Pacific NW pinball playoff: 'success'
All contestants were impressed not
only with the fairness of this
approach but also with the many
unique features of the pingame that
made it one of the major attractions
of the tournament," said Livingston.
Surprises
Operators and contestants were
in for more surprises throughout the
tournament . Through the efforts of
Lamar Forque of Music-Vend, the
pinball championships also became
the showcase for Williams' latest
flipper, Black Knight . Forque made
special arrangements to have one of
the games, not at that time available
on the West Coast, flown in from the
Chicago factory . It stirred long lines
and constant play, said Livingston.
The universal appeal of pinball was
reflected in Spokane's major
television station, KHQ-6, covering
the action live and following up with
lengthy spots on the November 30
news programs. Also, KREM -TV
interviewed the grand prize winner,
Harold Stoltz, for a feature spot on a
local telecast.
Stoltz and the second -place
finalist George Pimms (who
happened to be friends) had qualified
at Bumpers arcade. Going into the
final round at Red Lion, Pimms, 17,
was the top-seeded player while
Stoltz, 19, ranked ninth. But with his
performance on Xenon, Stoltz took
an unsurmountable lead in the con-
test. Pimms calmly played to within
70,000 points of the leader before
losing his final ball. The three-game
total was Stoltz, 1,832 ,000 and
Pimms, 1,762 ,000 .
Operator rewards
Co-sponsors Don Foedisch of
General Amusements and Keith
Hollenbeck of Keith's Music, two of
the larger operators in the Spokane
area , both said the were pleased with
the financial rewards of the
tournament. Foedisch commented,
" Even though the number of con-
testants entered at the local level was
not as great as anticipated,
competition ran at a high level and
generated great interest in pinball
play itself, which was our initial
purpose . This resulted in a definite
inc rease in profits at the location
level."
John Magruder (All-American
Amusements/Couer d'Alene) and
Richard Posten (Arrow Amusements
/ Spokane), who operate extensive
routes in the outlying areas of
Spokane and Couer d'Alene, not
only realized greater profits but also
saw additional benefits. According to
Posten, "it was great. Besides giving
pinball revenues a much-needed
boost, it gave many marginal
accounts a good reason to stick with
an operator who's a member of the
association ." Magruder was likewise
impressed impressed with the
internal economics of the tourna·
ment, saying: "Because the total cost
of the tournament (approximately
$5,000) was shared among all area
association operators, the burden
was much easier to overcome ."
"I think it's a credit to those
sponsoring operators and distribu·
tors that the entire budget was suc-
cessfully completed on a break-even
basis," Magruder added. "Without
the friendship and cooperation
which we've shared and enjoyed, a
tournament of this size and scope
would have been nearly impossible."
The consensus from the 1980
Pacific Northwestr championships
was that pinball play can still be fun,
exiting, and profitable.
The Spokane area association
invited inquiries and correspondence
from interested operators, who can
address: Steve Livingston, Bumpers
Amusements, E. 2902 Diamond,
Spokane, Washington 99207 . •
Game-A-Tron buys
game cabinets maker
Franar Industries
The new crop drews looks and comments from the operators on hand. Williams '
Black Knight and Gremlin/ Sega 's Space Tactics were among the games on view.
NEW BRITAIN, CT . - Game-A-
Tron Corp. has acquired Franar
Industries, a privately-held commer-
cial cabinet manufacturer, for an un-
disclosed amount of cash and stock.
Franar, a Hartford, Connecticut
firm, was a primary supplier of
cabinets for Game-A-Tron's amuse-
ment games. Its current facilities
cover approximately 10,000 square
feet with room for expansion .
Lawrence J. Dunn , Game -A-
Tron's president, said: "This action
is in keeping with Game-A-Tron's
program of vertical integration
through internal development and
acquisition ."
The manufacturer designs,
produces, and distributes coin-
operated electronic video games
and, pending appropriate licensing,
projects the manufacture and sale of
electronic video slot machines.•