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Pinball Hall Of Fame

Get the Stern Experience at the Pinball Hall Of Fame

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Vegas Baby! If you ever needed another reason to visit Las Vegas, then Stern Pinball Inc. has you covered!

The new Stern Experience at the famous Pinball Hall Of Fame (we visited the old Pinball Hall Of Fame in 2015) will showcase all the hottest and latest Stern pinball machines featuring the award-winning Insider Connected platform! The Stern Experience will offer players brand new high score leaderboards to compete on, the ability to earn exclusive achievement badges, and participate in exclusive Stern events and tournaments only available in this one-of-a-kind interactive exhibit.

Don’t forget, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!


source: Stern Pinball



The New Pinball Hall Of Fame in Vegas

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We have fond memories of our times in Vegas. Travelling to the US was never complete for us without popping into the desert city to catch a show, fly over Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, and of course, hit the Pinball Hall of Fame (PHoF).

Since our last visit at the Pinball Hall of Fame in 2015, a lot has changed! Pinball Hall of Fame’s Tim Arnold bought a large parcel of land on the strip (4925 Las Vegas Blvd South), which allowed for a huge building to be erected (25,000 square feet to be exact!) to house the many many pinball and arcade machines that the PHoF had in their old location (on and in storage. When we stumbled upon Debbie Courson Smith’s Facebook post about her visit to the new Pinball Hall of Fame, we were quite chuffed to see how far along Tim and his crew had come since we saw an empty lot that long ago.

According to Debbie, this was a soft launch, with the grand opening scheduled for July. Once air travel is safe, we know where we are going again 😉

PS: If you want to see how the old Pinball Hall Of Fame looked like, check out this post.

image source: Debbie Courson Smith via Facebook

 

 

Viva Vintage Las Vegas

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Looking at all the tweets from people attending CES 2017 brings back fond memories of our last trip to Las Vegas back in August 2015. We had visited before (and had a great time), but on this trip we really took a step back in time and had a blast visiting heaps of fantastic vintage attractions.

The Pinball Hall of Fame

The Pinball Hall of Fame is a hidden gem, it’s an enormous 900 square metre, air-conditioned warehouse full of playable vintage pinballs. There are over 150 from the 50s to the 90s, plus a few newer ones and arcade machines for good measure. The Pinball Hall of Fame is run by the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club and profits are donated to the Salvation Army and other non-denominational charities.

Address: 1610 E. Tropicana, Las Vegas NV 89119

Hours: Sun – Thurs: 11am to 11pm, Fri – Sat: 11am to midnight

Cost: Free entry, USD$0.25 – USD$0.75 per game

The Neon Museum

The Neon Museum is a non-profit organisation that collects, preserves and exhibits Las Vegas signs. Visitors can take a guided tour of the Neon Boneyard, an outdoor gallery with over 200 famous signs from the 1930s to present. Tour guides are full of fascinating information about each sign and Vegas history. Tours start in the visitors’ centre housed in the iconic La Concha Motel lobby – an historic shell-shaped building designed by famous architect Paul Revere Williams.

You can also check out the Urban Gallery – restored, working signs on display along Las Vegas Boulevard. It’s free and self-guided, just follow the map.

Address: 770 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas NV 89101

Hours: Neon Boneyard tours (one hour, day and night) seven days a week, times vary seasonally, advance ticket purchase is recommended

Cost: USD$19 day tours, USD$25 night tours

The Toy Shack

You may have spotted the ‘World Famous’ Toy Shack on the History Channel’s ‘Pawn Stars’ – but nothing compares to visiting in person. The relatively small store is packed from floor to ceiling with an awesome collection of vintage toys, mostly from the 80s and 90s. Think Star Wars and Star Trek, Hot Wheels and Matchbox, My Little Pony, Barbie, G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe and more. There are some really special items worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, but there are heaps of great toys priced at just a few dollars too. You can literally spend hours in this wonderful shop. (Also see our full Toy Shack write up).

Address: Neonopolis, 450 Fremont St. , Las Vegas NV 89101

Hours: Mon – Thurs: 10am to 9pm, Fri – Sat: 10am to midnight, Sun: 11am to 7pm

Cost: Free to browse, toys priced for all budgets

The Fremont Street Experience

The Strip is huge and happening, but lacks the old-school charm of the original Vegas entertainment hub. The Fremont Street Experience is a five-block entertainment district in historic downtown Las Vegas. So, what’s there? Viva Vision – the world’s largest video screen (450m x 27m, 12.5 million LED lights) above a bustling pedestrian mall, light shows, live concerts, the SlotZilla zip line and iconic casinos like Binion’s, the Golden Nugget and Main Street Station.

Unique things to see: A piece of the Berlin Wall in the men’s toilet in the Main Street Station Casino, the Shark Tank at the Golden Nugget Casino, the Mob Museum, the vintage slot machines at The D Casino and one million dollars cash on display at Binion’s.

