Classic Mode

Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

Issue: 1943 March

-USE IT WISELY
F there is anyone phase of Arcade man-
I agement
wherein a writer can give ad-
vice, stick his neck out, and expect to have
it chopped off-that phase is Arcade ar-
rangements_ Every Arcade offers a new
and different problem for the location, size
and shape of premises, number of ma-
chines permissible and half a hundre~ other
factors play an important part_
Therefore this brief article shall be gen-
eral in nature and not preach "what to do"
but better ,still-"how to do it-"
In the days before the War a new Arcade
operator could get a nice floor plan from
the manufacturer or distributor who sup-
plied the equipment he might need_ In
some cases the manufacturer would pre-
pare suitable front suggestions in addition
to providing an acceptable floor plan for
the spot the Arcade was to occupy. Today
when Arcade men buy their equipment
here, there and everywhere, and trade
amongst themselves to get the desired
pieces, every man is on his own when it
comes to arrangement and floor plan and
only by a trial-and-error method can many
of th em determine the most profitable ar-
rangement for their particular store or
~rcade.
Open Front Desired
Generally speaking the open front type
of Arcade is the most desirable for it per-
mits a patron to wander into the Arcade
without becoming conscious of an entrance.
Attention getting devices at the front and
staggered from the front on in will serve
as the necessary invitation to bring the
customer into the very middle of your spot
and get him acquainted with the various
other coin-operated wonders awaiting his
attention.
Crowd Stoppers Profitable
Crowd stopping devices are as necessary
to a successful Arcade as the barker is to
the circus sideshow. These machines stop
foot traffic; gain the attention and interest
of the passerby; and help him stroll on in
to your palace of amusement. The various
types of crowd-stoppers used throughout
the country in the many years of Arcade
history would make an article in itself and
a very interesting one, too.
Recently a western Arcade man used a ,
dancing negro on top a phonograph to gain
attention and found it especially effective.
The negro doll unit was mounted atop th e
phonograph and the figure danced to the
records being played. In the Pacific N orth-
by L. D. Batchelder
west one of the most successful operators
of Arcades had his mechanic rig up a banjo
playing gorilla which brought the folks in
in droves. These, and many more, prove
that the street pieces, or those closest the
entrance, must be unusual, entertaining and
capable of inducing people to come into
the establishment. Some day in the not
distant future; an enterprising individual is
going to develop a number of such devices
and sign up Arcades to use these machines
on a rental basis for a limited period of
time. A regular circuit could be organized
that would return the originator a hand-
some profit. and also prove exceedingly
profitable for the Arcade operator, too. In
this way the Arcade operator would have a
new and different come-on attraction for
his front at regular intervals.
Smith on Arrangement
Questioned as to the most logical ar-
rangement of a standard Arcade, assuming
the store was of square proportions, Perc
C. Smith, Manager of, the Arcade Division
for Exhibit Supply Co. for a number of
years, said: "My experience has shown me
that each new Arcade is a problem in itself
as to how to .I~y out equi~ment, depending
upon the posItIon of the wmdows and doors
and whether the Arcade is open on the
front or on the side, etc. Usually the Ath-
letic machines are placed at the back and
the remainder of the machines along the
side walls. If there is room, then a row of
machines, back to back, placed down the
middle of the room. The manager has his
cashier's , desk in the center of the room
and it should be elevated a littl e so that
the cashier or manager can look around
over the heads of the customers to see that
everything is going along O. K."
The suggested floor plan at the top of
this page is one that Smith has been send-
ing out to show the possible arrangement
of machines in a store 20 feet by 35 feet.
The plan is for a store Penny Arcade and
shows a method of converting an ordinary
store front into an Arcade. Palms are used
in the windows instead of displays and
the rear of the display windows is removed
to permit street traffic to see into the in-
terior of the spot.
Keep Traffic Lanes Open
One point to keep in mind in interior
arrangement is that the machines likely to
earn the heaviest play should be scattered
throughout the Arcade to provide against
a traffic jam-up and blockade of any por-
tion of the establishment. The same holds
true on spotting machines at the front of
the Arcade as crowd-stoppers. A machine
that stops people and does not block the
entrance is what is desired and the Arcade
~anager will spot his crowd-stopper so that
this condition prevails.
Ample space should be allowed between
units and aisles should be wide so that
patrons can patronize the machines without
interfering with the liberties of others. It
is wiser to have fewer machines and ample
room to patronize them than to have an
overloaded Arcade and have customers in
each other's hair when playing them. Then
there should be plenty of light for nothing
is more uninviting than a poorly lighted
Arcade. With fluorescent li ghts providing
economical illumination it behooves the
wise Arcade operator to virtually flood his
spot with brilliant lighting.
Today, if your Arcade is located in a
high rent district and it almost must be to
be profitable, you should carefully plan the
layout of your operation, front your Arcade
with machines that render an invitation to
enter, and utilize profitably and efficiently
the interior space you have at your disposal.
