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The Spinner Is Lit - Episode 74_Joe Abate_Operator
PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago2 hr 55 min listen
Operator Joe Abate shares his journey to becoming a location owner.
Highlights
- Joe Abate is opening Playfield Sports and Games in downtown Reno (235 Lake Street) with 15-17 pinball machines, video games, full kitchen, and full bar
- Theater of Magic was Joe's gateway pinball game that got him into the hobby around 2003-2004
- Joe's first owned pinball machine was Whirlwind, followed by Data East Star Wars, which he still owns with a custom playfield
- Joe learned laser disc and arcade game repair in late 1990s-early 2000s from old-timers like Duncan (Seattle) and Franz (Tennessee)
- Joe was hired by a technician to fix a stuck flipper coil on his Star Wars around 2007-2008, but the repair failed after a month with no warranty
- Joe's grandfather and grandmother ran liquor stores in San Francisco after Prohibition and operated pinball machines in their stores
- Mike Lafreda, a local Reno operator, will run IFPA tournaments at Playfield Sports and Games
- Joe believes operators must focus on hospitality and understand that games are 'the gimmick' to profitability, not the sole focus
Notable quotes
“I sell nostalgia. That's what I do.”
“Theater of Magic... if you say video games, I'm going to say Dragon Slayer. When people ask me what's the game that really got me into pinball, it's going to be Theater of Magic.”
“I paid him $300, $400... it blew up again. And he said, well, none of my work's warrantied. And that I said, I can do this, and I can learn to fix this.”
“If the experience, if I can bring that experience to play field sports and games, then I've done my job. Then I've created the environment and the vision that's in my head.”
“Pinball is still kind of segregated from, like, video games. Like, even as an operator, I try to keep the pinball area with the pinballs and the video game area because it is a very different scene.”
“anybody can go get a bunch of investors and get a bunch of money and buy a bunch of stuff and get a liquor license and throw it in a row. but you have to really like you said Dan I'm still a kid of the 80s”
Entities
- California Extreme· event
- Data East Star Wars· game
- Dragon's Lair· game
- Mad Dog McCree· game
- Theater of Magic· game
- Whirlwind· game
- Reno Aces· organization
- Clay Calgill· person
- Dan· person
- Duncan· person
- Franz· person
- Joe Abate· person
- Mark· person
- Mike Lafreda· person
- Paige· person
- Pat Lawlor· person
- Rob Anthony· person
- Spencer· person
- TJ Scott Evans· person
- Playfield Sports and Games· product
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