Play Meter

[continued from page 19]
PLAY METER: What is the amount above normal
collection realized by the tournament?
F ARMER: If a pool table is doing $120 a week
hefore the start . it's awful hard to do a lot more.
I've heard a substantial amount of operators talking
about doubling. In every case it's gone up. There
are three, four, or five locations where the thing
bombed. You're always going to have that. When
you're talking about 200 locations. You're going to
have a percentage of these people who are not going
to promote it. Because it lS left up to the location
owners to get the players in there. That's all they
have got to do, nothing else. Once they get the
players in there, things start happening.
PLA Y METER: You mentioned at the beginning
that one of the biggest problems for the operator
today is his lack of cash because of the increased
overhead of new more expensive games? Is there
anything you've done along these lines?
FARMER: We're big leasers. We believe very
much in leasing. It's a big, big part of our game
program. We have programs now where the
operator can buy the equipment off lease.
PLAY METER: And this has grown in lieu of
contract purchases?
FARMER: Well, we do quite a bit of financing but
we have certainly tightened up on it. With the way
business is changing, manufacturers want their
money a lot sooner than they ever did before, so we
can't extend credit like we did three or four years
ago. But we're interested in financing with people
who can show a good financial statement. We're not
interested in financing everyone on the street. I
think a lot of that happened when the arcade craze
hit. And now a lot of those people aren't in business
today. Most of the big operators, though, don't tend
to lease. In general, leasing seems to be favored
more by the smaller operators.
PLA Y METER: Is there a minimum amount of time
the operator has to keep the equipment?
FARMER: We actually have a 26-week lease on
arcade equipment, either a 26-week lease or
39-week lease. Naturally, the longer he keeps the
piece, the cheaper we can lease it to him. On pinball
games, we have a minimum lease of 15 weeks.
PLAY METER: You mentioned before about how
tournaments are a good way for operators to raise
the price on their pool tables to fifty cents. Are
there any ways like that for operators to get a
better cut of the commissions.
FARMER: That's something in this business that
has got to change. Operators today are working
with the same commission that Ed Shaffer's father
gave 35 years ago, fifty -fifty. And by the time the
operator pays for his gasoline, for the men he sends
out, for the bookkeeping, and the equipment, he's
really getting the short end. I think considering all
that, we have a right to change the commission
structure, to sixty-forty maybe. I know that some
operators are putting out the Evel Knievel solid
state pinball game on a 40 percent rathe than the
usual fifty percent. If the location owner wants a
solid state piece, it's on forty percent. This isn't
every operator though. This is being done by those
guys who I think are making the right decisions.
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------ --0151- "RiiiuTO"R-S"R-E's EARCH-ASS(;CI ATES ----.---- •
P.O. Box 370965. Buena Vista Station, Miami , FI. 33137
Telephone (305) 576·2721
Company Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Name
Addres-s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
City
State _ _ Zip _ _ _ _ _ _
Service
Technician
ATARI, the leader in innovative leisure,
has an immed iate opening for a
S ervice Technician to work out of our
New Jersey office.
Duties include troubleshooting by
telephone with customers; and repair
of circuit boards and monitors. Must
have previous experience with video
game repair, familiarity with micro-
processor technology and experi·
ence in dealing directly with the
public. AA degree in electronics
or equivalent preferred.
I\,
We offer excellent benefits and
exceptional working
conditions. Please Sej d
resume with salary
history to Employ-
ment Dept., ATARI ,
INC., 1265 Borregas
Ave., P.O. Box 9027, 1"\ 11"\
Sunnyvale, CA
Innovative
94086.
leisure
ATARI
CI
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