Hmmm let's see.... one can donate to Ukranian refugees, global hunger, global warming, neglected animals.......... or an arcade. We are doomed as a society.
This topic is closed.
Hmmm let's see.... one can donate to Ukranian refugees, global hunger, global warming, neglected animals.......... or an arcade. We are doomed as a society.
He was selling games - lots of them - last month. Sounds like it’s end game over there.
He made a good run of it. It’s a tough business.
Steve has not exactly won favor with Pinsiders over the years.
Still, I'm very sorry this has happened, and wish him the best.
Good thing that no others of us suffered business and personal financial losses during the Covid crisis.
Quoted from PoBoyPinball:4 year run he just made a Facebook post that he closed down.
I read the Facebook post and was confused. He talks about his financial hardship and in the middle of his post (in capital letters) he writes "DO NOT ASK TO BUY GAMES".
For those not on Facebook:
"And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all, and I stood tall
And did it my way."
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
Gameseum at 27 N State St: June 2019 - February 2023
DO NOT ASK TO BUY GAMES
It has been a truly miraculous, awe-inspiring, wonderful 4 years. There is not enough paper in the world to record the entire story nor all of the wonderful moments that have occured at Gameseum in our 4+ years in Ephrata, especially as the town's leading attraction.
Our last day of operating was January 1st and 75% of the building is already empty (an eerie sight in the craziest way).
Unfortunately without any savings from COVID-19 (I lost over $80,000), this extremely rough economy, continued displeasure with Ephrata (not the people) compared to towns like Lititz, and dealing with too many medical issues combined with no speedbump-allowance in such a high-risk situation post-COVID,
I have voluntarily made what I feel is the right decision (I've never made a wrong one!) to close Gameseum here, a privilege provided to few through COVID to not plow it into the ground like a bat out of hell.
As of right now all the machines are in my possession and stored in a different location (get the Advil, holy shit).
I would say keep following the page for any updates. Game over, or press start to continue?
I would like to thank:
First and foremost my mother Ursula Nattermann for countless long nights of support,
My cousin Jennifer Craig for making this all possible by loaning a 20 year old $4,000 for my security deposits (I was $0.00 during the opening of Gameseum and it paid off),
My girlfriend Haleigh Opalka for countless nights of moving things during this past month and not abandoning me when the going gets tough (*cough*),
My best friend Andy Wittig for moving countless machines up countless staircases over a few years (he was my "stair guy")
as well as countless ways of support,
Spenser Brossman of Complete In Box,
Sierra Hrubochak of Griddle & Grind LLC,
Laura Merkel ("Laura The Cookie Lady"),
Kelly Withum (formerly), Lisa Willwerth, and others of Mainspring of Ephrata,
The church that gave us an $1,000 check during COVID,
Gino Caruso (DDR 4 lyfe!),
Christopher Koehnlein,
Luis Lopez,
Jamie & Chloe Kohl,
Sara Achenbach,
Jason & Karen Rieker,
Matthew Gold,
Lauren from Maryland,
all of our regulars,
all of the people that donated to our several fundraisers,
and all of our wonderful customers.
Steven Van Splinter Jr.
Owner, CEO, Founder, Mechanic
So he bought games he couldn't afford, decided to open an arcade in a small town, took loans and donations to finance and stay afloat, then closed.
I feel he may have forgotten to thank a couple of people in his post, and did not properly apologize to one in particular.
Unfortunate to see any arcade close.
I feel bad for him, because that situation sucks.
I would feel worse if he hadn't begged for donations multiple times, bragged about how much money he was making, tried to tell other businesses what they were doing wrong, and tried to tell more experienced pinball folks how to do everything.
Quoted from RCA1:I feel bad for him, because that situation sucks.
I would feel worse if he hadn't begged for donations multiple times, bragged about how much money he was making, tried to tell other businesses what they were doing wrong, and tried to tell more experienced pinball folks how to do everything.
Well he's still got his whole life ahead of him.
Countless joys, sorrows, and gofundmes.
I guarantee you we haven't seen the last of him. He's nothing if not resilient!
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:So are the games for sale? /s
At an undisclosed location. Aka moms basement.
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:So are the games for sale? /s
Maybe they aren’t his. Just a thought.
Quoted from Electrocute:Maybe they aren’t his. Just a thought.
You’d have to be crazy to lend games to that guy. I think there’s a set of stairs at Gameseum...
Stephen spend a lot of time bragging that the machines were his, and he bragged about buying a shitload of games all the damn time!
Earning money is the issue here, if he sold games and worked for his money, nobody would care! People would pity him, even try to help! Stephen has asserted many times that he is unable to work because he has IBS and chooses to mooch and never sell. Plenty of us hate selling our precious games, but begging online is just shitty when you have ASSETS worth TENS OF THOUSANDS! Bad mouthing everyone else isn’t a good idea in a tight-knit community either...