Gisser Supplying Arcades
CLEVELAND-The Cleveland Coin Ma-
chine Exchange is making a specialty of
serving Arcades at the present time and
counts among its customers some of the
largest Arcade operators in the nation.
Cleveland Coin was organized in July,
1938 and has been forced to move to larger
quarters three different times as their busi-
ness increased. In the pre-war days ship-
ments were made to all parts of the country
and many foreign countries and their fami-
liar slogan: "The House That Has It Or
Can Get It" became famous in all parts
of the world.
"At the present time we are devoting most
of our efforts to Arcade Equipment," de-
clared H. H. Gisser, "and we have fur-
nished quite a number of them from A to
Z. Despite the scarcity of labor and
the war effort we are still able to fill the
requirements of Arcade Operators. In addi-
tion to the Arcade line we carry a huge
stock of cigarette machines, slots, games
and consoles and we keep men on the road
buying anything and everything that we
think the operators can use."
Cleveland Coin is headed by M. S.
Gisser who acts as General Sales Manager
and his brother, H. H. Gisser, who is floor
manager.
COIN
MACHINE
IIEVIEW
IS
FOil
MAIICH
1943
Z5%B~~
SALESBGARDS -
SIZE
400-Sc
72G-Sc
720-Sc
72G-Sc
72G-Sc
BOG-Sc
B4G-Sc
960-Sc
l1S2-Sc
LIST
PRO FIT PRICE
NAME
DOLLAR GAME ........ $ 7.00 $ 1.82
INK SPOT
17.58
3.82
LUCKY DOGS ...
17.28
4.56
17.65
4.62
LAZEE DAISEE
BARRELS WEALT':-i' . 15.75
2. 94
IT ' S IN THE BAG ... 19.80
3.34
SOCK A HOMER.
24.1 5
3.69
GOBS OF JACK ......... 22.51
4.82
PLAY 26 GAME ......... 24.72
6.84
LIST
SIZE
NAME
PROFIT PRICE
12S0-Sc-1S KARET KATIE ....... $33 .64 $ 6.54
12SG-Sc SET VICTORY ... ........... 32.83
8. 12
1320-Sc 3-BAR JUMBO ...... ...... 39-.50
7.54
144G-Sc SPEED ............................ 35.06
6.76
144G-Sc GOLD NUGGETS
.. 35.74
7.48
1440-Sc THREE BELLES .... .... 27.57
7.64
IS00-Sc ROULETTE JR _ .......... 32.28
8.1 8
1600-Sc THREE BAR JACK. .... 36.04
7.32
ALSO MANY OTHER NUMBERS-WRITE FOR COMPLETE LIST
IMMEDIATE DELIVERY-ALL SHIPMENTS EXPRESS C,O_D.
WANT
25 SLOTS
WURLITZER
24's
600'5
FRANKEL
SPECIALTY CO.
PHONE 7224
ROCK ISLAND, ILL.
~t. tcuiJ
COIN
MACHINE
REVIEW
16
FOR
MARCH
.1943
ST. LOUIS-A huge Arcade was opened
for a one week stand next door to the
Loew's Theater in downtown St. Louis to
help with the March of Dimes drive re-
cently sponsored by the National Founda-
tion for Infantile Paralysis_ Every kind of
coin operated equipment was enlisted to
help put the drive over. To supplement
collections from the patrons of the theater,
Loew's management installed over a hun-
dred pieces of equipment in a storeroom
next door to the theater entrance and by the
time the drive ended the coin operated
equipment took in a little more than $400
and the well outside on the walk took in
over $350. All of this went into the treas-
ury of the Foundation. The machines were
in constant operation when the drive was
on. The Arcade drew from theater patrons
going in and coming out of the show and
also from foot-traffic passing by. At the
entrance to the Arcade was a coin operated
movie and once inside customers. were sur-
rounded by pintables, guns, athletic games,
card vendors and most every kind of game.
The machines were loaned by the Mis-
souri Amusement Machine Associ'ation and
the International Showmen's Association
supplied the barkers. At least one spieler
was on duty at all times with Rex Howe
serving much of the time. The Arcade was
decorated gratis by a decorating company
whose president G. V. Weaver, did most of
the work when he discovered all his deco-
rators were otherwise engaged on the open-
Profitable
PUSH CARDS TO SELL
C igarettes, C igars,' Beers, W ines, Liquo rs,
Novelties, and a ll ot her types of merc ha n-
dise and items.
CO LO RFUL, Q UICK- PLAY MO NEY C ARDS
such as o ur 240- Hole PLAY PO KER wi t h
PROFIT of $8.00. 150-Hole WI N- A-TEN
takes in $37. 50, pays out $26.00 for PROF IT
of $11.50. 100-Ho le PUT & TAK E ca rds;
100-Hole BASEBALL card s wi t h sport terms,
etc. All low priced. All in stock now.
