Play Meter

AOE Seminars/March 12-14:
A menu for the industry
By RAY E. TILLEY
Building on the success of the first ·
ever offering of 1980, Amusement
Operators Expo '81 has been
stocked with many improvements
suggested by the enthusiastic
attendees of the first show, said
Ralph C . Lally II, publisher and editor
of PLAY METER, the AOE sponsor.
First, the AOE returns to New
Orleans and displays at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel's opulent facilities
near the Louisiana Superdome
complex. For three days, March 12·
14, AOE will be the scene of coin-op
business information sharing, new
product introductions, and sales of
the equipment. Ninety-eight percent
of 1980 attendees have indicated
they will return for AOE '81 , and
many exhibitors and operators will
be on hand for the first time in the
industry's growing springtime show.
"The seminar program has been
expanded with a wider range of
educational sessions, covering
business management, technical
repair, and everything in between,"
said Lally. Seminars will run from
9:00 to 10:30, mornings, with the
exhibit hall open from 10:30a.m.-
4:30 p.m. each day and afternoon
seminars scheduled for 4:40- 6:30
p.m. daily.
A registration form has been
provided to each subscriber to
PLAY METER. Further information
is available by contacting the
Amusement Operators Expo 's
organizers, Conference Manage-
ment Corp., Stamford, Connecticut
06901 ; phone 203/ 356-1900.
The kickoff program will be a
special, free "Early Bird" general
session on Wednesday, March 11 ,
before the show's official opening, to
begin at 6 p.m.and run to 7:30 p.m.
"Challenges and Responses: It's
Time for Industry Action" is the
theme of the Early Bird meeting
which features noted industry lawyer
Rufus King , Stern Electronics
President Gary Stern, and Charles
S . Paul, vice president and general
counsel of Atari, Inc ., as leaders of
the informal discussion of problems
the industry faces, going into the new
decade. A get-acquainted cocktail
session at 5 p.m. precedes the
meeting. While the seminar is free of
charge, registrants were asked to
indicate on their registration forms
whether attendance was planned.
Another free session comes on
Thursday, March 12, at 6 p.m., called
" The Quick Fix," with Millie
McCarthy, president of the New
York State Coin Machine Associa-
tion , and a panel of industry
personalities in a frank discussion of
coping with negative images of the
coin-op trade. Attendees should also
note their desire to attend this
session on their registration forms .
Fees for other educational
seminars/ workshops listed below
are $15 each for advance registration
(before February 13) and $25 for
later registration . Attendance in as
many as six sessions can be
scheduled.
Here are the courses in the AOE
Seminars:
Thursday Sessions: 9-10:30 a .m.
Seminar 101
Arcade Design and Construction: A
Practical Approach. The first of a
Operators' ears were keen in the popular seminars of the 1980 AOE. Amusement Operators Expo/'81 provides a packed
schedule of coin-op business info sessions, and times do not conflict with exhibit hours.
PLAY METER NEWS UPDATE
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