I went to Vegas in April to see him. Great show. You will enjoy it.

Dress in your best pinball garb, surely you'll make an easy target then.

Hey fireball not sure about flipperspiel current status but if you are near New York New York casino head up to the arcade right at the roller coaster entrance and they have some BRAND NEW stern machines set up! Looks sweet!
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nice !

Wow! Where can I get the green LED interactive crotch rest mod???

That's great about NY,NY! The last time I was there (April) they only had one pinball machine. Had a great time at the PHOF too. I wish they sold t-shirts there. I can't wait to go to both when I go back down this December!

Just got back from Vegas. Got to play Circus! We more fun then I expected. I had no idea about NY NY DOH!

My only tip is to find Find Secret Pizza before you leave. IMG_1555.jpg

I was jus there and stayed at Excalibur , wandered through ny-ny every day , I found out about their stern row the day i got home . Talk about a bummer .

The pins at Secret Pizza were garbage the last two times I was there. You should def drop by Flipperspiel too (http://vegaspinball.com/). I think they are even having a tourney during your stay (I am running a tourney on the 23rd as well for anyone else in Vegas then)

Pizza is pretty good The Elvis and Monopoly pins, not so much

Oh man, had I known that last week I so would have stayed there...next time.

Where is The CIRCUS???

Don't miss 76 year old Rich Little at the Tropicana comedy club. Across the street is NYNY where you can sample all the new Sterns.

Pinball Circus is at PHOF

Thank You very Much! Maybe next time I get there more A-list machines will be working. Seems like last 2 times, Creature and Addams were down.

yeah a lot of those games could be down but take that time to play the weird stuff - you might find a new favorite or at least appreciate some of the weirder titles more (and they are easier to get your initials up on).

We are on the plane in Chicago now on the way to Vegas!!

Downtown cheap booze for the win!

rd

RD you're making the rounds.

When you come 12,000 miles, you gotta make the most of it.

Hollywood, Chicago, Expo, Vegas, Route 66 to banning, Fullerton, home ...

rd

dude i did the same thing - am here all week - running a tourney on Friday. Didn't get to meet you at Expo - too busy in the tourney

Does anyone know who operates the machines at NYNY? Wish they'd update the code - the Refinery #1 TWD is pretty sweet but I don't wanna play it on old code I have the code on me and wanted to update it but the folks working there don't know much about the pins.

Thanks for the update! Great news about the nyny pins! Sounds like I'll have to stroll up there one of these days and actually play them instead of just take pictures of them! Lol

Dunno who, but they'd be the sweetest location pins I have ever seen.

Those machines would have looked at home in any top collection, let alone out for the public to play.

They made the PHOF games look like shit. That's another story ...

Bugger it, I'll tell it. Went there yesterday. $28 UBER from downtown. $30 taxi back to downtown. I played 6 games. 4 didn't work properly. Probably 20 games were off. So a $65 spend for a very average experience. It's really gone backwards since I was there 18 months ago.

Yeah, he donates the money, yada, yada ... But it was just a crying shame, what I saw yesterday. The other kiwis went there for the first time, and they will never go back. And that's the real shame.

rd

Yeah the phof is def hit or miss. I live less than 10 minutes down the road from there and I don't even go there anymore let alone plan a whole trip around it. It's a shame cause there's soooo much potential there. For me one o the BIGGEST things that annoys me there is the volumes are almost all the way down! UnacceptAble on a Metallica or acdc! The machines seem to always be down also. Oh well, fun to walk around in there on a rainy day.

I agree 100% on the PHOF, it was a HUGE letdown to me. Won't ever be going back there. I made a thread yesterday and just found this one...

Here is my quick Vegas review. I was there last week.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-hall-of-fame-and-new-york-new-york-review-vegas

Wow! PHOF is less than 3 miles from the strip. That's crazy....

I've been going to Vegas pretty regularly for the last few years. Every year PHOF seems to be busier than the last and I think the pins are in that much worse shape as a result. We always enjoy it in spite of the condition of some of the machines, but if I spent $58 just for the transportation to and from, I'd probably be pissed too.

I'm looking forward to playing those pins at NYNY.

Vegas has become really high priced on everything these days.

Including Ubers.

rd

We walked to the Flamingo and then an Uber from there was less then $15. Grab a drink, walk the strip, enjoy the sun, and people. (also Uber drivers in Vegas are mostly awesome ) While most of the 90+ games were in bad shape (I agree a bummer, and Tron/SpiderMan set to 5 ball?) the EM's were among the best collection I have seen in one place and all in amazing shape. The note cards were a plus and added some history to the experience. Add to that some of the rare titles and you really can't match it. The snacks are priced right and there is an in-and-out about a 8min walk away. Really impressed with the collection and perhaps I just had low expectations or appreciated what was there. My wife and I were there for almost 9hrs and loved it. I would definitely go back. Hell, I am still getting around to entering all my scores in pinside. When you factor in any good show is almost $90 a person the Pinball hall of fame was a deal. I would like it if they had some system to report errors in games. It must be a full time job keeping all the titles in there working. Also, someone needs to donate pin gulps to the PHOF.

That's good that you enjoyed it.

However, the basics of owning/operating pinball machines are:
- machine leveled correctly
- machine functions correctly
- machine accepts money correctly and gives the appropriate number of games and balls

These things are basic "must do" things that every pinball machine owner learns soon after he buys his first machine.

