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Ebsco Plans Tournaments Ebsco Amusements has announced their decision to endorse tournaments as a major, consistent aspect of promotion for Vulcan Fussball . Tournaments in the past have been held sporadically; now Ebsco Amusements will be increasing the frequency of the contests, according to Richard Stout of Ebsco, who hopes these will generate greater enthusiasm for the sport. A series of tournaments are being organized along the Jersey coast. The first one will be held in Sea Bright, N .J ., January 8. Prizes for the contests will consist of cash, trophies and gift certificates. ihe series will conclude with Vulcan' s Grand Tournament where an est imated $1 ,500 w orth of prizes will go t o the w inners. The Green Machine, Vulcan' s new table design, will be used for these tournaments. The new table combines the heavy-duty, large Texas-style cabinet with the German-style playing field and rod assembly. According to Stout, "This combination still provides the excitement of play which the German-style of fussball offers but eliminates the table movement that hinders competitive action ." Rene Pierre Opens New HQ l:!: ~ • ~ t 38 In a joint announcement, Rene Pierre and his son Thierry have announced the establishment of a full service U.S . headquarters located at 15 Columbus Circle in New York City. According to Rene Pierre, "The new American headquarters will have total management responsibi lity over all distribution of Rene Pierre foosball machines and will be under the on-sit e direction of Thierry Pierre. The new headquarters will be fully staffed to coordinate all ordering, delivery, billing, information and service requirements and will , for the first time, allow U.S . distributors a direct connection w ith the Rene Pierre factory." Thierry Pierre, now a New York resident, explained that the U.S . headquarters had been planned due to the growth of the Rene Pierre line in this country, but its establishment had been moved ahead of schedule as a resu lt of the overwhelming response of professional players, distributors and operators to the new Westerner model during the MOA show in Chicago. He further noted that the Westerner was designed specifically for the U.S. market. The table's features include slide-through rods, non-slip playing surface and heavy " wide-stance" legs for maximum stability. The Rene Pierre "mobile showroom" is scheduled to leave New York on February 1 and will cover as many distributor locations as possible . Distributors interested in having the mobile showroom stop at their locations are invited to call Thierry Pierre in New York . Atari Places Kiosk with BART Atari's Theatre Kiosk, a series of six pie-shaped video game units has been installed for the first time at the San Francisco Powell Street Station of the prestigious Bay Area Rapid Transit System. The six-sided video attraction is located inside the entrance at the station's train level platform. In addition to the games which offer 90 seconds of play per quarter, a special 35mm slide projection system along with BART advertising panels is designed into the top structure. Changing slides present various San Francisco and Bay Area sports, entertainment and information visua ls. " We think the machine, here at this one station on an experimental basis, w ill provide fun for our riders between trains," a BART spokesman said. "And the information and revenue won't hurt, either." "The BART location is an excellent example of the viability and earning potential of the Theatre concept. It is a new entertainment idea that combines extra sophistica- tion and excitement with high profits for any high traffic location," Frank Ballouz, Atari national sales manager commented. Each Theatre provides a complete video package that can be custom designed to integrate into any playing environment. Two, three or six wedge-shaped units are offered. Operators can fit two units into a corner, three against a wall, or six into a stand-alone island center. The upper portion can be custom designed, as in the case of BART, providing unique space for advertising and information. Video games can be interchanged without loss of time or money. Once the unit is on location, games can be replaced simply by changing the control panel, attraction plex and computer board. Present Theatre games available include Space Race, Trak-10, Tank, Quiz Show, Flyball, Jet Fighter, Pong Doubles, Stunt Cycle and Lemans. Soon to be released are Breakout, Sprint2 and Night Driver. ---------= ----~ San Francisco's Powell Street Station with Atari's new Kiosk Theatre.