Quoted from sevenrites:He closed the business but kept the go fund me up as of this post. Real classy.
Tried to donate $1 but couldn’t, minimum was $5. Too steep for me.
Quoted from Electrocute:Tried to donate $1 but couldn’t, minimum was $5. Too steep for me.
Ha ha, why donate anything!
Quoted from poppapin:Ha ha, why donate anything!
It would have been for the comment left.
Quoted from Electrocute:It would have been for the comment left.
Can we crowdfund $4 for Electrocute to leave a comment?
Money well spent!
Quoted from brucipher:I have voluntarily made what I feel is the right decision (I've never made a wrong one!)
Steven Van Splinter Jr.
Never made a wrong decision
He was a hard guy to root for.
Betwen Escaleragate, the cyberbegging, dismissing most of Pinside as uninformed boomers and bragging about the tens of thousands of dollars he was allegedly raking in, it was apparent that Steven was incapable of reading the room.
Although I hate to see any arcade fold, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I feel a bit of schadenfreude.
If anyone wants to help home move the games out. From his Facebook post.
**HELP WANTED**
I am running truck loads and unloading, and have a small team unloading from the building to be ready when I get back (not fast) and loading up with ease since everything is pulled out.
However we could really use some help.
Unloading myself has been fine (I am used to it), but the Ephrata team could use some more speed. It is a stellar plan but this hiccup is frustrating as I am usually waiting around for an hour when I get back just to start loading.
Message if interested. Handcart dollies are used. Arcade machines are top heavy but the pinballs are easy.
Negotiable.
Quoted from PoBoyPinball:If anyone wants to help home move the games out. From his Facebook post.
**HELP WANTED**
I am running truck loads and unloading, and have a small team unloading from the building to be ready when I get back (not fast) and loading up with ease since everything is pulled out.
However we could really use some help.
Unloading myself has been fine (I am used to it), but the Ephrata team could use some more speed. It is a stellar plan but this hiccup is frustrating as I am usually waiting around for an hour when I get back just to start loading.
Message if interested. Handcart dollies are used. Arcade machines are top heavy but the pinballs are easy.
Negotiable.
It's very off-brand but ending with "negotiable" implies he's actually willing to pay people. He must be desperate.
At the very least the plan is "stellar" so it should all go smoothly.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:It's very off-brand but ending with "negotiable" implies he's actually willing to pay people. He must be desperate.
Unless he wants you to pay him for the privilege of helping.
Remember who you are dealing with here.
LTG : )
Quoted from LTG:Unless he wants you to pay him for the privilege of helping.
Remember who you are dealing with here.
LTG : )
Congrats on your 50,000 post. Quite an accomplishment!
Quoted from brucipher:in our 4+ years in Ephrata, especially as the town's leading attraction.
Green Dragon is 90 years old and draws literally thousands of people every single week, but crusty sweatpants thinks he's the leading attraction?
All of this is very surprising to me. Yeah we lost money during COVID but more like $25K not $80K. And this last year was our best ever. So I don’t understand where the issue was. If he truly had 30K visitors and was the main employee he should have had a lucrative year last year like most arcades. That he didn’t indicates either 1) too much debt. 2) bad location 3) poor management of the revenue and expenses of the arcade 4) there really weren’t 30K patrons. I am also surprised he had to move all his machines. Why pay for storage when you can just auction the lot off as they stand ?
Gameseum was like a lousy pizza joint with crappy pizza. Eventually the word gets out and you go out of business. I don’t think it was Covid that shut that place down.
Quoted from pookycade:All of this is very surprising to me. Yeah we lost money during COVID but more like $25K not $80K. And this last year was our best ever. So I don’t understand where the issue was. If he truly had 30K visitors and was the main employee he should have had a lucrative year last year like most arcades. That he didn’t indicates either 1) too much debt. 2) bad location 3) poor management of the revenue and expenses of the arcade 4) there really weren’t 30K patrons. I am also surprised he had to move all his machines. Why pay for storage when you can just auction the lot off as they stand ?
I'm pickin' number 4.
Y'know...I'm beginning to think this Steven fella isn't the most honest guy in the world.
I am not even remotely surprised - this guy lies so much I doubt even he knows what's true anymore. He's like Blobert Lite.
Quoted from sevenrites:He still has the GoFundMe up to "Help Gameseum Recover Post-COVID."
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-gameseum-recover-postcovid
Of course he does.
Quoted from sevenrites:He still has the GoFundMe up to "Help Gameseum Recover Post-COVID."
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-gameseum-recover-postcovid
Can’t wait for the post Allentown “Look at this Gottlieb Airport I scored for $270!!!” post.
Quoted from Isochronic_Frost:You’d have to be crazy to lend games to that guy. I think there’s a set of stairs at Gameseum...
Stephen spend a lot of time bragging that the machines were his, and he bragged about buying a shitload of games all the damn time!
