Pinball Archives - Gad Vending

Stern Black Knight Sword of Rage Pinball in Omaha, Kansas City and Des Moines.

GAD Vending sells Stern The Munsters pinball in black and white.

13th July 2020

10 Quick Tricks to Profit with Pinball

10 Quick Tricks to Profit with Pinball https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/stern-black-knight.jpg 650 650 Gad Vending Gad Vending https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/stern-black-knight.jpg 13th July 2020 3rd June 2020

Pinball games have been a favorite entertainment machine since their introduction in 1931. “Pinball” came from the steel silver ball traveling across wooden pins. Since, pinball has inspired an entire industry and a pop culture phenomenon. Pinball games are inspired by Marvel Comics, DC Comics, TV shows, rock bands, movies, sports and cultural phenomenons. And, pinball is a staple in the Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa bar scene.

To buy a new pinball machine is an investment. The cost is dependent on the game itself, shipping and payment acceptance system. Payment systems include the basic coin acceptors to the newest digital payment acceptance with card readers and touchless cell phone payment acceptance. GAD Vending can help you determine the best payment system for your environment.

To maximize your pinball game profit:

Brighten – energize a dark corner (and make sure there are no bright glare to make game play harder).
Patron building – Use pinball machines to draw patrons deeper into your bar and keep them longer.
No broken machines – make sure you have a regular maintenance schedule with GAD Vending. As a stocking distributor, we have the common parts to keep your machines playing.
Quarters – place an ATM and coin changer near your pinball machines.
Variety – swap your pinball machines regularly. Retire a game to the back room for a time or trade between locations.
Pinball Junkies – don’t wipe high scores! Pinball players are competitive and want to show their high score!
Cleanliness – keep pinball machines clean – especially the glass.
Sanitation – deep clean between players with cleaners that won’t harm the graphics.
Player Cleanliness – give your players handi-wipes to clean before and after play. Offer disposable buttons to each gamer.
Free Game – let players enjoy a free game! GAD Vending can help you determine how lose your free games should be.

When you are thinking of new pinball machines in the Midwest – Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and South Dakota – give your local GAD Vending sales rep a call (or our main office at 402-553-2812).

Stranger Things Pinball available at GAD Vending.

18th June 2020

The Surprising Secrets to Making Money with Pinball Machines with a Younger Audience

The Surprising Secrets to Making Money with Pinball Machines with a Younger Audience https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/StrangerThingsPinball.jpg 845 498 Gad Vending Gad Vending https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/StrangerThingsPinball.jpg 18th June 2020 10th May 2020

What’s not a surprise is that Pinball has been a profitable industry since 1931. What is a surprise is the resurgence of pinball with a younger generation. And, here’s why.

Engaging Games

Pinball manufacturers have responded to new, tech savvy audiences with creative pinball game formats and technology. Adding LED lighting. New technology in the gamefield. High tech scoring. Internet capabilities for remote play and tournaments. Added sound technologies to create an immersive experience. And so much more.

An excellent example is Stern Pinball’s 2020 release of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Not only is this game beautifully crafted to the Netflix hit TV show, it also has amazing graphics lighting and sound. The innovations from Stern to entertain the player absolutely come together with this game.

Social Game Opportunities

Pinball is the ultimate step up game for the millennial gamer brought up on playing video game machines in their basement. Gamers have shown if they like one type of game, they will try another. Make your pinball games attractive to play.

Pinball is still an individual game that can be played against the high machine score.
Connect your Pinball to the internet for game play against other high scores, games across locations or tournaments.
Pinball keeps groups of people longer – ordering more food and drinks.
Run a casual or professional pinball tournament.

Location, Location, Location

Look at the traffic flow in your restaurant, bar or lounge. See where your customers hang out with little to do. Evaluate the dark corners. Watch when customers get bored and are looking for a reason to get up and move around.

One, stand alone pinball machine can solve a dark, wasted corner. A couple pinball machines can draw customers to the back wall of the bar. Strategically place a pinball machine outside the rest rooms. Add a new pinball machine to mix up your current game mix. Or place a new machine and run promotions for high score, longest run or other fun incentives.

Entertainment Destination

Pinball, as a standalone profit center, may not make money. What pinball machines do is help the establishment create excitement, entertainment and keep patrons longer. Pinball machines teamed up with digital music, darts, Golden Tee and other games can give you, the owner, an entertainment arcade to become a destination.

When you are thinking of new pinball machines in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and South Dakota – give your local GAD Vending sales rep a call (or our main office at 402-553-2812).

