Play Meter

NEWS BULLETIN Over $20,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded at the tournament. Entry forms and information are available by contacting the AMOAIFPA administrative office, 141 W. Vine St., Milwaukee, WI 53212; (414) 263-0233. Advance registrations receive a discount on the entry fees. BACKER JOINS CAPCOM .. .Jolly Backer has left his position as director of sales at Data East USA to join Capcom USA's sales staff. "I'm very excited to be here," Backer said. "Capcom is an innovative company with a lot of new technology on the horizon. We're looking forward to bringing this technology to the marketplace." The job isn't the only thing new in Backer's life. His wife gave birth to son Bradford Staunton on Sept. 24. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces. In other news concerning Capcom, Dennis Sable has moved from the company's consumer division to the coin-op side. He will act as special projects manager, handling the sales and marketing of Bow/ingo. Sable worked at The Leland Corporation before joining Capcom. TASK FORCE FORMED... The New York State Coin Machine Association (NYSCMA) board of directors formed a special cigarette task force on Nov. 29 to combat legislation that would ban cigarette vending machines. It is composed of board members, representatives of the Tobacco Institute and Philip Morris, and other interested parties. The task force didn't have to wait long to spring into action. At a Dec. 18 meeting of the Rockland County Legislature, 25 representatives spoke out against a proposed ban on cigarette vending machines. After a public hearing that lasted nearly three hours, the sponsor of the ban withdrew his motion. Both sides agreed to work on legislation that would keep tobacco products away from minors. There are, however, other battles ahead. Total bans have been proposed in the counties of Monroe and Erie, as well as the city of Buffalo. LICENSING DEADLINE NEARS.. .Jukebox operators with unlicensed boxes on location have until March 15 to apply for a 1991 license. The Jukebox License Office will not accept license applications for this year after March 15. As we went to press, there was speculation that operators also wouldn't be allowed to get a 1992 license after the March 15 deadline passes. We'll have complete information in the February issue. Failure to secure a license by this date means the performing rights societies-ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC-will enter into three separate licensing agreements with the location, not the operator. As has been noted before, the greater the level of operator compliance, the lower jukebox fees will be in future years. Operators surpassed the revenue benchmark for 1990, which prompted a reduction in 1991 license fees by $3 per jukebox. For more information, contact the JLO, P.O. Box 5458, New York, NY 10185-0044; (800) 955-5853. AAMCF SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE ... The American Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation (AAMCF) has put together a sponsorship package for its annual Appreciation Dinner, to be held in conjunction with ACME on March 22 in Las Vegas. This year's honorees are Ray Galante and Lou Dunis. For a $4,000 sponsorship fee, a company will receive a table of 10 for the dinner; two full-page ads in the dinner book; recognition in the dinner book and ACME program book; and a sponsorship plaque. Those who cannot sponsor the dinner but would like to place a fuller half-page ad in the dinner book should send camera-ready copy to Play Meter's Valerie Cognevich, P.O. Box 24170, New Orleans, LA 70124. The deadline for camera-ready artwork is Feb. 8; artwork that's not camera-ready must be received by Feb. 1. Call Valerie at (504) 488-7003 if you have any questions. MORIARITY JOINS KANEKO... Industry veteran Paul Moriarity, who worked most recently for U.S. Games, has joined Kaneko USA Ltd. in a sales and administrative capacity. " I was looking for someone to help me out, someone with expertise," said president Marty Glazman. "Paul certainly has plenty of that." Glazman says the company, which serves as the U.S. subsidiary of video game designer/developer Kaneko of Japan, is currently testing Gals Panic, a piece designed specifically for street operators. " It's a sexy takeoff on the Qix theme, but operators can adjust it to make it as sexy as they want," he said. "The response has been fantastic." Kaneko USA Ltd. is located at 1370 Busch Pkwy., Buffalo Grove, IL 60089. The telephone number is (708) 808-1370; the FAX is (708) 808-1375. ..,. HAPPY SOTH ... Congratulations to veteran game designer Steve Kordek of Williams-Bally/Midway, who will celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with wife Harriet on Jan. 27. DATA EAST IMPROVES PRODUCT... Data East Pinball has announced three improvements to its flipper assembly: 1. There's a newly shaped flipper link with a one-year guarantee. 2. The flipper base plate has been increased with a stronger, thicker metal. 3. A shoulder screw has been developed that only has threads in the last s;, 6 " . This screw is used to attach the flipper link and bushing to the lever arm. The absence of threads will eliminate any slop to the assembly that may have occurred after the threads were worn down-after several million cycles, for example. Also, Data East has promoted Arnie Aarstad to director of field service, pinball division, and Jim Gorman to field service representative. IFPA TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS NAMED... TheAMOAlnternational Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) has named Mike Hawkins of D & R Star and Dennis Bohrer of Hastings Distributing as co-directors of the 1st Annual AMOA-IFPA World Championships, to be held March 1-3 at the Chicago O'Hare Hilton. Steve Epstein of The Broadway Arcade, originally named as tournament director, resigned the post because of business demands. The association wished to thank Epstein for his help during its infancy. ..,. IT'S A BOY!. .. Congratulations to Mark Struhs, Dynamo's vice president of sales and marketing, and wife Jenny, who gave birth on Dec. 3 to Christopher William. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 1-1/2 ounces. PLAY METER MAGAZINE, January 1991, Volume 17, No. 2. Copyright 1991 by Skybird Publishing Company. PLAY METER MAGAZINE (ISSN 1048-8243)(UPS 358-350) is published monthly, except for the two issues in January. Publishing office: 6600 Fleur de Lis, New Orleans, LA 70124. MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184, USA. Phone: 504/488-7003; FAX 504/7083. For subscriptions: 504/488-7003. Subscription rates: U.S. and Canada-$50. Advertising rates are available on request. NO PART OF THE MAGAZINE MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION. The editors are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. PLAY METER MAGAZINE buys ALL RIGHTS, unless otherwise specified, to accepted manuscripts, cartoons, art work, and photographs. Second-class postage paid at New Orleans, LA 70113 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER Send Form 3579 to Play Meter, P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184. PLAY METER 1991 Directory 3