Pinball Hall of Fame, Las Vegas

[McGuirk]

I just returned from my honeymoon in Las Vegas. Of course, a good point in going for me was being able to stop at the Pinball Hall of Fame. No dice on Tuesday, but I was able to go Wednesday. I'm used to Silverball in Asbury Park (and am going back tomorrow for a fundraiser for a local greyhound rescue and adoption group), so this was a little different. A drab and umpy looking warehouse filled with pins and various arcade and specialty games, in various state of operation. It was very cool, though. Cirqus Voltaire and Black Hole were broken, but I got to play a ton of games on my list. I hadn't played Super Mario Bros. in years, and only vaguely remember pins for Street Fighter II and WWF from my childhood. Towards the end of my stay there, I saw the Creature From the Black Lagoon table and it made my day, even though the table was kind of busted. There were lots of cool tables, unfortunately I didn't take pictures of all of them and forgot some names. Off to IPDB this weekend to track them down.

The Pinball Circus machine REALLY blew me away though. What a cool concept. I put a couple dollars into that one. Not so sure if this could ever get put in TPA, but the machine itself is probably where all the charm is, anyway.

I took some pictures, but haven't uploaded them yet. We're definitely going back to Vegas at some point (we only spent two nights there), and I'll spend more time at the PHoF the next trip.

 

[Robert Hunt]

Very smooth! Who would think to actually get MARRIED in order to play pinball? That is extreme!!

But it sounds like it was worth the sacrifice; how often do you get a chance to play The Pinball Circus? That right there is worth putting into a pre-nup!

Congrats!!

 

[Gord Lacey]

I went to the Pinball Hall of Fame hours after my wedding (see my avatar for a small photo). It was a blast, and I love that some of my wife's favorite photos were taken there.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Gord, I never realized that was actually you in your avatar. Very cool.

 

[McGuirk]

Very smooth! Who would think to actually get MARRIED in order to play pinball? That is extreme!!

But it sounds like it was worth the sacrifice; how often do you get a chance to play The Pinball Circus? That right there is worth putting into a pre-nup!

Congrats!!

Haha, once we decided on Vegas, I knew I was going to stop there no matter what. So happy that I did. She didn't want to go (and turns out, can't go to the fundraiser at Silverball tomorrow either, so I'm taking myself out on another pinball date). And while on the plane, I was playing TPA to keep busy.

 

[Gord Lacey]

Gord, I never realized that was actually you in your avatar. Very cool.

You mean that's not you on your avatar?

That was me playing the Las Vegas table when Kat came in for a smooch. Somehow I manged to save the ball that was in play (you can't see it in the small version, but it was near the right flipper).

 

[shutyertrap]

Yeah, it is a dumpy building to be sure! I kinda miss the old location with the funky carpet they got for free from one of the hotels.

Little bummed to hear some of the tables were not up to par. I was just bragging yesterday about how when I went there last year, everything was top notch. Was supposed to go this month, plans are now kinda up in the air. Dying to go again, have my head spin like a top as I try and decide what to play.

 

[Liverslapper]

PBHoF is a neat place. I got to talk to Tim Arnold for a little while and he is a great guy. If anyone wants to get into pinball repair, Tim is the man. He takes very good care of the machines he has under his roof. Make sure to donate while you are there!

 

[brakel]

The fact that some machines might be broken is not a knock on this place. If 5 pins break at the same time there's going to be 5 pins down. Tim only has two hands! Also it takes a while to get parts. After working all day Tim will spend time going through his bone yards to find the parts he needs.

The tough thing about Pinball Circus is that its just a prototype. Once you accomplish going up to the top there isn't much to do. If it had gone further in the development process they would have made a deeper table with a more complex set of rules. However it is cool to play in person just because of the concept.