Play Meter

Issue: 1982 March 15 - Vol 8 Num 6

Letters to
the editor. • •
MOM dialog
This letter is in regard to your article
in the January 1, 1982 issue, by Ray
Tille y entitled "Local Bans On
Juveniles Continue To Crimp
Arcades ." The article described the
lack of support shown by the local,
state, and national associations in
the efforts of a Michigan operator.
B&J Vending, to restrain a city from
enforcing an ordinance restricting
youths under 17 from playing amuse-
ment machines.
Some of our members have called
questioning our role and I feel it
necessary to reply on behalf of the
Music Operators of Michigan Asso-
ciation even though other associa-
tions were also mentioned. You
should know, and could have verified
with us , other salient facts .
First, I have spoken to the owner
of B&J Vending since the article was
published . He claims the quote attri -
buted to him- "They (the associa-
tions) say 'Good Luck ,' and that's
basically all they do ," was not made.
Second , while MOM does not
have the funds to sponsor lawsuits in
local communities, we have been
helpful to many operators statewide,
both directly and indirectly , in
organizing local lobbying efforts with
city officials to defend against harm-
ful proposals. We have provided
operators, and their attorneys , with
court decisions that have applied to a
particular ordinance they were
fighting . This in fact is what was pro-
vided to B&J Vending and company
officials told me that this was very
helpful to them .
Third, B&J Vending has been
invited on two occasions to join
Music Operators of Michigan. To
PLAY METER , Mar c h 15 , 1982
date, they have not joined, but we
are hopeful they will.
Music Operators of Michigan was
formed in 1974 to represent the
amusement industry in the state
legislature. The Assoc iation is
responsible for two statutes
benefiting the industry, 1) the law
that allowed the placing of amuse-
ment devices in taverns, opening up
over 8,000 locations to operators;
and 2) the decriminalization of the
giving of free play. In addition, we
helped defeat last year a proposal to
impose a 4% sales tax on amusement
machine receipts.
I hope you will appreciate the need
for this rather lengthy reply, but I felt
that criticism leveled in your maga-
zine unfairly described what Music
Operators of Michigan is doing.
Those operators in Michigan who
are members, know what the Asso-
c iation has done for them , what our
limitations are, and how we handle
requests for help. Any association
that would say "Good luck" to a
member or non-member who called
for help deserves to be described in
the fashion you did. I can assure you
that Music Operators of Michigan
does not handle requests in such an
off-handed way. If we can help, we
do. If we can't, we tell the operator
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5
why and suggest possible alter·
natives.
Associations at any level- local,
state, or national-can only be as
good as the combined strength of
thei r members. We must be honest
about these strengths as well as our
weaknesses.
Those from the outside who criti-
cize become part of the problem
rather than being part of the solution.
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Toll Free : 1-800-241-1346 (excep t in Ga. )
.... c:;~~ ® ________________________ _. .... ~~--~
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: •
WANTED:
t •
• •
• : •
: •
:
Part-tim e t ec hni c ian s or op e rator s to d e liv e r

• and ser v ice ve ndin g and video g am es in Geor g ia , •
! Alab ama , North & South Carolina , Te nness e e, !
:
Florid a, Mi ssi ss ippi , & Loui sian a. Mu st have
acces s to pi c kup tru c k (lift g at e pr ef e rable ).
t
W e p ay p e r unit.
!


t
t
t
• : •
Fo r m o r e informati o n call :
• •
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! • AMUSEMENT SERVICE CO. ! •
• •
• •
A sk for Leon.
t
:
:
(404) 351-0414
:
• t
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(ca ll coll ect )


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6
[Ed. Note: The Mich igan operator
of B&J VPnding, contacted again
after Play Meter received the above
letter, affirmed to us that he had
expressed the statements attributed
to him. Operator Brian Scope/
added that, by lack of support, he
meant lack of financial support in his
court fight. "They gave me advice
which did not help me, if that's
support," he added.
However, the purpose of the
January 1 article on local sanctions
against arcades was not to degrade
the M OM for its lack of a financial
fund for legal action. It was simply to
illustrate the go-it-alone fight which
operators often have to make in
order to survive against severe local
restrictions. In B&J's case, a note of
hope was more recently in the
air after the county trial court
remanded to the city council the
matter of restricting under-17's play
of coin-op games. This came after
the operator agreed to drop damage
cha rges against the city, he said.
Finally, Play Meter on many
occasions has called for strong state
and local associations, and this
magazine has recognized their
efforts when they have been
effective. A strong stand by MOM
against gray games operation is
detailed in an article in the present
issue. ]
S omething on your mind you want
to vent? G ot a gripe? Full of praise?
Have a question? If you have
comments on the coin-operated
e ntertainment industry, write to Play
Meter. O ur "Letters to the Editor"
columns are dedicated to you, the
operator/ reader.
A ll letters m ust be signed; if
requested, only initials will be used
or the name w ith held from print.
Please incl ude return address
(although, for the sake of your
privacy, add resses will not be
printed.) A ll letters subject to
standa rd editi ng. B e concise.
T~
?

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