Atari Coin Connection

Issue: Vol 2 Num 04 - 1978 April

HIGHLIGHTS OF PEBBLE BEACH
Atari distributors met fo r tl1ree days
of intensive business and fun corn bined to
1nake one of the most successful events in
coin-op history. Over 100 representatives
from Atari dis tributors world-wide joined
together at the luxurious Del Monte
Lodge in Pebble Beach.
"After such an outstanding convention
and in such an outstanding place, I think
it would be an extremely hard act to
follow each year ... I think tl1is year was
even better than last year," said Chet
McMurdie
of Advance
Au to1natic
Sales Co .
At the early morning business meet-
ings, Atari discussed new programs which
will benefit tl1e distributors and their
custorners. In tl1e first day meeting on
service support, Atari introduced new test
fixtures: a pinball tester, RAM an d ROM
test equipment and ilie CTF-1. Service
schools, self-test syste1ns an d other
service functions were also discussed. The
second day, the marketing depart1nent
presented information fro1n operator,
distributor and player research, an d
discussed advertising, promotion and sales
programs for t11e future .
"The distributor n1eeting was sensa-
tional and done with great class,"
Don Osborne and Gene Lipkin address the
distributors at the morning meeting while
Frank Ba/louz, Steve Bristow, Dave 1·ucker and
Howie Rubin stand by to answer questions.
com1nented Arnold Kan1inkow of Robert
Jones International in Dedl1a1n, Mass. " A
lot was acco1nplished in the business
meetings and we thoroughly enjoyed the
time at Pebble Beach," he added.
There were tournaments held in
tennis, golf, putting and backga1nmon for
fun and relaxation after the meetings. A
sightseeing tour of the scenic and historic
Monterey Peninsula was also provided.
"It is al ways a pleasure to spend time
with our distributors and get to know
then1 be tter in a relaxed environment,"
said Don Osborne, Western Regional Sales
Manager and Coordinator of this event . "I
was extre1nely pleased that so 1nany of
the distributors participated in the
recreational activities ; tl1is factor contrib-
uted to the overall success of the
meeting."
Each evening there were parties and
fabulous meals. The Tuesday evening
banquet followed a delightful cockta il
party where the distribu tors saw some of
the new products to be introduced this
year, and had an opportunity to have
ilieir photo taken in the special Atari fun
gallery. An entertaining awards presenta-
tion and dancing followed tl1e dinner.
(Continued on page 4)
Enjoying a delightful banquet is, seated: Lou
Dunis, Irving Green, Jan ette and Ray Galante,
Steve Lieberman, Carol Kantor; standing:
Stuart Dunis, Maxine Green, and Don and Patty
Osborne.
-
Ed Shaffer prepares to tee off on the Pebble
Beach Golf Course.
Distributors attend early morning meetings at
Del Monte Lodge.
Hans Rosensweig, Jo e Robbins, Chet McMurdie,
Morris Piba and Rubin Franco look at the new
wall b ox game concept from Atari.
Maurice Cardinal, Cliff" Lewis, Lenore Sayers
and Matt Russ enjoy n1orning coffee before the
meetings.
Joel /(leiman, Vi and Will Laurie, Nancy
McMurdie, Dean McMurdie, and De11ise Lipt-
man enjoy lunch at Nolan's home before the
trip to Pebble Beach.
The International golfers at Pebble Beach: Hans
Rosensweig, Serge Lievoux, Mrs. Lievoux, jean
Francois Gaillard, M. Nakamura, H. Nakajima.
A PLA~El2'5
DILEMMA
"This game used to be great, but now
it's yuckie." This was tl1e comment of a
frustrated player about a pinball game
that was poorly maintained. We were at
the local skating rink and tried to play
the ga1nes, but the play fields of the
pin ball games were so dirty you could
hardly see the artwork; the ball sho_oter
barely bunted the ball onto the playf1eld;
the flippers were slow to flip, and the
bu1npers lacked bu1np. Players migl1t l?ut
in one coin to play while taking a skating
break but the games were in such bad
shape'. they certainly wouldn't play again .
This location has the potential for very
high collections, with l1undreds of peopl_e
passing by the games every week. It 1s
certain tl1at the inco1ne from these
parti,cular games could be two or three
tin1es higl1er. If they we re clean, they
would attract more players and would be
more fun to play again and again.
Pebble Beach (Continued)
The golf tourna1nent winners included
Claus Arrhens, tl1e Cherry Group, Eng-
land, and Mr. M. Nakamura of Atari
Japan, who both took first place, winning
golf club bags. John Gatens and Jerry
Becker won second place; Irving Green
and Arnold Kan1inkow took tl1ird in the
golf tourney. The low gross winner was
Bud Patton and higl1 gross winner of a
divot was Shane Breaks. The contest on
tl1e 18 hole putting green was won by Al
Hawkins.
The tennis events were divided into
tearns of 6 people. First place went to
Atari, Inc.
1265 Borregas Avenue
P.O. Box 9027
Sunnyvale, California 94086
ATARI®
Innovative
leisure
C
A warner Commun1cahons Company
Chuck Arnold, Jin1 Weatl1erhead, Shirley
Waldman and Anne Betti representing
distributors, and Curt Russell and Debbie
Spear of Atari. Each me1nbe_r of ~he
winnino I::> tean1 received tennis attire .
Those distributors on tl1e second and
tl1ird place winning tean1s were: Bob
Haim Al Betteln1an, Maurice Cardinale,
Lind; Breaks, Cl1et McMurdie, Barbara
Gordon Jeanette Galante and Ed Miller.
Lou 'Sinoer
of Central Distributing,
I::>
.
01nal1a, said, "We enjoyed the meeting
very mucl1. It is a delightful place. The
program and activities were superb. I~ was
much 1nore personal than otl1er business
meetings, which made it even better."
Harriet Singer, his lovely wife, added,
"Everything was just great!"
ffit~
-
Ira Bette/man and Ray Galante prepare for the
serve in the tennis tournament.
Service Schools (Continued)
covered to help the1n service Atari
equipment. "We learned much abo~t l1ow
to find the problems and repair the
games. We appreciated the informative
sessions without any hard-sell of
product," noted several operators .
The Atari representatives discussed the
new test equip1nent for solid state games
that will be available in the near future to
further assist in technical troubleshooting
on location. Tl1ey demonstrated the tools
and techniques for pinpointing problerns
and repairing the pinball and video games.
FUTURE SERVICE SCHOOLS:
Service schools are presently being
schedule d for late April and May through
the following Atari distributors:
Music Vend Distributing Co .
Seattle, Washington - May 8 & 9
Dunis Distributing Co.
Portland, Oregon - May l O & 11
Empire Distributing Co.
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Belam Florida Corp., Miami, Florida
For further in formation on these or other
service schools to be held, please contact
the Atari distributor in your area, or call
Fred McCord at 800-538-6892, or witl1in
California call ( 408) 984-1900.
Publisher - Atari, Inc.
Editor - Carol Kantor
Art Director - Evelyn Lim
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage
PAID
Sunnyvale, Ca.
Pern1it 317

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