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#36 The Jersey Shore - The Classic Pinball Podcast

PodcastAnalysis updated 2d ago56 min listenBy George
From the creator

In this episode George revisits his childhood by interviewing David Scarpa, the author of the book Beyond Playland. His family owned Playland arcade in North Lavallette NJ for almost 3 decades...

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Highlights

  • Playland Arcade was founded by David Scarpa's father and Carmen Frida in 1957 in Lavalette, New Jersey on Route 35 North.
  • Pinball machine cost a nickel to play in the 1950s, then 10 cents, then a quarter by the 1980s.
  • Pole Position, a sit-down driving game, was the highest-earning game in Playland's history.
  • The ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) ordered Playland to remove crane and digger games in the mid-1980s because they were classified as gambling, but reversed the decision the following year.
  • Playland closed in 1985–1986; the building was demolished and replaced with condos.
  • David Scarpa's father owned not only Playland Arcade but also the adjacent miniature golf course and a house on the corner, controlling an entire block frontage on Route 35 North.
  • After Playland closed, David Scarpa moved some games to the Village Arcade in Ocean Beach Unit 2, which he operated briefly before the landlord issues ended the operation.
  • The host worked for Mundial International Corporation, a Gottlieb pinball distributor on Springfield Avenue in Union, New Jersey, assembling and refurbishing machines.
  • Randy Sano opened arcade operations in Wildwood featuring games from Playland, including the arm wrestling game, metal stamping machine, and basketball shooting game.
  • Randy Sano attempted to open an arcade museum in a repurposed Woolworth's store in Wildwood but faced regulatory opposition because arcades must be on the boardwalk; he has been in legal/regulatory dispute with Wildwood for approximately 15 years.

Notable quotes

“I remember a kid used to come in and play silver and then the kid would come in in the morning and leave in the dinner time because he would never lose he just kept winning and winning so my father said to me what's going on there? why did that kid never lose? I said well the tilt is not working”
David Scarpa
“What do you consider the biggest earning game in the history of Playland? ...the game that made more money than any other game in playland history was a sit-down driving game called pole position”
David Scarpa
“The ABC came in and told us that we had to take out the cranes and the diggers because they were gambling and the funny thing was that the following year after Playland was gone, they decided that the cranes and the diggers were going to be allowed”
David Scarpa
“I worked for a godly pinball machine distributor and the funny thing is right up the street from where I was was a company called H. Betty Industries, which was also known as Betson, who distributed Williams and Bally pinball machines.”
Host
“Somebody's got to collect this information so it stays out there and people know what it was like back in the day. I know it's an overused phrase, but seriously, it's part of Americana that's kind of faded.”
Host
“I coached football for 25 years... I was coaching in Tom's River South, and we had a play brick, which we lost to most of the time, but I remember the town having a big party when we finally did beat brick.”
Host
“Eventually, he opened up some Fascination games I like to stop you and interrupt there because that is foreign to a lot of people... Can you tell the audience a little bit about that game and Randy?”
Host
“I had, you know, worked there for 20 years for my father. and I even went to school and stuff to learn how to fix the games and this and that, anticipating that it would be my arcade at some point in life. But the best made plans of mice and men, they don't always work out the way you plan them.”
David Scarpa

Entities

  • H. Betty Industries (Betson)· company
  • Mundial International Corporation· company
  • Atari Pong· game
  • Bali Soccer Game· game
  • Dragon's Lair· game
  • Firepower· game
  • Missile Command· game
  • Pole Position· game
  • Rotary Merchandiser by Exhibit Supply· game
  • Scientific Batting Practice· game
  • Silver and Dancing Dolls· game
  • Space Invaders· game
  • Williams Baseball Games· game
  • Brick Dragons· organization
  • Tom's River South· organization
  • Carmen Frida· person
  • David Scarpa· person
  • Host· person
  • Randy Sano· person
  • Warren Wolf· person
  • Fun Spot· venue
  • Playland Arcade· venue
  • Village Arcade· venue

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