Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame

Recently, a trip to Las Vegas Nevada was made by your humble narrator, so of course I had to stop by the Pinball Hall of Fame.

Pinball Hall of Fame
This unassuming building houses big fun out in the desert. It was dark, loud, and no one was smoking! Lots of people were there playing pinball on a Thursday afternoon. They had a large amount of games that were all set on FIVE balls per game. Most of the games were 25 cents, some were 50 cents, and a very few were 75 cents (TRON Legacy).

Here's a short description from their website:
"The Pinball Hall of Fame is an attempt by the members of the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club to house and display the world's largest pinball collection, open to the public. A not-for-profit corporation was established to further this cause. The games belong to one club member (Tim Arnold), and range from 1950s up to 1990s pinball machines. Since it is a non-profit museum, older games from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are the prevelant, as this was the 'heyday' of pinball. There are no 'ticket spitters' here (aka kiddie casinos or redemption). It's all pure pinball (and a few arcade novelty games) from the past. And since it's a non-profit, excess revenues go to non-denominational charities."

As usual I took lots of pictures, here are some of the better ones and you can view the entire set HERE.




Some modern pins.

Batmans.
Big Buck Hunter Pro. Why can't THIS game be in every venue that has games, instead of the gun version!

Star Trek.
KISS






Gottlieb Street Fighter II

Street Fighter II playfield.

Fight again.

Popeye.


Wizard!






Say NO to Drugs. Users are Losers.



MIBS.

The Pinball Hall of Fame has lots of well maintained classic arcade games also.



The X Files pinball was super fun!


A Gottlieb Challenger!


The Pinball Hall of Fame is great spot to hang out in Las Vegas, while having actual FUN inexpensively! Recommended!

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Saturday, February 4, 2012

Special When Lit

"I would hate to be 95 years old and look back on my life and say, 'You know, what I really wanted to do was play pinball, but gee my mom told me that I should get a career.'" - Rick Stetta

In getting myself hyped for my upcoming trip to the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, I picked up this little documentary, Special When Lit.



It's pretty rad and well done, it covers the whole history of pinball up to the modern day. It talks about the Las Vegas Pinball Museum, the Paris Pinball Museum, the tournament scene and PAPA. Lots of interviews with manufacturers and collectors.
I must say, having grown up in the 80's, I didn't fully realize how big pinball was in the 70's. This film gives a good view of that era.
Here's some pics of the DVD that arrived from London a mere four days after I ordered it!





I like the way the DVD looks, it has a commentary track on it also, I'd say it's worth grabbing. Although if you don't feel like shelling out the cash for it, Hulu has the whole thing online!
Enjoy!



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