Politicos ' danger
Letters to
the editor • • •
Lest we forget
I agree wholeheartedly with your
editorial in the December 1 edition
stating that the AMOA should do
more to improve the image of our
industry. Just this week, community
members in upper M anhattan
listened to arguments from a local
merchant who wanted to open a·n
amusement arcade in the area and
from community leaders and lo al
politicians who were opposed to
such an establishment. The result of
the meeting was that the merchant
was denied the variance he sought
because the communit y was against
the drugs and prostitution the
ar cade would bring.
Ridiculous! Right. H ow ver, it is
not what you are but what other
people perceive you to be that deter-
mines your acceptance or rejection .
Unfortunately, our image is not a
positive one and instances like the
one related above are not isolated
but typical of the problem we are
constantly faced with . It is in this area
that the AMOA should exert their
leader ship ca pabilities and work
toward improving the industry's
image . Should we fail in this
endeavor, then local legislators or
the Supreme Court will rul e us out of
business.
Bob DeMartini
Friendship 1 Amusement s
Brookly n, New York
[Ed. Note: The problem of the New
York City a lion i put in perspec ·
tiue in an upcoming analysis in Play
M eter by co rrespondent R oger
Sharpe.]
PLAY METE R, F bruar 1, 1982
I have been reading your magazine
for some time and thought it is time I
speak out on the subject of the situa·
tion on the legality of the authorities
trying to prohibit the operation of
video and pinball machines in certain
localities.
This is nothing n w to the
autho rit ies . Sin c e coin devi ce
started to appear bac k m late 1800,
they hav always been the subje t
for politicians to try to control
through licens sand taxes , either on
th machines or locations . When
one locality sta rted , it spread like
wildfir e throughout the country until
th e operators and distributors, with
the help of manufac turers, banded
together and fought these politicans
until they stopped and now the
politicans are trying to do it again . N o
doubt they will never give up as long
as politicians keep coming. A s new
blood and operators come into the
busin ss, they need to do th sam
thing as they enter the coin ma chin
busine s.
I am entering my 45th year in th
coin machine business, having
worked as mechanic, operator, and
distributor and know of all the ups
and downs the industry has to
endu re as long as there are
politicians trying to make a name for
themselves . Reading articles such as
the one I am enclosing from the Wall
Street Journal , I hope this letter will
help the coin machine people to get
busy and stop these politicians from
doing their thing at the expense of
the coin rna hine business.
Keep up your good editorials.
William E. Happel
Hapco Sales Company
Reno, Nevada
[The writer refers to the WSJ article
of October 24, concerning small
towns ' banning electronic games.
Th e gouernments cite the "addic -
tiue" nature of the games and the
feuor of parents' opposition to
arcades. (For tactics to deal with
itizens ' oppositio n , see " Wh y
Parents Oppose Coin -ops, ' Play
M eter , D e c mber 1.) O n the
industry's ide, the WSJ quotes
Lorry 8 rk , Midway Manufac·
turing's sales director, to say that an
i -cream parlor is a "hangout; it's a
healthy hangout, " and he argues
that uideo games prouide " an
educot~nalho ngout . 1
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5