Play Meter

fROM THE EDITOR FOUNDER Ralph C. Lally II P Welcome to the State of the Industry lay Meter has been doing a State of the Industry report for nearly 15 years, tracking trends and peering inside the businesses that make the coinop industry tick. I can vividly recall the days before computers when Play Meter founder Ralph Lally would spend weeks "computing" the raw numbers by hand. He would stock up on legal pads and pencils, drag one of us over to his house to bounce ideas off of !or put us to work), and proceed to crunch out those numbers that told us where we were and where we were headed. This was "his baby," he would often say. His wife, publisher Carol Lally, would be running up and down the stairs with lunch or dinner !maybe both!l and lots of strong coffee. She knew that when he started on State of the Industry, time had no meaning. Ralph's been gone since 1984 and we n ever miss him more than at this time of the year. Computers long ago replaced those legal pads and pencils, but his hand is in every report we've done since his death. We give it the love and care that anyone's baby deserves. It 's welcoming to see how many responses we get back from operators. Each on e is carefully studied !anony· mously, of course) and all the numbers are laboriously combined for industry averages . There will always be the operator who says his games make much more than the average or make a lot less. Keep in mind when reading the r eport that these are averages. You can gauge y our own busines s b y the s e numbers and be happy that you are doing better. It's distressing to know that there will be outsiders using this report in negative ways and I always urge them not to do so. There are so many factors to consider in every business before making any decision; this report is but one of them. One of the biggest differences you will notice right away is the industry total of $9 billion, up from $7 billion last year. I've explained the leap in the report, but I'd like to restate that there are some significant reasons for this increase. We included some equipment totals that we have not included in the past, like vending and video pokers. One of the most interesting features about this report is the comments from operators at the back of the story. We ponder over these statements and listen very carefully to the suggestions they offer about how to improve our product. Operators may not realize how vital their opinions really are when it comes to planning future issues. Our goal is to offer them information that will keep them on top of their industry. I know how important it is to us to keep abreast of the latest in publishing news. We get several publishing trade magazines and would be lost without them. Just as Play Meter does not claim to have all the answers to all the industry problems, we do promise to offer as many tools as possible for each of you to decide for yourself. A lot of work went into the directory, too. To compile a list of everyone with a service or product to offer to the coin-op industry is a massive undertaking. It's a valuable issue and we're proud to offer you one of the best directory issues in the industry. ~~ Valerie Cognevich Editor PUBLISHER Carol P. Lally PRESIDENT Carol Ann Lally Durand EDITOR Valerie Cognevich • MANAGING EDITOF.I Bonnie Theard • FEATURES EDITOR Christopher Caire • ART DIRECTOR Jane Z. Nisbet • PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Mary Henderson • CONTRI BUTING WRITERS Irving Blackman Ray Hepburn Greg Reeves Jeff Rosenthal Jim Schelberg Frank Seninsky Dave Stubblefield Scott Wolf • TECHNICAL WRITERS Vic Fortenbach Randy Fromm • EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT David Snook • DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Ron Kogos • CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Carol Lea LeBell • CIRCULATION/OFFICE MANAGER Renee C. Pierson • EDITORIAL OFFICES P.O. Box 24970 New Orleans, LA 70 184 (504) 488-7003 FAX: (504) 488-7083 PLAY METER MAGAZI NE , J anuary 15, 1993, Volume 19, No. 2. Copyr ight 1993 by Sky bird Publishing Company. PLAY METER MAGAZINE CUPS 358-350) is pu blished mo nthly , except for the two issu es in January . Publishing office, 8600 Fleur de Lis, New Orleans, LA 70124. MAILING ADDRESS, P.O . Box 24970, New O rleans , LA 70184, USA. Pho ne , 504/ 488·7003· FAX 504 / 488-7083. Subscription rates, U.S. and Cana da- $60. Advertising rates are a vailable upon request. NO PART OF THE MAGAZINE MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION. The editor s are not r espo nsible for unsolicited manuscr ipts. PLAY METE R MAGAZINE buys ALL RIG HTS , u nless other wis e specified. to a ccepted m anuscr ipts. cartoons, art work. and photographs . Second-class postage paid at New Orleans , LA 70 113 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTE R Se nd Fo rm 3579 to Pla y Meter. P.O . Box 24970. New Orlea ns , LA 70184. PLAY METER 6 1993 DIRECTORY