Here’s the Ticket!
Tower of Tickets will soon be rolling out to the industry as Elaut USA has teamed up with Bay-Tek to build the top earning merchandise dispensing game based on the Knock It off Rotary.

The game is a re-branding of a previous Elaut USA game, Knock It Off, and offers four-player, rotary-style play with round bundles of tickets as the prizes. The factory explained that the inspiration for the re-branded game came from veteran FEC operator and longtime industry columnist Frank Seninsky of Alpha-Omega Amusements, who pioneered the operation of ticket rotaries and helped design the Knock It Off Rotary. Frank also worked with Elaut on the Tower of Tickets.

Of the new manufacturing partnership, Elaut USA top exec Glenn Kramer said: “I’ve never worked with a more professional group than Bay Tek.” The Tower of Tickets is now in production and shipping has begun.

What this Could Mean? It will mean that every FEC and even street locations can make money with this great game for many years to come. Those who have been following the Redemption & FEC Report have known that the Knock It Off Rotary has been the #1 earning merchandise dispensing game in the industry for this past 9 months and has been among the Top 5 overall earning game in the industry for the past 6 months, reaching as high as #2 overall for a couple of weeks. The problem was that the Knock It Off has not been widely manufactured. We can also thank both Michael Green and Mark Horwood of UDC in the UK for moving the project of re-manufacturing the Knock It Off Rotary forward back in September 2014 after following its success in The Redemption & FEC Report.

The Tower of Tickets will show that tickets are still a big attraction and a game with a high hit frequency and fair win% can out earn almost all of the other games ever produced. Sometimes just getting back to basics can earn huge profits. New technology is not the only answer, but old technologies re-configured are also important to our industry’s success. I am proving the same concept with the Ticket Crane and currently working with a well-known manufacturer to create a specially designed ticket crane that every operator can easily use.

Here’s the Ticket!

Amusement Entertainment Management is now offering three new service programs that focus on specific needs for new comers and existing FEC’s. All 3 programs include multiple hourly conference calls, on-going back and forth email communications, and weekly or monthly assignments.

Coaching/Mentoring – 3 Month Program to help new smaller projects put the pieces together to move forward and open a profitable right-sized FEC on a limited budget. One hour conference calls are scheduled for each of the 8 weeks with weekly specific assignments for Client and Coach. Client questions are debated with Coach offering both positive and negative issues so Client can learn to approach every aspect from several different angles and make educated decisions.

GRIP – Game Revenue Increase Program – For existing FEC’s that want to focus on increasing their game revenues and how to operate the games more efficiently. Details of this 12 month program can be viewed by clicking here and include daily interaction with game technicians and weekly analysis of AEM formatted game collection reports.

TRIP – Total Revenue Increase Program – For existing FEC’s that desire to increase total facility revenues and cut costs across the board. This is a 12 month program and includes 5 key measurement areas: revenue generation, operational programming, expense allocation and containment, maintenance/reinvestment budgets, and game revenue increase program.

For more information about each of these AEM programs, email Frank Seninsky directly at [email protected].

There are limited openings available on Frank’s schedule – so email today!

Richard Oltmann lost his long battle with cancer at the age of 72. Over his 55 year industry career he has been responsible for the ideas and designs of more than 40 games that he collaborated on with game manufacturers and at least another 35 that he designed and built at his own company, Family Fun Company, which he started in 2002. As an operator, my company made money with many of these games for a long time: Spin to Win, Speed Demon, After Shock, Basket Fever, Big Shot, Caveman Clobber, Time Out, and my favorite, Pharaoh’s Treasure, a true work horse game that we operate in almost every one of our locations.

Rich motivated and helped me and many others and his passion for our industry just rubbed off on people. He always shared his ideas and I have used many in my own operations and still use them today in articles and presentations. I first met Rich in 2000 at an AMOA Expo and within minutes knew that he was indeed very special. He started in this industry a year after graduating college in 1959 operating games throughout Chicago, in street locations, bowling centers, and amusement parks. The route grew in size to more than 2000 games. Rich then took another direction and opened an outdoor miniature golf course and expanded to go-kart tracks and ended up owning and operating several well-known family entertainment centers, including the world famous 60,000 sq. ft. ‘Enchanted Castle’ in Lombard, IL.

Over the years, Rich has supported Foundations University and we all looked forward to our yearly visit to his Enchanted Castle to see what new attraction and games Rich had added, how the merchandise games and cranes were promoted and be wow’d by the best redemption prize center in the industry. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sit with Rich at least 3-4 times a year from year 2000 and be shown some of his new redemption game ideas and discuss industry issues. This was an honor for me.

