5000!

Great Thread Russ!

Police force

Got cha. I personally wouldn't do that trade. I'm not big on RBION. I think that game was the quickest one through my house....I don't even like TAF but I would definitely rather have a TAF over RBION and PF. Just my $.02

As far as value....RBION seems to be a $3k game. PF I'm not sure...$1K?. Addams is all over the place. I sold a really nice one with cointaker LED kit in it for $4800 delivered to the buyer's house (local).

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Rumor has it that Junkyard and a Star Trek premium will be set up at Mortimer's later today.

Yep, yep. Getting them in before the Monthly Pinball Party this Sunday at 4:00.

Game quality in the Waukesha/Milwaukee area has done two things since 2012:
a) gotten better, believe it or not
b) where the quality games go has shifted

Games in Milwaukee:
- Probably the best operator is Wisconsin Amusement. They have been buying new games (AC/DC, Metallica, Star Trek, Wizard of Oz) and putting them on route. But they don't clean their games and let get them very dirty, often buy games with old code and don't know how to upgrade them or are afraid to (particularly AC/DC). The games they put out are nice, but I don't know how well they will hold up in the long run as an operator, honestly. Usually the games are level.
- Mitchell is second, I'd say. The tournaments I run are on Mitchell games. Over half the locations you find in Milwaukee are Mitchell locations, and they have a wide selection of games. Mitchell games are usually clean, but often way off level, and there is always something that is broken that is very noticeable and affect game play quite a bit. They are hit or miss when responding to service calls, although they do better when the service them before the bars get popular in the evenings. Last three months I've had a game go down or become unusable at the Uptowner tournament, and this last month almost had a second game go down because a diverter got stuck. However, there's a few good locations that you will probably have fun at. Blackbird Bar in Bayview usually has good, playable games (Wizard of Oz, Tron, TZ, STTNG right now) and so does Finks Bar in Riverwest, and both locations have 5 games. It used to be that Landmark had quality games, but not so much anymore. I think Mitchell has been focusing most of their efforts on Blackbird and Finks - lots of players go through there and they are known as pinball bars. Tournaments have changed that I think.
- Red's Novelty does Milwaukee too. Because they get greater number of plays though... they break down more.
- There's also Sam's Amusement that has a few route locations. These games are serviced even less frequently than those above.

Games in the Waukesha area are handled by two operators, Red's Novelty and another that I have not been able to find the name of (they service Fox Run Lanes and Hannon's). Red's games often work but something on it will just not work right. Like a diverter, or magnets, or a wonky shooter lane. But nothing that makes it unplayable. If something is broken and you call them, they will come fix it. I really can't comment on the other operator - I haven't visited his locations lately. There's no number to call on their games.

Probably the best operators in the state are near the Madison area: Hilton's group at Pooley's and Quartertime (Steve Tully). They do a much better job interacting with the player community, and Hilton's group is doing some smart stuff with making reporting problems easy via QR code. Doesn't mean the games work perfectly, but I think there's more attention to detail.

Jon, the other op in Waukesha might be Jukebox Larry. I've met and talked with him before, and am friends with one of the techs (I think their only tech). I'm not sure if they have the games at Fox Run, but they do have games at Sunset Bowl. Also, from what I understand, Hannon's owns the Lord of the Rings themselves. They've paid it off and then some, so they don't really care about fixing it. They will let people continue to put money into it, only to realize the machine is broke. They're still making money, so why fix it. At least that's the story I've gotten on it.

Thanks Jon!

We try our best. Tully is by far the man and I am amazed at how quickly he can get a game back up and running. All of the games he maintains play very well and they are all over the place!

I thought PF meant you liked the playfield. I think PF is worth $1000 tops, so readjust that to him owing you $1K ish.

I will also add if anyone is looking for a nice TAf with gold roms and color DMD it may be available for trade.. Do not mind multiple pin deals - want list current

Why on earth would you get rid of your TAF already...and for a ribon?

I like RBION - and you wouldn't get it you are from Duluth

I don't get how you can flip through a new game in only a couple weeks

I am sorry I must be spending your money and FYI I got the game 06/04 -- a few weeks must be Duluth math

I agree. But its not my money

In Milwaukee, that really isn't the case (yet).

For the tournaments I help run in Milwaukee, we've been working with Mitchell Novelty and have met with them on a few occasions. Game quality has improved as a result, but I think there's some distance we could go.

