Lite news från R.G.P:
R.G.P-trådWay out West, where tumbleweeds blow down the barren streets of a small
town called LAS VEGAS, a group of pinball collectors has banded
together to open SHITLOADS OF PINBALLS, the last real arcade in
America.
We signed a lease on Thursday Oct. 26th, and have been ripping out
walls, bathrooms, and floors non stop since then. The location is 3330
E. Tropicana. This is 33 blocks EAST of the corner of the strip and
Tropicana. There are some dumpy old casinos there, MGM, Excalibur and
Newerk, Newerk. It is located in a shopping center on the corner of
Trop and Pecos, just blocks from the BIG HIT SHED! It is 5 store
fronts, all will be connected by wall removal. Plenty of parking, and
best of all RIGHT NEXT TO A THEATER! The only 2 dollar theater in a
town of almost 2 million lost and damned souls. The size is 48 feet 6
inches by 91 feet. That's a whopping 4400 square feet. The plan is to
put in 7 rows of games, each row 31 games long. One row must be video
games and novelties 36 inches or less, the other 6 will be pinball,
each row dedicated to an era of game. The Bogart fire marshall has
demanded 2 end walls be open, so art and history displays can bemounted
on these.
Many of you who have listened to us ramble on for years about BUYING a
building must be asking "What happened to buying a building?" The short
version of what happened is, we got our weenies stuck in the Real
Estate boom in Vegas. 5 years ago, we could have bought a whole
shopping center for 1 to 2 million, now they are 4 to 5 million.
Meanwhile, rents in Vegas have not budged AT ALL in several years.
Speculation has driven up prices to the point where it is cheeper to
rent.
You may also remember all the pleeding, begging and selling of raffle
tickets and video tapes we did to con all you suckers out of dough. The
total as of today in our Building Fund stands at $355,600.00. Fear not
flipper fans. We have a plan! Put the building Fund into a bond or bond
fund that pays interest, and use the interest to lay off part of the
rent. If we get enough money in the building Fund, ALL of the rent
could be paid for. It's the same as owning a building, just that the
capital sits in a bond, not in a deed.
Here is the straight dilly-o. Space was a dollar a foot. CAMS were a
quarter. Total out the door price was 1.25 foot. X 4500 Sq. Ft. = 5625
a month. Electric is budgeted at 1000 a month. Insurance and phone is
400 a month. Round it all up and park it in the garage for 7 grand a
month. That's 1650 a week.
But it gets better! Put 300,000 in a bond at 8 percent, that spins off
2000 a month in interest. Also, as part of the deal, our club gets to
kick out the vendor in the lobby of the theater and PUT IN OUR GAMES!
Right now, these games, all old and ratty and busted, are earning 1000
a month. That brings it up to 3000 clams. Then, there are the other
games we have out on the street all over Vegas pulling in coins. 800 a
month. Shaggy and Norm keep talking about making new tapes, that would
bring in more. Figure 4000 easy out of the 7000 before we even open the
doors. Then there is all the branded crap we intend to sell to tourists
and pinheads. Shirts, hats, yo-yo's and monogrammed toast. Then, there
are the quarters that go into the games, or sale of free play keys for
all you can play. We might actually break even or earn a little.
Labor will be provided by members of the Secret Society of the
Sub-basement, a splinter group of local pinball FANATICS who will work
endless hours for no pay. Advertising will be all word of mouth and
loads of free news stories on the local media, most of which are our
zombie slaves ready to spew out the company line. Hours of operation
will be late morning till the last show gets out at the theater around
11PM. 7 fun filled days a week. Private parties and groups can rent
free play keys and play all they want for a flat price per head.
(Mutants pay for both heads). No coked food, just sealed containers of
soft drinks and packaged grocerys, chips and candy. This way, we avoid
the hassle of resturant kitchen- snackbar.There is a nice bar right
next door, so if you want to drink, go over there.
We will be finished with the demolition by the end of this weekend.
Then it is into the bottomless vortex of county beuro-crats to get
inspected, molested and permitted. They say you are supposed to be out
in 45 days, but with the holidays falling right in the middle of this,
I am not holding my breath.
How can you help? We need MONEY! Big piles of cash to raise the
building fund to the point where we break even. At some point in the
near future, not right now, we will offer memberships to the pinball
community. You can get your name on a plaque, a brick, a toilet or a
wall in exchange for your support. You will also get a newsletter
delivered by e-mail, bursting with pinfun, and special offers on logo
products. Save up your dubloons me buckos, as soon as we open, you can
set sail with the Pinball Pirates!
Because of all the intense time presure of getting this thang opened,
there will be no booth at the Pinball Alpo (The only pinball show that
makes it's own gravy) in Chicago this year. I will be giving my seminar
VIA VIDEO TAPE, giving a tour of the new facility and showing naughty
pictures of what we hope it will look like. If you happen to be in
Vegas between now and the time we open, and want to wander around an
empty store, call me for a tour.