Earning money is the issue here, if he sold games and worked for his money, nobody would care! People would pity him, even try to help! Stephen has asserted many times that he is unable to work because he has IBS and chooses to mooch and never sell. Plenty of us hate selling our precious games, but begging online is just shitty when you have ASSETS worth TENS OF THOUSANDS! Bad mouthing everyone else isn’t a good idea in a tight-knit community either...
1. Never run out of money
2. Never let expenses be greater than revenue.
3. Always have access to cheap credit if you broke rule #1 and #2
COVID threw every business for a loop. Arcades secret weapon was having a whole bunch of liquid assets. We used that to great effect to cushion the blow. But honestly we sold well before the great Pinflation and it ticks me off to this day because these sold games are worth 50% more than we received for them 3 years ago. Well …. we did what we needed to do as did many others.
As I said earlier I don’t get it. Storing 125 or 50 or even 25 games for a closed business is kinda insane given storage prices. Selling off even 30% of your on the floor inventory to stay solvent is just what you do to make it work.
If the business model is viable you can dig yourself out of debt. If it isn’t viable then yeah it’s right to get out. Most arcades are viable business models even if degree of financial success varies wildly. There is of course bad luck, but most of what it is usually is bad business management.
We opened October 2018, we are in year 5, I haven’t made any owners draw. We only just turned an actual profit this year. Broke even other years as we poured excess revenue into the business. We have accumulated 120 machines. We have no debt in doing so. I say this not to pat myself on the back, but simply to note we survived because we were fiscally conservative. Many others followed exactly the same approach and still live.
I am not trying to throw those that did not survive under the bus. Shit happens. I am however questioning the Go Fund Me Narrative. Seems we are back to the same ol lack of self-insight issue for Steven. I hope he reflects eventually on that and tries again later.
Quoted from pookycade:we survived because we were fiscally conservative
The best kind of conservative. 'Grats on keeping it going.
Quoted from brucipher:For those not on Facebook:
"And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all, and I stood tall
And did it my way."
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
Gameseum at 27 N State St: June 2019 - February 2023
DO NOT ASK TO BUY GAMES
It has been a truly miraculous, awe-inspiring, wonderful 4 years. There is not enough paper in the world to record the entire story nor all of the wonderful moments that have occured at Gameseum in our 4+ years in Ephrata, especially as the town's leading attraction.
Our last day of operating was January 1st and 75% of the building is already empty (an eerie sight in the craziest way).
Unfortunately without any savings from COVID-19 (I lost over $80,000), this extremely rough economy, continued displeasure with Ephrata (not the people) compared to towns like Lititz, and dealing with too many medical issues combined with no speedbump-allowance in such a high-risk situation post-COVID,
I have voluntarily made what I feel is the right decision (I've never made a wrong one!) to close Gameseum here, a privilege provided to few through COVID to not plow it into the ground like a bat out of hell.
As of right now all the machines are in my possession and stored in a different location (get the Advil, holy shit).
I would say keep following the page for any updates. Game over, or press start to continue?
I would like to thank:
First and foremost my mother Ursula Nattermann for countless long nights of support,
My cousin Jennifer Craig for making this all possible by loaning a 20 year old $4,000 for my security deposits (I was $0.00 during the opening of Gameseum and it paid off),
My girlfriend Haleigh Opalka for countless nights of moving things during this past month and not abandoning me when the going gets tough (*cough*),
My best friend Andy Wittig for moving countless machines up countless staircases over a few years (he was my "stair guy")
as well as countless ways of support,
Spenser Brossman of Complete In Box,
Sierra Hrubochak of Griddle & Grind LLC,
Laura Merkel ("Laura The Cookie Lady"),
Kelly Withum (formerly), Lisa Willwerth, and others of Mainspring of Ephrata,
The church that gave us an $1,000 check during COVID,
Gino Caruso (DDR 4 lyfe!),
Christopher Koehnlein,
Luis Lopez,
Jamie & Chloe Kohl,
Sara Achenbach,
Jason & Karen Rieker,
Matthew Gold,
Lauren from Maryland,
all of our regulars,
all of the people that donated to our several fundraisers,
and all of our wonderful customers.
Steven Van Splinter Jr.
Owner, CEO, Founder, Mechanic
Arcade, right? We have all had our challenges in business, but to post like you have won an award or something...makes me wish Will Smith was close by you.
Quoted from TwinDavid:Arcade, right? We have all had our challenges in business, but to post like you have won an award or something...makes me wish Will Smith was close by you.
So touching!
Steve would rather slam his cock with a sliding glass door than sell a game. He’s a quintessential hoarder.
Quoted from Frippertron:Steve would rather slam his cock with a sliding glass door than sell a game. He’s a quintessential hoarder.
Who would buy, they are rotting away amongst the spiders in conex boxes.
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