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Coinman Interview:
Norman Pink
Intra-industry controuersy is not something that
AMOA has been accustomed to. But, in 1981, the
operators' national association became the target of
bitter recriminations- much of it emanating from this
magazine- concerning the association's action, or lack
of action, on issues of uital importance to the entire
industry.
Should gray area games be accepted as part of this
industry? Or should they be diuorcedfrom it? How much
are members of the AMOA entitled to know about how
AMOA decisions are made? Did the AMOA adequately
represent the jukebox operators' interests in the
copyright law proceedings? Shouldn't the national
association haue been inuolued in the games part of the
business, too?
These and other questions serued to place the
operators' national association under close scrutiny for
probably the first time in its history. Before now, it was
generally agreed euerything was going along, pretty
much according to form. But the jukebox copyright rate
debacle put an end to all that and stirred up a terrible
storm within the industry.
The man who has serued as the president of the
AMOA during this year rose to the presidency himself
amidst a storm of controuersy that saw the assumed
incoming AMOA president, Jim Mullins, apparently
expelled from the national association. Norm Pink,
probably as much a surprise to him as to anyone else,
was named AMOA president instead.
Pink operates Aduance-Carter in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. He's been in the coin-op business since he
was 15, starting back in 1947 when he went to work for
the company in the coin machine shop for his cousins.
After fulfilling his seruice obligation and completing his
college education (he earned a degree in Chemistry and
Psychology), he acquired the operation and went into
the business fulltime in March , 1955. Back then, his
operation was basically a jukebox route because the
games Aduance-Carter Company had been operating
were basically in-line pingames which were outlawed in
1954. He diuersified his route to include regular flipper
pinba/ls, shuffle alleys, pool tables, as well as
phonographs.
Norm Pink operated what many people today belieue
to be the first amusement center in an enclosed mall. It
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was literally in the basement of one of the first shopping
mall centers built in the country. In that lower leuel, there
were restrooms, a shoe repair shop, a post office, a
popcorn concession , and a zoo where the Iron and tiger
cubs, wolues, and an orangutang were caged. Pink
operated a few kiddie rides down there. And, one by
one, as the popcorn concession, zoo, shoe repa1r shop,
and post office departed- the size of h1s operat1on
expanded until, euentually, he took ouer the ent1re lower
leuel of 2,000 square feet.
Pink says he still remembers the day when a friend
came to uisit him at his amusement center and brought
along someone by the name of Jules Millman. Millman
was later to pioneer family amusement centers In
enclosed shopping malls.
"I remember remarking that if I euer had it to do all
ouer again," said Pink, ''I'd haue carpeted the tile floor,
taken out the flourescent lights, and wouldn't haue
allowed any food in there." Little did he know someone
was taking notes.
Today Pink's operation is largely games. Jukeboxes
make up only ten percent of his entire route. He says
he's still heauier into pinballs than he is into uideo but
that's because he was so heauy into pinballs before the
uideo takeouer. Although the ratio of uideos is
diminishing, he said. "We hauen't stopped our buying of
pinball machines."
Aduance-Carter employs about 115 people (parttime
or fulltime) and extends about sixty miles all around the
Minneapolis area. Additionally, he now operates ten
amusement centers, plus a big 23,000 square foot
amusement center called "Circus." He's now planning
to open three more big attraction -type amusement
centers, though he's quick to add they won 't be nearly as
big as Circus.
His wife, Dorothy, is a clinical dietician. Two of their
three children are now studying in college. Barbara and
Dauid are, respectiuely a sophomore and a freshman at
the Uniuersity of Wisconsin in Madison. The Pinks ' other
child, Karen, is a sixth -grader at a Minneapolis public
school.
The Coinman interuiew focused on the AMOA, what
it is doing, what it plans to do. It's important reading for
all industry people.
PLAY METER , December 1 , 1981