Write now for ill u.s trated catalogs to
DEPT . M
w.
H. Manufactur
BRADY
ers
co.
EAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN
" The Push Card House "
COMPLETE
STOCK
ALL COIN
MACHINES
WRITE
ing day. The next day he went into the
army. Each member of the Missouri Amuse-
ment Machine Association was called upon
to donate what machines he could. In one
day's time enough machines were offered to
fill an Arcade twice the size so the execu·
tive committee arranged for an evenly bal-
anced display of machines and accepoted
those needed.
The servicing of the machines was taken
care of by mechanics of the various memo
bers of the Missouri Amusement Machine
Association. Several mechanics spent a day
at the Arcade during the entire week.
' Bill Farmer is home on furlough from
the army and dropped in to see his old
buddies at Ideal Novelty Co. Earl Bowman
is another coinman who came into town to
tell friends all about the Army Air Corps.
Ray Hollenbeck of Ideal announces the ar-
rival of a baby girl on February 21 at the
Hollenbeck domicile.
Maurice Singer, father of Sam Singer
and Bill Singer, died on February 21. Mrs.
Louise Davies, mother of Harry Davies died
on February 20. Condolences of the indus·
try have been extended to the bereaved
families.
"Red" Kelley, operator of Centralia, Ill.,
visited local showrooms in late February
to purchase equipment. J. R. DeSuza of
Lebanon, Mo., recently called on the trade
saying that business was good on his routes.
Dale Rymer, accompanied by Mrs. Rymer,
came into town recently to visit headquar-
ters. Dale is manager of the Missouri Tav-
ern Supply Company at Springfield, Mo., a
subsidiary of the Ideal Novelty Co. Ray
Bonnet, operator of Jefferson City, Mo. was
in to buy a few Aristocrat Cabinets in Feb-
ruary. Tom Dunbar, popular mechanic is
sick in bed with the flu.
A meeting of the Illinois Phonograph
Operators Association was held on Wash-
ington's Birthday at the Broadview Hotel
in East St. Louis, III. Hardy Snyder who
had been president of the group was elected
executive officer and business agent. He
formerly operated the Mecca Music Co.
The meeting was featured by an address
by Dan Baum, assistant salesmanager of
the Aristocrat Cabinet Co. Carl Trippe,
Illinois and Missouri distributor of the
Aristocrat Mechanism Cabinet, was on hand
to discuss the Cabinet. The talks were en-
thusiastically received by the assembled
members of the group. After the business
part of the meeting ended there was a ses-
sion of cigars, cards and refreshments.
Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Vincent of Cape
Girardeau, Co., visited local showrooms in
late February; they went home with two
Rock-OJa Commandos.
John LaBan postcards regularly to friends
here from Camp. Jack Tobin spent a few
days in St. Louis recently. He is home on
furlough from the Army. He was with the
Morris Novelty Co.
One of the most significant things in re-
gard to Arcade management that has taken
place since the war started is the change
in hours when the crowds are handled. It
has been found that between 9 a.m. and
10: 15 a.m. there are a lot of defense work-
ers who have just finished the midnight to
8 a.m. shift and are looking for amusement
before going home and to bed. Three to
four in the afternoon has also proved to be
a busy hour. Heretofore the crowd would
consist of mostly school boys and girls but
now it is mostly defense workers reporting
for the evening shift. This change has been
carefully noted by Arcade operators here
and they are managing the Arcades ac-
cordingly. Arcades are getting a more
round-the-clock play than formerly and is
more than just a trend.
James Prosser
TEXAS
(Continued from Page 14)
successful business is highly competitive.
New ideas, changing conditions, public
fancies, likes and dislikes, must be known,
even anticipated, for they can make or
break an amusement business.
Get Slot Booty
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Wielding a
sledge hammer, George G. Bundy, chief
deputy of the local city Finance Depart·
ment, smashed open a group of slot ma-
chines seized at the" Del Mar Club on Feb.
18 and collected $473.42 in cash and an
uncounted number of slots.
NOW is the time to BUY
Brand NEW in factory sealed cases
MILLS FAMQUS OWLS, Special
MILLS VEST POCKET BELLS
$119.50
69.50
Co nta ct us fo r the followi ng e quipm e nt new in factory sealed cases. Vest Pocket
Bells, me t e red , le-5e; Q . T. Gold Glitter, le-5e; G ol d Ch rome, 10e; used Blue
Fro nts, C hro me Be ll s, new and bse d S~fe Sta nd s, Q . T. Stan d s.
Shipping every ot her d ay GRAND CAN YO N a nd LIBERTY
EASTERN S ALES CO.
FRED IVERSON
1824-26 East Main St.
JOHN BILOTTA
Rochester, N. Y.
Men tion of THE COIN MACHINE REVIEW is your b est introduction to our advertisers.

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