NEWS BULLETIN
• At the behest of AMOA president Jack Kerner,
representatives of every association connected with
the vending industry met in Washington, D.C., on
Nov. 8 to discuss the 1990 Washington Conference,
set for April 29-May 1. Present at the meeting were
Kerner and Wally Bohrer of AMOA, Bob Fay and
Alan Stone of AAMA, James Rost of NAMA, and
Morris "Ti ny" Weintraub of CVIC. Representing the
Tobacco Institute were Jack Regan and Larry
Schreiber of R.J. Reynolds and lrv Otte of Brown
and Williamson .
"I called the meeting because I feel it's important
that we go to Washington as one united industry,"
Kerner said . "Everything went great; each associa-
tion voiced its concerns and hopes for the industry. I
think it was the first time that all the different associa-
tions sat down and broke bread together. Some
have committed to attending the Washington Con-
ference already, like AAMA and the Tobacco Insti-
tute. The others may or may not send a group there .
But either way, it's a promising start to having a truly
united industry."
• Rowe International celebrated the 1 OOth anni-
versary of the jukebox in a unique manner on Nov.
15 and 16. Officials of Rowe's home office in Whip-
pany, N.J., joined with those of the Grand Rapids,
Mich., manufacturing facility in welcoming members
of the Amusement and Music Operators Association
(AMOA) Jukebox Promotion Committee and other
guests for an unprecedented tour of the assembly
plant and grand opening of the Rowe Jukebox Mu-
seum .
Rowe's Grand Rapids plant is staffed by an un-
usually large number of long-term employees, with
years of service ranging anywhere from four to 42
years. All were extremely cooperative in explaining
their particular job responsibilities . They are also
proud of their contribution to the final products: high-
quality jukeboxes, bill changers and acceptors.
Look for complete coverage of this special event
in our January issue, with many photos along the
assembly line and a nostalgic look into the past
history of quality music machines-dating back to
1934.
• The coin-operated amusement industry-and
video games, specifically-will get an image boost
from Hollywood on Dec. 15. That's the date set for
the nationwide premiere of "The Wizard, " a film
starring Fred Savage of TV's "The Wonder Years."
Produced by Pipeline Productions and released
through Universal Studios, "The Wizard" is an in-
spirational story that follows a traumatized child's
transformation into a confident teenage hero.
Twelve-year-old Jimmy is a withdrawn boy who is
forever trying to run away from home with one posses-
sion: his lunch pail. The only one who truly unde-
rstands him is his 13-year-old brother Corey, an outgo-
ing, self-reliant youth. After Jimmy is placed in an
institution, Corey becomes distraught and decides to
free his brother. Together they flee to California, where
they meet up with a companion, a 12-year-old girl
narned Haley.
As the trio travel along the road, they always stop
in an arcade to play video games. Jimmy, it is re-
vealed, is quite a "wizard" of a player. Haley de-
cides that Jimmy must enter the National Video
Championships in Los Angeles, which offers a
grand prize of $50,000.
At the very end ... no, we won 't spoil it for you!
Suffice it to say that the mystery of why Jimmy car-
ries a lunch pail everywhere-and why he's been
living in a shell-is solved by movie's end.
The good news for those of us in the industry is
that "The Wizard" portrays video games as a posi-
tive force in children's lives, not a harmful activity for
juvenile delinquents. "This movie will really boost
the video arcade industry," said Craig Lazar of the
firm Wallen Green Direct. They are handling the
direct marketing and merchandising activities in
conjunction with "The Wizard ." Continued Lazar,
"Fred Savage is extremely popular among kids. He
will demonstrate that playing video games is a posi-
tive activity that builds self-esteem ."
A " collectibles" program designed by Universal
Studios, with assistance from Lazar's firm, will ac-
company the film. Wallen Green Direct plans to dis-
tribute a small catalog filled with ''Wizard'' merchan-
dise, including T-shirts, lunch boxes, pins, stickers,
baseball caps, arcade change cases (for the play-
ers' quarters), and a poster featuring Savage.
Though plans haven't been finalized, it's likely that
the brochures will be circulated throughout arcades
and stores where home video games are sold.
• Donald Wall of Amusement Inc. in Nashville,
Tenn., was elected the new president of the Amuse-
ment Operators of Tennessee (AMOT) on Oct. 31 .
The special election was held in the wake of former
president Phil Dollar's tragic death; he died in a
plane crash on Oct. 18.
• Play Meter extends its deepest sympathies to
the family of George Kane Sr., 69, who passed away
in Tampa, Florida, on Oct. 28. According to Kane's
wife Marisa, the couple ventured into the coin-op
business as a mere hobby in 1960. That was in
Jacksonville, Fla., and over the years they and their
son George Kane Jr. operated and distributed in
Florida, Mississippi, and briefly in Louisiana.
George Jr. continues to operate in Hattiesburg.
• Operators in Los Angeles County have been
rocked with a large increase in their game license
fees, a move that got lost in the workings of gov-
ernment bureaucracy. David Jackson of Pachinko
Palace, who's also president of the Amusement As-
sociation of California (AAC), says the fee was put
through with a bunch of other business license fee
December 1989/ PLA Y METER 3