9th June 2020

New! Hot Wheels Pinball

New! Hot Wheels Pinball https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/hotwheels-backglass-upper-portion.png 1600 435 Gad Vending Gad Vending https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/hotwheels-backglass-upper-portion.png 9th June 2020 9th June 2020

New from American Pinball – Hot Wheels!

For over 50 years, Mattel’s HOT WHEELS™ die cast cars have been sought and collected by hundreds of millions of fans all over the world. Over 5 billion cars have been sold incorporating more than 20,000 different car designs. For all the action playing with the cars comes alive with this pinball machine.

Today this multi-generational franchise is bigger than it’s ever been, and by far the #1 selling toy in the world!*

And now American Pinball is proud to present the first officially licensed HOT WHEELS™ pinball machine. The exciting and fast-paced world of HOT WHEELS™ comes to life under glass, featuring a dazzling array of game play objectives that will keep players of all ages racing back to play again and again.

True fun for the entire family. And, GAD Vending is offering $100 off now through July 4, 2020.

hot-wheels-pinball-machine-flyer-ap

2nd June 2020

Pinball: Run a Casual (or Professional) Pinball Tournament

Pinball: Run a Casual (or Professional) Pinball Tournament https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/stern-playeing.jpg 640 646 Gad Vending Gad Vending https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/stern-playeing.jpg 2nd June 2020 8th June 2020

You may already be running dart tournaments, trivia games off your digital music jukebox, and Golden Tee digital tournaments. Your audience is already competitive and looking for unique experiences, running pinball tournaments is a naturally fun addition.

*The suggestions in this article are general. Make sure you check your local NE, SD, KS, MO or IO laws about gaming, awards and tournament rules before you choose the tournament type and rules that work for you.

Play Control

Try an app like Match Play to control your tournament. Players can enter their score, with you controlling the official approval. You choose the games from head-to-head, round robin, elimination, best score, ladder brackets…. This allows you to run tournaments over time. Change the type of tournament to entertain your audience. And – extend the contest so everyone who wants can participate.

If you want a simple, manual bracket game – try printing a large format bracket. Or use chalkboard paint on a wall and draw or paint a bracket.

Approachable

Think ahead to make the game approachable. Everyone likes to participate and win!

Grand “Prize”
Best Fan Club
Announce winners across your TV screens with AMI Ad Manager
Consolation “prizes” – worse ball, best flipper, etc
Prizes can be money, trophies, medals, gift cards, bar swag (free advertising!), or other prizes

Don’t Drag It Out – But Maybe You Can

Pay attention to how long your tournament will last. You don’t want people to get too bored and leave. Or you can’t finish within last call.

Think about your tournament running over multiple evenings or on a particular week day. Invite players back for a “best of” tournament – along with drink/food specials.

Here’s one real life example from SkyKing2301, Pinside member:

“The last tournament I held was probably more complicated than necessary, but it kept everyone interested (most of whom were just casual / rare players) and they all had a blast. Here was the format I used:

16 people
6 operational pins
First: ‘Mini-tournaments’ on each individual pin
Players randomly broken into two groups of 8
All players play 2 games. (For reasons Bugsy described — sometimes you just have a crap game, or need a chance to figure it out.)
Players with the top 2 scores in each group advance to a semifinal match
Semifinal winners play one more game to determine individual pin champion
Overall Finals: After all 6 pins’ champions are established, each champion then plays one more game on each of the six pins
Champion who wins the most games out of the six is the overall tournament winner!
Tournament winner receives a trophy and a few scratch-off lotto tickets.
High score on each machine gets a scratch-off lotto ticket.
Low score on each machine gets a scratch-off lotto ticket.
Fun is had by all!”

Start Your Own Pinball Tournament

Interested? Looking for more resources?

Call GAD Vending office closest to you or our Omaha office at (402) 553-2812. Our staff has extensive knowledge in tournament resources

29th May 2020

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Coming Soon from Stern

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Coming Soon from Stern https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/tmnt.jpg 2560 1420 Gad Vending Gad Vending https://gadvending.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/tmnt.jpg 29th May 2020 28th May 2020

Reviewed at Kotaku.com: The latest silver ball playground from Stern Pinball is a trio of machines based on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. They’ve got a spinning magnetic pizza. They’ve got a sculpted Turtle Van that can capture up to four balls. They have a floating Krang. They even play the original theme song.

A new licensed video game is nice, but a new licensed pinball game is a glorious convergence of pop culture and precision mechanical and electrical engineering, a monument to play that will one day hold a place of honor in dirty dive bars and dark, dusty arcades. I can almost see the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles machines there now. Read the full review at Kotaku.com.

New TMNT Pinball. Stern Authorized Dealer in NE, IA, KS, MO.