Operator Interface: The How & When of 2010

The operator's business plan is at best a mostly clear-cut map of the future. More critically, it's a ready-made contingency plan for the unknown and a method of prioritizing a company's needs and initiatives. “Your business plan should be one that is conservative but have reasonable assumptions from one year to three years to five years," said Firestone Financial's Jim Hines at the financial tools seminar during the AMOA Expo last September.

As 2009 dwindles, all economic signs indicate further need to strategically shore up business as the recession wears on into the new year. What areas are you focused on to grow or at least maintain your amusement firm in 2010, as well as to better prepare for success when the economy rebounds? Whether it's diversification, new product, administration practices or other factors, share the ways you're keeping your bottom line ensured. Your responses may be selected for inclusion in the December 2009 issue of RePlay.

Operator Interface: Gaming On?

Illinois’ legalization of video gaming requiring operator involvement has given renewed fire to other state operator associations' push for similar legislation in response to state budget crises. Ohio has approved gaming at racetracks. A measure newly hammered out in Pennsylvania authorizing video gaming units in bars and taverns is awaiting consideration by the legislature. Pollsters report that 79% of most likely voters in North Carolina say their state should regulate and tax video gaming to provide money for education — one of many causes being championed in by The Entertainment Group of North Carolina, a lobbying group of operators and related businesses.

At the same time, debates have been revived about the pursuit of gaming vis a vis society’s well-being, making for sometimes tricky uphill battles. As expressed by an amusement operator and trade leader in RePlay’s March 2009 Operator Interface, “I would like to see the gambling initiative get ratcheted down. It’s not a way to build a country by getting money from gambling. It’s a very bad idea.” But more lawmakers' "desperate times necessitate desperate measures" attitudes are increasingly receptive to the operators' rallying cry, "A crisis is a terrible thing to waste."

Are you or your association pushing for video gaming in your state? Where does your state association stand in advancing similar agendas, or is operator-run video gaming politically unfeasible? What’s the conventional wisdom regarding gambling in your territory? How do you feel about the possible proliferation of gaming personally and as an operator?

Operator Interface: ATMs in Action

ATMs have played an increasingly greater role in the amusement route operator's offerings to locations and in collected revenues. Equipment providers are now standard and expected exhibitors at tradeshows, showing their latest and greatest wares. Whether you've operated cash dispensers for many years or a few months, RePlay wants to know what propelled you to operate them, your experiences maintaining them in the field, and the benefits and concerns they bring to your business.

Is security an increased concerned when servicing them? Do you split the fee with the location? Has the economy influenced cash withdrawals and fees? What advice would you give to others entertaining their implementation?

Your input may be selected for publication in our forthcoming September 2009 issue.

Operator Interface: Distribution Down South

This summer marks major changes in the distribution landscape of the Southeast. In the wake of Greater Southern closing its doors and Birmingham Vending shuttering its Florida branch, Betson and Brady Distributing have quickly positioned themselves to seize the regional marketplace.

Betson just opened its 12th office -- its first branch to serve the region -- in Marietta, Ga., supplying product to its new home state, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas, along with promotional deals for product from Raw Thrills, Chicago Gaming and Jennison Entertainment, among other factories they represent. In an interesting twist, David Capilouto, former co-president of Greater Southern, will manage the branch.

Meanwhile, Brady -- the dominant southern distributor headquartered in Charlotte with offices in Memphis, Orlando and Miami -- seeks greater penetration of their territory by also centralizing an office, still yet to open, in the Atlanta area. They will be the exclusive provider of Valley product for Georgia and Alabama and a host of other games, including the ICE line.

What role does distribution play for your business in light of the tier's consolidation and regional players branching into broader territories? How have your business decisions been influenced by these developments? Can the combined forces of these particular distributors, the national titan and the existing institution, cultivate growth potential for coin-op amusements in the South?

Operator Interface: On-Location Advertising

On-location advertising platforms are the newest offerings for locations by operators. TouchTunes' Barfly; Ecast's IQ; Tap.tv, which has partnered with Rowe and Merit; and Rivals Media, a group of nine distributors that recently partnered up to bring forth On Site, are banking that their customizable networks will grow from a buzz to a trend.

Before this development, flatscreen TVs in bars and taverns were sometimes seen as counterproductive to coin drop. Now they're a potentially promising revenue stream for operators from third-party advertisers wanting to get their name out, as well as for a clever motor for driving the location's business.

Have you implemented a customizable media solution to your locations and their patrons, or do you plan to? Do you think the service is a viable addition to your menu of services? Which of the three systems do you think excels in its features? Advertise your thoughts, and your opinions may be selected for including in the next issue of RePlay Magazine.

Operator Interface: Preparing FECs for Summer Lovin'

Only several months away is the hotly anticipated summer season, traditionally bringing higher traffic and warmer profits to FECs. To capture the full potential of the summertime market, however, changes in how amusement goods are offered is in order. How are you preparing your facility to entice out-of-school kids and families looking for daycation options? What new promotions, policies and ideas can be set in motion to put a fresh spin on attractions, creating the sensation of new experiences within a favorite familiar location? In what ways could the public's concern over the economic downturn be capitalized on by emphasizing the cost-effectiveness of FEC fun? Share your plan of attack for getting customers out of the house, through your doors, on your games and at points of sale, opening their wallets again and again.

Operator Interface: Coin-Op's Next Frontier?

New and innovative product with improved return on investment: that's the biggest need that amusement operators continue to express to RePlay. As part of our mission to increase open dialogue between operator and manufacturer tiers, share what specific developments you would like to see come from factories to enliven coin-op's sales and image. What technological advances would you like to see play a role? What kind of thinking is needed on both sides of the coin to not just deliver new and improved product for the 21st-century consumer but to market them as well?