Address: 425 Fremont Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101-5620

Hours: All hours

Cost: Free entry, various prices for different attractions

Photo by vegasexperience.com

Photo by Anne Braly

Photo by Ruth Rieckehoff

Just like Elvis, you’ll wish there were more than the twenty-four hours in the day – Viva Vintage Las Vegas!

(Photos by ausretrogamer unless otherwise stated)

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

 

 

Coming To America

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ComingToNA_HDRIt’s been a while since we had a holiday – our last proper trip was to the Gold Coast (where we spent a lot of time at Timezone Surfers Paradise) almost 2 years ago. So we are well overdue for a vacation!

Although we have been to the US before and visited some great retrogaming tourist attractions (e.g. San Francisco’s Musée Mechanique, the Nintendo World Store in NYC, plus 8Bit & Up and Video Games NY) there are more than enough places left to visit to justify a return trip. This time we will be concentrating on the West Coast.

Los Angeles
ComingToAmerica_DBOnce we hit LA, we do what all tourists do, go on a TMZ Hollywood Tour to check out where the celebs hang out. Also, while in the US, attending a live taping of a show is a must – we will be ticking @Midnight off of our bucket list too (Ed: Hope Stacey Borg will be watching!). And no trip is complete without a feed and gaming session at Dave and Buster’s (in Hollywood).

Anaheim (a.k.a. Disneyland!)
ComingToAmerica_DisneyWhen we think of Anaheim, we think of Disneyland! With a 3-day pass, surely we will get to experience everything that Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park have to offer! Then we’ll hit the Games of the Boardwalk and the ESPN Zone Sports Arena in the Downtown Disney District.

Once we are done with Disneyland, we’ll be checking out the Exodus Escape Room – Sherlock’s Study and Trap Room, and hopefully Video Game Geeks and Phat Collectibles. I get the feeling we should have booked an extra day or two…

Las Vegas
ComingToAmerica_VegasWhat happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! Nah, we don’t subscribe to that saying, we will be happy to share our Vegas experience with you all! I know that Alex is really looking forward to hitting the Pinball Hall Of Fame and then going retro gaming shopping at A Gamer’s Paradise store. We will have to be careful not to exceed our luggage limit!

We will also be packing a heap of coins to check out the casino amusement centres at New York-New York (The Big Apple Roller Coaster and Arcade), MGM Grand (West Wing Bar Arcade Lounge), Excalibur (The Fun Dungeon) and Circus Circus (Midway Arcade). We’ll even hit the arcade and gaming booths at Insert Coin(s) on the old Vegas strip.

Our non-gaming fun will involve the Zombie Burlesque and a tour of the classic Vegas signs at the Neon Boneyard. Last but not least on our Vegas hitlist, is the underground arcade joint, Flipperspiel Wunderland!

Vancouver
ComingToAmerica_VancouverAfter Vegas, we will be venturing across the border into Canada to check out the wonderful city of Vancouver. While researching of the things to see and do, I stumbled upon the Movieland Arcade. I know we are both looking forward to this one.

We will be cramming a fair bit into our short stay in Vancouver, but places like Pub 340 (for some Karaoke fun!), EXP Restaurant and Bar and Golden Age Collectibles are high on our ‘to do’ list. And of course, no trip to Vancouver is complete without going to Gastown for some live music, board games, pool, darts and video games!

Seattle
ComingToAmerica_SeattleLast on our whirlwind trip is beautiful Seattle. We will be getting more silver ball fever by visiting the Seattle Pinball Museum and then hitting the barcades like John John’s Game Room and Vidiot to quench our thirst and unwind with some games.

Our sweet tooth and gaming appetite will surely be satisfied at the quirky Full Tilt Ice Cream parlour. If that isn’t enough, then I reckon a bite and more gaming at Gameworks will satisfy our hunger.

There are a number of cool museums in Seattle, we’re looking forward to visiting the EMP Museum of Music – SciFi – Pop Culture, the Living Computer Museum and the Museum of History and Industry. Maybe we’ll also check out Pike Place Market for some arts and crafts.

A highlight for Alex is sure to be the Boeing Tour, while I’m looking forward to the carnival themed Unicorn & Narwhal bars and the Rock Box Karaoke Rooms and Bar. To finish up, Alex and I will be downing some hot dogs and frosty beers while playing the arcade machines and classic pinball tables at Shorty’s Arcade & Pinball. Oh boy, it will be quite difficult leaving Seattle, but all good things must come to an end. 

Well, there you have it. I didn’t realise our itinerary was so packed with wonderful things to do and see in North America – we both can’t wait to get there! Rest assured, there will be plenty of photos (and maybe a few videos) from the places we visit, so stay tuned (and don’t forget to let us know about other cool places we could visit in these cities)!

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter