to the public but a few weekends a year, and we're in Michigan. And on those weekends i'm going nuts! To do that *every day*, 365 days a year, and in Las Vegas (where people seem to care a lot less about how they act), i don't know how he does it.

On frank's post, his points are good. But frank, paragraphs are you friend! Please use them. (paragraphs make reading long passages a lot easier on the eyes.)

I was there a week ago. I had a couple of hours to kill before my late night flight and asked Tim if I could leave my bags somewhere - he said "sure, just leave them in my repair area" and I did. I had a great time. Were all of the machines pristine, level, and working 100%? No. But I was able to play a variety of pins from many eras and enjoy them. There were 2 or 3 people working on games while I was there. If a game was not working well, I drained the balls and moved on to another. If I saw a guy working on one I had played, I let him know what I found not working (that includes Tim) and they acknowledged it and thanked me. The playfield glasses were kept clean and many had superbands on the flippers.

I noticed all kinds of folks there having fun and it touched my heart to see kids enjoying pinball with their parents. I shook Tim's hand and thanked him as I was leaving. I will return the next time I am in Las Vegas. How many places are left to visit and play so many pinball machines in one place?

Bill

I love PHOF since I go to Vegas for work so much - and as far as Tim's attitude at least he treats everyone the same - doesn't matter if you are a kid or pinball 'professional'

I interviewed him a while back for Pinball Soul I think and he was gracious, then I asked to snap a portrait and he posed for me even. Of course he flipped me the bird, but I think that's quite honest
4rkJl2ZAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==.png
http://store.orangephotography.com/sfpins/h6754d6ba#h6754d6ba

Airfare to Vegas , $300 dollars, 3 nights at the hotel $400 dollars, dropped $1,000 dollars at the blackjack table in 30 minutes, meeting Tim Arnold and getting yelled at and flipped the bird, Priceless! He is the soup Nazi of the pinball world and (most) love him for it

I could not read it on my phone.

I'm sure most people did not read more than the first and last sentence.

This thread blows...

I've spoken with Tim a half dozen times through the years. He's always been courteous to me.... I dunno, maybe it's the way I approach him. I've also seen him in a-hole mode. The guy just doesn't suffer fools. If you're rude, allow you're kids to run rampant, or mistreat the pins, he'll have no problem going off on you.

On a side note, I'm thinking of starting a thread called "Jack Guarnieri, Jersey Jack Pinball", documenting all the classless things he's said and done throughout the years (he loves trashing Gary Stern at pinball shows) , mixing in names like "prick", "douche", "autistic" and counting the minutes until the thread gets shut down.

....which, IMO, should happen to this thread.

// Error: Image 418287 not found //

Hehe. At least you made me laugh!

A lot of money.

Willing to work 100 hours a week.

First problem I see is if you have that much money, you don't need a job like that.

LTG : )™

Had a friend who managed an Arcade. They thought, "Hey I like Pinball this should be fun!" She lasted there around 8 months. The constant noise level, the teens and kids left there by their parents. It is an Arcade not a day care drop off. It was at a mall and very busy.

8 whole months. She did pretty good. Longer than most.

It takes a special breed to do these things.

LTG : )™

Do it.

I'd take that job in a heartbeat, had I the qualifications.

So how long until Tim hits 65? I guess I should start playing the lotto now...

By the way, I worked at an Alladin's Castle as a youth. Thought it would be a dream job... I didn't make it to my second day. Working the ticket counter has got to be one of the levels of hell.

The guys a ASS hole but if you want to play the most beat up pinball games in one location go there

There has been some positivity in this thread, it's not all bad! And does this hobby really need any more name calling?

Just shaking my head that calling John "J-Poop" gets a thread eject, but this crap is apparently a-ok with the mods.

Whatever. Keep crapping on the guy. Tim's done more for pinball and charity than any of us.

Oh...and he does read Pinside, so if the goal is to hurt him personally... Mission accomplished.

The pins there are in mostly terrible condition. I still go there when I am in Las Vegas, but it's not a particularly satisfying experience.

You've got to remember that the MODs are not all of a single mindset.

One mod will get a wild hair and send you a warning for a picture that has been posted 5 times before with no problems.

