Play Meter

NEWS BULLETIN
•
Red Baron president Bill Beckham has decided
to petition the U.S. Supreme Court regarding parallel
board legality, this after gaining a district court victory
against Taito but losing in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
"Both sides of this argument, manufacturers and
operators, want an answer that will decide this issue once
and for all for the entire country," said Beckham, who's
also the head of American Operators for Equal Treatment.
'The Supreme Court is the only court that can give us
that answer. Neither side wants to violate the law, but this
issue means millions of dollars to the winning side. We
all just want an answer that is conclusive for everyone."
•
Play Meter extends its deepest sympathies to the
family and friends of Tennessee operators Phil Dollar and
Dick Harrell, who died in a plane crash on Oct. 18. Dollar,
owner of Dollar Amusement Co. in Trenton and president
of Tennessee's state association, and Harrell of Harrell
Amusement in Jackson, were en route from Morristown,
Tenn., to Cleveland, Tenn., in Harrell's private plane. They
were headed there for a membership drive. Dollar had
spent _a lot of time traveling the state in recent months,
trying to build a bigger and stronger Amusement and
Music Operators of Tennessee.
•
Cranes have been declared illegal in Montana
under the state's new gambling law, but operator Rick
Hutchins is filing suit to have them reinstated. Here's how
the scenario unfolded: Hutchins, owner of Rick's Vending
in Missoula, Mont., asked for a legal opinion from
Missoula county attorney -Robert Deschamps as to
whether cranes were legal under the new law, which went
into effect on Oct. 1. Deschamps, in turn, asked the same
of Montana attorney general Marc Racicot. Racicot
issued a formal opinion stating that the law outlaws any
form of gambling not specifically listed; cranes are not
specifically listed.
•
The new law considers a machine a gambling
device if money or anything of value is risked to gain
something where there is an element of chance involved.
Racicot considered cranes as falling under that category
and thus declared them illegal. Hutchins, who has a
business license to operate cranes in Missoula, said he
will soon file an injunction in hopes of being granted a
declaratory judgement for continued operation of the
cranes. If a district court grants it, operators would likely
be able to operate cranes until the Legislature recon-
venes in 18 months. If the judgment is not granted,
operators would be barred from operating cranes until
the Legislature meets to possibly change or clarify the
law's wording . We'll have an update on the situation in
our December News section.
•
Adastra Inc., manufacturers of the foldable coin-
op basketball game Hoops, is close to completing
negotiations with Pop-A-Shot that would "combine the
best attributes of our respective companies," according
to Adastra president foster Brashear. The exact form of
the deal hasn't been determined-merger, acquisition,
etc.-but the companies are in agreement on the
arrangement's major points, Brashear said. Pop-A-Shot,
founded by Ken Cochran in 1984, created the first
enclosed coin-op basketball game and is the industry's
sales leader. Under this agreement, Adastra will: 1)
manufacture its game exclusively for marketing as the
"Top-of-the-line" game by Pop-A-Shot, 2) redesign and
manufacture Pop-A-Shot's current game for marketing
as a lower cost alternative, 3) develop other new product
ideas supplied by Pop-A-Shot, as well as integrate its own
new products into Pop-A-Shot's world-wide network, and
4) be responsible for an expanded advertising effort. "I
think this is the start of something really big," Brashear
said. "We are all quite excited."
•
AMOA's Fred Newton reports that as of press time,
a settlement on royalty fees has not been reached
between AMOA and the performing rights societies. The
two sides have spent the better part of 1989 trying to hash
out an agreement and were hopeful that an accord could
be achieved before 1990. Newton says negotiations are
continuing, so a decision may still be reached before the
new year. Look for more on this jukebox issue in our
December issue.
•
SNK Corporation of America, in an "ongoing quest
to enhance product support," has extended its Customer
Service Department hours. The department will be
staffed at all times between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m . (Pacific
Standard Time) to allow greater access for SNK's East
Coast customers. Electronic technicians are available to
all operators needing assistance and to SNK distributors
ordering replacement parts. They can be reached at (408)
736-8844. Additionally, the company reminds operators
of its technical support mailing program, which provides
technical information and schematic diagrams of SNK
products. All that is required is to return the Customer
Response Card found in the game manual. There is no
charge for this service.
•
Smart Industries of Des Moines, Iowa, has named
Brent Leisure Limited as their exclusive distributor in the
United Kingdom. The London-based company will
distribute the Shoot-To-Win one-hoop and two-hoop
basketball games throughout the U.K. markets. The
games will also be displayed in the Brent Leisure booth
at the upcoming Amusement Trades Exhibition
International (ATEI) in London.
•
William Beckham Sr. , father of Red Baron
of Ohio's Bill Beckham, passed away on Oct. 15. Play
Meter extends its deepest sympathies to the Beckham
family.
•
Innovative Concept in Entertainment Inc. has a
new address and telephone number: 1501 Kensington
Ave., Buffalo, NY 14215; (716) 833-0481 or (800)
342-3433; FAX (716) 833-1342.
November 1989/ PLA Y METER 3