I wish I had met Rich 30 years earlier when I started and built my similar games route in the New Jersey area as he might have influenced me to conquer other industry categories. His talents and drive were enormous. The gifts Rich has given to our industry are treasured and we are thankful that they will continue to be passed along to help newcomers be more successful. Perhaps it is fitting for Rich to be remembered as the ‘Triple Crown Work Horse of Redemption’.

Here’s the Ticket!

Since 1959 companies like Dave & Busters have been prohibited from operating in New Jersey because they would be required to obtain both a liquor license and a state amusement game license. New Jersey is currently the only state to have such a ban. The new bill says that both licenses can be permitted and co-mingled if the facility is at least 20,000 sq. ft. and has at least 100 amusement games. Dave & Busters spoke in favor of the bill while Edward McGlynn of the New Jersey Amusement Association (NJAA) that represents the shore arcades spoke in opposition stating that such a change to the law must be done through a state constitutional amendment. The NJAA also lobbied for the 20,000 sq. ft. and 100 games minimum requirements.

What this could mean? Amusement games in New Jersey were ruled illegal in 1957 and were legalized in a 1959 state referendum that paved the way to an amendment to the state constitution. All redemption games and merchandise dispensing games were defined as ‘games of chance’. In all of my research over the past 40 years, I thought that it would take a referendum to open up New Jersey for amusement skill games but the legislature is making changes in small steps and it appears that is the new reality. Should this bill become law, it is a coup for large companies like Dave & Busters because of the 100 game minimum, not too bad for the shore arcade operators, but not good for the smaller and medium-sized general FEC industry. Note that the new Florida amusement game law did not change the 50 game minimum in order to have redemption games.

Perhaps change is best when taken in small steps. By this I mean that having a dozen large facilities in New Jersey over the next few years will most likely lead to future challenges to reduce the minimum 100 game requirement and 20,000 sq. ft. size. We must all realize, that for our industry to survive, the game manufacturers will need to sell their products on a much larger scale than to just the largest FEC’s. Once again we see that the small and medium sized FEC owners/operators are not very well represented (at least not in New Jersey and Florida) and their future is being dictated by other categories of the industry.

Here’s the Ticket!

Video game skills as well as skills developed by playing redemption and other amusement games, may very soon help players gain an edge while playing future casino games. The new Nevada law permits the introduction of arcade-game skill elements to casino gaming machines. According to AGEM (Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers), “This will be the first time that players will know they can have a material financial impact on the outcome of a [legal gambling] game.”

The ‘hold’ requirements for the gaming machines have been increased and also now permitted to be variable, depending on a player’s skill. Many of the new skill elements will most likely be borrowed or licensed from the amusement game and home video game industries, but also include completely new technologies. The law was heavily supported to attract a new generation of young casino players to Nevada casinos in the 21-40 age range. The gaming industry is expected to lobby for similar laws in other states where casino gambling exists and in other states where there is potential.

What this could mean? At first look, it appears that the gaming industry has taken an important step forward in preparing for new ways to attract the younger generation and more of the population that has grown up honing their skills playing video games and traditional amusement games and give them an ‘edge’ to gamble. I have learned a lot of great concepts from the casino industry and am impressed by the research and hard work it took to head in this direction.

For the amusement industry this new law could be rather helpful. Some of the amusement game manufacturers will get involved with gaming manufacturers and have a new source of revenue and access to new ideas and concepts from the gaming industry that will help them create improved amusement games. The FEC’s and street operators will continue to attract a strong base of under 21 age players who are looking forward to ‘going to the big league’ when they reach age 21. The amusement industry will pay closer attention to new skill based innovations introduced by the gaming industry and perhaps be able to transfer it to the amusement industry.

Another plus for the amusement industry is that the casino industry now must be very concerned about existing amusement game regulations and those being proposed in the different states. Adversely worded amusement game legislation could very well hamper the gaming industry’s approach to what type of skill based elements can be incorporated. The laws in different states will have to be rewritten and a new way to define the differences between gaming and amusement games may be required. Perhaps the gaming industry will become more closely aligned with the amusement industry as their fates are now more co-mingled instead of being on opposite sides of the competitive spectrum.

Looking at the potential downside as well, the younger generation’s job earning potential is not very high, considering that almost half of new college graduates are having a hard time finding good paying jobs and many companies are keeping salaries low for starting employees. Perhaps this, and that the edge that their game skills gives them is not enough for the casino industry to retain their frequent visitation. Also, let’s be fair to the older generations who do not possess the playing skills of the younger. If their winning chances are perceived as ‘less’, would not the appeal of gambling be decreased? It is after all, the older generations who currently possess a large majority of the wealth and currently fund the gaming industry. I am not sure how the casino industry can favor one group over the other and maintain the loyalty of both. But they know what they are doing and perhaps they already have a way.

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL VERSION OF THE NEVADA LAW