It's just how it goes, don't take it personal.....

All I can say is it looks like Tim is in pretty good shape. Look at those arms!

The pins are, of course, in routed condition.

They are not HEP restores, they are exactly how pins were when 'pinball parlors' were still found in every town.

People will cry "Medieval Madness was broken when I went!!!!" as if one of the most popular games, 20 years old, being played 16 hours non-stop, should never break down.

I didn't realize that autism was an insult. It's a wide spectrum disorder that lots of functioning, fully employed adults have and deal with on a regular basis. Aspergers Syndrome, a well-known variant, is characterized by poor social interactions, obsessions, odd speech patterns, and other peculiar mannerisms. They often have few facial expressions, have difficulty reading the body language of others and they might engage in obsessive routines. They tend to be somewhat socially immature and may be seen by others as odd or eccentric.

Popaduik fits that diagnosis to a T, and Tim seems to share some of those attributes as well. I know of a few other people in this hobby with similar mannerisms. I was just commenting on how pinball as a hobby seems to attract such people.

Good point.

Having autism is not an insult. Throwing the word around to someone who obviously is at worst a curmudgeon is insulting not only to Tim but to those who actually have autism.

It's a spectrum disorder - that means it can vary from extremely debilitating (which is what I'm assuming you're picturing when I use that word) to socially awkward or, as you say, "curmedgeonly". The few times I've met Tim, long before the current PHoF existed, he came across extremely socially awkward - wouldn't look people in the eye for example - and had an unusual speaking manner. Collecting over 1,000 games could be considered obsessive behavior. He's of an age when such disorders went undiagnosed.

I'm not even saying it's a bad thing - he's clearly been very successful. It's not a knock against him, either. Just an explanation for behavior that some might consider anti-social, and a comment that pinball, as a hobby, seems to have a high number of similar people in it in varying degrees.

Tim smelled like strawberries the last time I saw him.

Tim's job is to keep 300+ machines up and running for the enjoyment of people who love pinball. It's not his job to always be nice.

So, go. Don't go. Tim will be just fine, I'm sure.

If you run an establishment that serves paying customers, then you are at the mercy of those customers posting about you on the internet. No amount of good deeds performed behind closed doors will exempt you from their scrutiny.

Keeping up with all those games is certainly a heroic task, but it can't be done. The model of having one person run an arcade that size does not work.

He's got what, 1200 games? At best, less than 50 of them play well. Clay is right, no one can take that over. It can't even be handled as is. Why not hope that it gets split up into 50 different manageable collections all across the country? Would that be a bigger benefit to pinball as a whole?

400 pins, isn't it ?

LTG : )™

I think it could be handled if it were more than one person making all the effort.

If it was so hard - and if Tim is such an incorrigible curmudgeon - why did the guy bother to open a bigger, better location? Why did he have pins at The Rivera?

It's a grand undertaking, and Mr. Arnold seems steadfast on going it alone - but I think a few dedicated pinheads giving it their all could keep the place up and running, and who knows? Maybe even make the experience more pleasant than it has been for some folk.

I would move to LV in a heartbeat if I could make a living running that place. IN a heartbeat!

It bears repeating that he spends all day working on pins while tourists come in and want to bend his ear about the first pinball machine they ever played while their little angels run around the place. Not to mention dealing with the transients that are smoking rock in his parking lot. (It's not in the best part of Vegas)

His demeanor is better than mine would be.

Tim has in excess of 1000 machines total. Largely stacked like cord wood at the shed. The pinball hall of fame has a about 250 games of which maybe 200 are working at any given time. Lts how about you write that down because you mis quote the numbers a lot.

although I see him there all the time, I never feel the need to interact with him in any way.