Most of these things were not present on the games we played when we were there.

That's cool ... It is what it is. It's been discussed to death here on Pinside. Tim is Tim and Tim does what he does.

I have very low expectations of "routed" machines. I am totally realistic of what I am going to receive... I play Pinball on location all over the world. I have been to PHOF a few times now and my low expectations have yet to be met.

rd

Your profile shows 114 machines! If this is true tell me where they are so my next trip I can skip Vegas and come to Pukekohe. 114 Machines with the basics you mention would be a slice of heaven! Seriously, I always wanted to visit the land of the drop bear. My friend Andy lives down there and says they can sniff out tourists.

Don't you know who RD is ?
Actually I think he has over 200 Pins at his house, and I'm quite sure that ALL meet the basics described.
He's the ambassador of pinball for New Zealand, don't you know.

Hey Mark! Glad you had a blast in Vegas.....Can't wait to play some pinball with you soon!

I can guarantee you all my machines are leveled 100% and working.

I don't have the customer flow of PHOF (as the machines are in my house!) but I do have 100 people there several times a year and I don't get too many grizzles.

All Pinsiders are welcome (by appointment) any time, as long as I know you're coming and I am in the country. I have Bob Matthews coming next month from California, top 50 ranked player. People are coming and going all the time. That's what the machines are for.

rd

Thanks for the kind words.

But I do only have 114. And another 8 at the freight depot when I return home. So 122.

It's out of controllllllllll

rd

Only 122

I just left the PHOF. Its my 3rd visit and left disapointed. Its not just 4 or 5 or 10 machines that feel busted. Damn near all of them had issues. Although it was comical playing MM and have to adjust for the 3 inch curve to the ball would take into the broken draw bridge. Safecracker was shooting balls from the scoop into the drain 100% of the time. Scoop wouldnt register at all on Funhouse. Score reel issues with Whoa Nelle, started the game with 9,200 points. Could have been a one time thing but after playing a slew of other games with issues you figure its par for the course. The EMs and solid states were ok, besides the leveling issues.

Ita nice to come in to drop $5, but I have to say Im more excited for NYNY tomorrow. Its a fun stop, but if you've been inside more then once you feel a bit let down. I could be just spoiled by the bars and shows in Michigan though.

I just got to play this same lineup a couple weeks ago at NYNY. Stayed there for a work convention. I GC'd acdc and IM but was appalled to hear from my buddy that they wiped the high scores days later, who does that!?! Really!?! Anyway, I'm a fan of mustang but the mustang there did not do that game justice. It did not feel or play right. Maybe cause it was a pro? Same with TWD. I play a TWD pro on location a lot and that NYNY one just felt different. The ST premium was still running beta code!!! Rofl? It's my favorite pin but I couldn't drain fast enough to move on after playing that code. TFLE was great to play again but the megatron trough needed the washer fix - balls kept getting stuck. WWE played a complete turd (maybe it was me, but that pin is officially the worst stern ever created IMO.) besides that, I had loads of fun on their acdc, IM, and Metallica and I mean loads of fun. Those were the best 3 playing pins there. I didn't play avatar though, I gave up on that pin a long time ago even after giving it a 3rd and 4th chance on a collectors huo one. Just not feeling it.

What to expect at PHOF if you have never visited, like going back in time to a vintage arcade. lots of games "out of order, dirty playfields, broken playfield machinery. Don't go with a expectation that everything will be pristine, have fun, don't drag your wife, send her to a day spa and come check it out for a couple hours.

None of the arcades I went to in the late 70s and 80s were anything like that... The guys who ran them kept everything sweet because it made them money to do so.

Broken machines make no money.

rd

RD, very glad you stayed downtown and not on the Strip. I absolutely ABHOR all the bullshit strip stuff - But now that I know NYNY has such a beautiful selection of pins, I'm gonna have to visit there next time.

I was at the PHoF last January and while there were some games that weren't working, it wasn't as bad as you're saying they are now. It worries me, what with all the talk about the pins disappearing forever when Tim retires... has he just given up on maintaining his collection?

Downtown is where it's at, man! Real people, drunks, locals, degenerate gamblers, Fremont experience, bands and DJs playing all the time, $3 coronas, $8.99 rib at Tony Romas ... Everyone just being themselves.

Hey, I go go to the other end of town too. Went to Luxor to see Carrot Top ($30 each on smartervegas.com) Very funny show BTW. Luxor is cool, but the place was dead. Walked through Excalibur and NYNY for the pins. Lots of people trying to be something they're not. I'm too old for that shit.

All the modern casinos feel like soulless Westfield shopping centers to me. I don't gamble, so I have no preference there.

With PHOF, I don't know Tim (but lots here do) and they say he doesn't need to take an income from the PHOF. Just my opinion, but maybe if he was relying on it to make money for himself ... You know where I'm going.

But as I said before, it is what it is, and it ain't changing, so we can choose to go there or not.

rd

i love downtown vegas for the same reasons

and that's where i can find $3 craps tables and $30 rooms ... oh yeah and you can still get some real Comps

Totally agree. Fremont street is bad ass. My Norwegian friends come out once a year during super bowl and we all meet up at Fremont st for the extended super bowl weekend. It's a party! Love it.