I really hate to say this because it sounds so mindbogglingly cliche, but the biggest thing that the operators around here could do to improve their business is to get into social media. Really. We talk about their games on a monthly basis on Facebook in the Milwaukee Pinball Academy group.

If there was an operator that was more willing to interact with their customers in Milwaukee and perform better maintenance (code updates, repair, etc), methinks there might be some extra cash there that hasn't been tapped from the playing public. I don't know if it would be enough cash for an entire startup company, but definitely enough to add to the bottom line.

Mke could easily support a full barcade. If i lived closer i would find a place and pull all 14 of my games out.

No posts in 14hrs, then 50 in a couple days!

I'm looking for a Bally Dungeons and Dragons, anyone with one they'd like to trade/sell?

Also, I'd love to put some games on an Austin Powers, with the potential to buy one...

Go bother Mr. Vandersluis! he has one.

He mentioned he has one but is unsure if he can or wants to sell yet.

Looks like the flow is back in full effect.

Chris

I like turtles...............in before the lock!!!

If it locks, there will be a riot..

Ha.

For those that don't understand the reference.

Lets get this to 6k.......it's right around the corner.

Chris

Looks just like Eric!

Ohhh snap

Wow! Almost 24 hours without a post.

I'm moving to Iowa and taking all my precious MN Pins with me.

We'll miss you.

LTG : (

You got a job in Iowa?

I got a really good job in Iowa. I was reluctant to consider a job in Iowa, but the company has a very good reputation in town, benefits I've been told are the best in Iowa, and they're a really straight forward and fair company by what i've seen so far.

Best part is that my rent is $750 for a house, I was expecting to pay $1400 in minneapolis. So I should be able to have a lot more cash to put towards the downpayment for a house and student loans

Way to go. Hopefully you can get a rent to own. Where in Iowa?

Bump...

oh wait this isn't a FS thread..

Sioux Center Iowa, with the Interstates construction. The job has 35% travel, so i'm hoping to find some good deals on pinball during my travels.

Congrats! Hope you like it! I wasn't a huge fan of Iowa but I was always working in small towns :/

I hit up a arcade vendor and pin club down there to buy a waterworld, replied but never shot me an offer of what the WW was going to cost :/ You'll be closer to Bene pizza though!

Planning ahead and a heads up for potential pin transport for anyone looking.

I will be making a trip out to CO from WI area in late fall to xmas time this year to deliver my brother his first pinball as a present (and as a surprise).

I will be driving a minivan and have room for 1 pin on the way out and 2 pins on the way back. If you need pin transport, I am happy to accomodate but ask that you help chip in a reasonable amount for gas costs.

I can pickup in the Boulder/Denver area and deliver to the Madison area. Can pickup/ drop off enroute either way also. Can help with storage on either the CO end (my bro has a heated garage) or on the WI end if needed.

Basically, keep your eyes peeled if there is anything you are looking for as the radius just got a little wider

PM me if you want to work out logistics.

I was worried about the small town iowa thing, but the town recently laid fiber optics down for internet, so i'm gettting 50 megs for the price I pay 20 meg for. The town is also full of the basic fast food and 4-5 nice restaurants along with a walmart and hyvee. Plus sioux falls is only an hour away.

Are you sleep-selling again? 3am and you're trying to fold down a dang backbox.

Hey guys. Any chance one you might be traveling from Milwaukee to the cities anytime soon?

I've got a pinball in Milwaukee the needs to get picked up and I'll gladly pay someone to get it from Milwaukee to the cities. The further you come west, the more I will pay.

I realize other options for pickup are available, but just thought I would throw this out there first.

Thanks.

Jimmy

You may want to hit up ChrisS and see what his schedule looks like. I think he will be back in September for a little bit and usually makes a couple of trips a year to MN from WI (He is near Milwaukee as well)....

That would be fantastic. I'm so jealous of all the great places to play in Chicago and Minneapolis. Have gone to a few of them but even Chicago is a 2 hour drive.

Eww, middle of nowhere Iowa? Good luck with your new job.

Hey hey hey, its northwestern middle of nowhere Iowa. Sioux Falls is only an hour away.

If you find good deals on pins, let me know. I'm only 45 minutes north of Sioux Falls.

If you've ever contemplated getting and LED OCD board, don't think twice. Excellent product!

I've been on the fence about those. I was signed up for them but then they went into back order hell and I lost interest in waiting. My SS could use it. I have ghostbusters in it but its still an issue.

I might look into them again.

chris

You could do the swap at my place and play some pin at my place before the drive back.