this dire situation (totally warranted) but excessive rents and business rates have
certainly played a major part in the decline of our town centres and seaside resorts.
And then there are other costs, such as insurance and staff (for those of us that can
actually afford to employ staff)! In real terms, these costs have all spiralled way
beyond what arcade owners were paying fifty years ago.
Taking all of this into account, and bearing in mind that even many modem
arcades are struggling, clearly the vintage penny arcade, which can never compete
with the pound coin-swallowing gambling culture of modem arcades, doesn' t have
much of a future. Clive will have to start thinking about retiring in the not too distant
future; Peter and I won' t be far behind, and Darren (the youngest among us) will be
left as the 'Penny Arcade King! .... ... .. . Don't let us down, Darren.
On a personal note, as you may have guessed from some of my moanings last
year, I can't see any future for me in Brighton. To be honest, I can't wait to get out of
the dump. There is a possibility of an alternative site, although I am now seriously
starting to question whether I want to continue wasting my life operating old
machines, just to cover the overheads.
I guess, at the end of the day, we do it because we enjoy what we do, and if we
didn' t, who would? When a small child's face lights up as he picks up a lollypop from
the crane or gets his penny back from an all win, it sort of makes it all worthwhile ... . . .
It would just be nice to make some bloody money out of it!
Jerry
Next month, I shall compile a list of all the vintage penny arcades and collections that
can be found around the country.
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