To be exact, and its pretty darn close the last time I counted and documented the place (which was twice a year for years with a high quality photo of every single game in the joint), 298 games that are set up and playable at any given time (some not pinballs of course). At times a bad average is 20% down, hardly ever that bad. This would be due to pressure of time, volume of visitors, so forth. Banging on the games, and parts/pieces and hours in a day/week/year/lifetime takes a HUGE toll on games that are being played 30-50 years past their expected lifetime. The hit shed has about 650-700 games when I counted last, and many were fixed up standing from the old days of Fun Night and standing as tables for cardboard or other stuff on them. Some will be parts games, some will never be restored by Tim. Many are woodrails which will never be fixed due to the age of Tim, lack of public interest in the games on location at PHOF or elsewhere, and mostly because its his shit and he can do whatever the fuck he wants to do with all of it. Tim's place, Tim's PHOF, Tim's hit shed, Tim's efforts, Tim's legacy, Tim's life. He has plenty of like minded contributors in line to help as needed and as can be hoped with limited or extensive talent. The effort to keep 250+ pinballs working is beyond what some people can comprehend apparently, and its done on a shoestring budget and done right (thin, lean, and efficient with a very very close eye to detail and costs). There is plenty of opp for folks to volunteer, so pray tell actually go and help out, empty the ashtrays out front, sweep the floors, polish your knob talking to other DBs about the better days, spend a whole day, part of complete week, come and go over months, or even a year, but be prepared for dedication, focus, commitment, productivity, and about 5-10 hours a day, non stop mayhem, and of course the dynamics which is the PHOF. It ain't for most, in fact it is hardly for anybody, yet somehow them there customers keeps on linin' ups and pushin' quarters in while smilin'. Must be doing something rights. And with it the PHOF keeps buying parts, pieces, toilet paper, water, sodas, working the food chain to keep the lights running and air conditioning going, all the while donating about 75% of all the coin to charity or earmarked for improvements and purchases for material things that will go to charity and help keep the doors open for now. So get over it, its his place, and his vision, which literally KICKS ASS over anything else anyone in the WORLD has ever done regarding pinball and charity. It operates 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (except one day, which is a designated volunteer appreciation night along with invited LVPCC members).

It always seemed to me if the business is donating hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to charity some of that could be reinvested into the business, with staff, techs, etc.

The place doesn't need to be Tim's personal hell.

Fine, every dollar "reinvested" is a dollar not donated to charity, but as a pinball owner, my basement is technically full of things that I could have otherwise donated to charity. Obviously I choose to donate to charities as I wish to, and spend money on myself as I wish to.

If we all judged every discretionary dollar as being taken away from charity, none of us would drive cars, own homes, etc, we'd all live in modest places with no luxuries, because if we don't we took that money from charity and we're now assholes.

Point is, there is a happy balance somewhere and I wish Tim could find his.

NOT FOR US TO JUDGE!

Took the goddamn year to type and read it

Alright, you guys got me. No need to go back and roll the tape....this is what really happened that night.

This thread needs to end it serves no pinball purpose , go bitch on yelp or something

The first time I went to Harbor Town Pub in SD I met the operator who was super friendly, introduced himself to my friends and I and gave us some free games. He runs free pinball after 9p on Mondays, leagues and TOPS tourneys. I was really impressed so I brought a bigger group of friends back the next night and he was there again. I'm sure you know this already but, if not you should go asap!!!

I'm not jealous. The PHOF is a fun place to play pinball, really fun. This place has become a pinball Mecca for many hobbyists. The guy is eccentric and acts like it. No surprise at all. It's reasonable and quite human nature for pinball hobbyists to go there and want to meet him. He is a pinball celebrity, for better or worse. It just so happens he's not a people person, not at all. I have been about 6 times and had good and bad reactions from the guy. I quit trying to say hello or anything at all. If a game is broken, I just leave the quarter and go to the next game. It's not worth a negative or rude experience for me to deal with him. His often negative disposition effects my opinion of the place because it lessens the experience as a fan of pinball. I paid for my games, left money in the red kettle and went back to my hotel. I'll go back, but my desire lessens each time I go to Las Vegas. Not much else I can say about it.

On leave for two days from my duty station I had a "bender" in Vegas. The chain of events started once I left base, then USO at the airport, PHOF, casino, the strokes concert, casino, clubs, airport USO, and then sobering up on the plane ride back to base to "embrace the suck" later. That 24hr binge in Vegas was one of the best 24hr of my life and going to the PHOF was a major highlight. I did not talk to Tim, but I did send him an e-mail to make sure the PHOF was open. Tim did have an employee that was a military Veteran. PHOF is OUTSTANDING. thank you