I recently had visited the Pinball Hall of Fame to take one last look at the old location before it moved. It has now officially moved to its new location at 1610 E. Tropicana Avenue just west of Spencer. I went there Wednesday night to check it out. It’s still on the north side of the street, but instead of being tucked away in a mall, it has its very own building. There were about thirty people there the night before Thanksgiving, representing a variety of ages. The PHoF at the old location was the best place on the planet to play pinball, and now in the new location it is even better.
****Update, April 15, 2021: Actually, the Pinball Hall of Fame has moved again! This time to an even larger building, with lots of parking on the LAS VEGAS STRIP. There are even more machines available for play, the new building, at 25,000 square feet, is twice the size of the one on E. Tropicana Avenue. The new address is 4925 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas NV 89119. The Pinball Hall of Fame is now located adjacent to the world famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.
While I was there I tried out “Banzai Run” which is an interesting pinball machine. If you hit the the right targets, the ball is magnetically lifted into the vertical back where a second set of flippers allows you to play a quick (in my case, very quick) vertical pinball game.
The new building can hold more machines than the old location. It looks like all 200 pinball machines have been moved from the mall at Pecos. However, there is currently some empty space for more. It’s fantastic now, but it should be truly amazing when all the pinball machines are finally installed!
Photo by Michael H. Dickman
The new location has a higher ceiling and airier feel, too. Someone was working outside on the front of the building when I was there, so it will probably have a different look soon. The Pinball Hall of Fame has gotten a great new home, and Tim Arnold and the volunteers who make everything work at the PHoF are to be congratulated. The PHoF is open daily 11AM to 11PM, except on Christmas when the hours will be 4PM to midnight.
There’s a lot of parking, too. I think that’s important, because when the world finds out how great the new PHoF is, it’s going to get mobbed on a regular basis. I noticed that there’s temporary sign on the outside of the building. I guess it wouldn’t be worth the money, but I can’t help hoping the permanent sign will be a flashy neon pinball wonder.
Wow, a neon pinball sign — wouldn’t that be great! One can dream, anyway.
Did you notice if they have “Gator” by Bally? I used to own that one myself.
Steve, I think I remember playing Gator years ago. I don’t recall seeing it at the PHoF and it’s not on the website list of games at http://www.pinballmuseum.org/games.php either. If they do have it in storage, perhaps it will be moved there later.