Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame Grand Tour (July 2024)

[MajesticPinball]

During my recent trip to Las Vegas I made sure I had time to visit the new Hall of Fame just South of the strip, a pretty remarkable (yet troubled) location housing 360+ pins and that is without counting all of the other miscellaneous games too, wouldn't surprise me if there were 450+ total machines there. Looking at reviews online there tends to be a lot of negative remarks about the place, my objective here was to produce a video as optimistic, and as realistic as I could. So hopefully this will give you all a better look inside Tim Arnolds pinball paradise!

 

[MajesticPinball]

Of course I oggled over all of the Gottliebs I had never played before during my visit so apologies for only really taking pictures of Gottliebs but here are some pictures to give you an idea of the place

 

[Tucks]

How did you find the place?

Was Pinball Circus working? (haven't watched the video yet)

 

[Tucks]

Great VLog James.

As I suspected, Pinball Circus wasn't working. I think Neil said it was also off when he went too.

Interesting to see a Bugs Bunny and a WORKING Thuderbirds.

Surprised they didn't have a Space Invaders or Hercules there.

Did you have a go at the Sex Tester? Not sure how much sex you'd get for a dollar.

It looked like more games were off than were on. A real shame as they might have to change the name to Museum soon.

 

[Gary Flower]

It's hard to keep all the games running when you rely on volunteeers of variable ability.

I know people from the UK community have attended and worked as volunteers (including me!).

I think the people visiting should consider it a museum where you can get hands experience of about half the exhibits and a free exhibition of all the exhibits.

 

[Tucks]

I wasn't having a dig and apologies if it read that way.

I know it's incredibly hard to keep these games running and I take my hat off to anyone that can. They spent a lot of money on the site and hopefully they can keep it running. I'm planning to visit later this year.

 

[Gary Flower]

It didn't come across as a 'dig'.

I think it's about managing expectations.

Too many negative reviews assume that it's a modern, commercial arcade and expect all the games should be working.

Most of the games are over 40 years old and we're never expected to be running so long after being made.

I think your vid is a great filip for Tim's achievement.

Thank you.

 

[Gary Flower]

It didn't come across as a 'dig'.

I think it's about managing expectations.

Too many negative reviews assume that it's a modern, commercial arcade and expect all the games should be working.

Most of the games are over 40 years old and we're never expected to be running so long after being made.

I think James's vid is a great filip for Tim's achievement.

Thank you.

 

[MajesticPinball]

How did you find the place?

Was Pinball Circus working? (haven't watched the video yet)

I enjoyed it, there was a lot there that I wanted to play, most of which was working - there were only a few disappointments. I thought it was a pretty incredible building, the aircon was amazing in the 47° heat we had that week!

 

[lukewells]

I've been going to PHOF since the old, old building at the cinema.

I usually go over 2-3 weeks and will visit multiple times in that time period, so you will usually see games that were broken in the first week are fixed and working in the second week, and games that are now newly broken, but it's not like they are just being ignored forever, they just fix them as they can get round to them with the limited volunteer staff.

Looking at google reviews, almost all of the negative reviews are people complaining that they are not allowed to let their kids run wild in there anymore

Personally I think it's one of the best places in the universe to play pinball. Huge selection of rare games, never too overcrowded, cheap prices!

 

[MajesticPinball]

I've been going to PHOF since the old, old building at the cinema.

I usually go over 2-3 weeks and will visit multiple times in that time period, so you will usually see games that were broken in the first week are fixed and working in the second week, and games that are now newly broken, but it's not like they are just being ignored forever, they just fix them as they can get round to them with the limited volunteer staff.

Looking at google reviews, almost all of the negative reviews are people complaining that they are not allowed to let their kids run wild in there anymore

Personally I think it's one of the best places in the universe to play pinball. Huge selection of rare games, never too overcrowded, cheap prices!

Yeah I've been looking at more reviews and it definitely just seems to be butt-hurt families complaining that their kids can't run rampant

I really enjoyed my time there, was probably there around 4 hours and only spend $30 and still has a few quarters left over at the end so it's excellent value for money.

Looking forward to seeing what they add on the future

 

[Will2.0]

Did you catch the pinballs in that epic trainer shop in caesars palace?
Also area 15 had loads of pins and vids all the vids 25c a play

I drove past the hall of fame in the Uber on the way to the airport last week completely forgot it was there
Went to the old site years ago pin circus was working and very underwhelming

 

[MajesticPinball]

Did you catch the pinballs in that epic trainer shop in caesars palace?
Also area 15 had loads of pins and vids all the vids 25c a play

I drove past the hall of fame in the Uber on the way to the airport last week completely forgot it was there
Went to the old site years ago pin circus was working and very underwhelming

Yeah I did amazingly, walked straight past that shop and did a double take and was like "wait a minute... There's a Rick and Morty in there!!" They had 4 pins and a few random other arcade games too!

 

[Will2.0]

Yeah I did amazingly, walked straight past that shop and did a double take and was like "wait a minute... There's a Rick and Morty in there!!" They had 4 pins and a few random other arcade games too!

Such a cool shop isn’t it , I stupidly asked about prices on a few of the trainers and I thought pins were expensive

 

[MajesticPinball]

Such a cool shop isn’t it , I stupidly asked about prices on a few of the trainers and I thought pins were expensive

I didn't even look at the trainers, dread to think how much they were. I made a move straight for the pins, and ran out as soon as I was done

 

[Ryker]

I went to the PHOF last year and I thought it was an incredible place. Yes there are a few machines not working but there were still loads to play. The wife went off to do some shopping and I had a few very happy hours playing. Thoroughly recommend for anyone going to Vegas.

 

[Taxiturn]

Just had a chance to watch your video; really cool to be able to see the place beyond the Pinside threads. Could easily see myself spending two days and a couple of hundred dollars in there if I had the chance!

 

[MajesticPinball]

Just had a chance to watch your video; really cool to be able to see the place beyond the Pinside threads. Could easily see myself spending two days and a couple of hundred dollars in there if I had the chance!

Its amazing how long your money lasts there, I played for around 4 hours and had a little change left out of $30.... It's the strips biggest bargain!

 

[stationfire]

Added to watch later tonight, thanks for posting it. I very much enjoyed my visit several years ago at the previous location regardless of some games not working (pinball circus was, and was an unusual blast). A lot of negative posts on pinside, but I loved it.

 

[MajesticPinball]

Added to watch later tonight, thanks for posting it. I very much enjoyed my visit several years ago at the previous location regardless of some games not working (pinball circus was, and was an unusual blast). A lot of negative posts on pinside, but I loved it.

Let me know your thoughts once you've checked it out. I enjoyed it there, was interesting to see a lot of the less-common games set up, obviously the games could be maintained better but I really don't think it deserves the endless negativity that it seems to get online.

 

[stationfire]

Let me know your thoughts once you've checked it out. I enjoyed it there, was interesting to see a lot of the less-common games set up, obviously the games could be maintained better but I really don't think it deserves the endless negativity that it seems to get online.

Lengthy gap - it was bittersweet for me to see how it was when you visited. I completely understand that Tim has to run this as a business/charitable endeavour and is very successful at it. The sheer number of machines down was sad to see, however, I keep reminding myself that the age of machines and quantity make it inevitable. That being said, I do think an enclosed area for maintenence away from general visibility would help with the aesthetics. In reality though, it does seem that there are simply too many for the technicians to keep on top of..
That may seem negative, don't get me wrong though; I would visit again in a heartbeat regardless. These places need to be supported, and thank you so much for taking the time to record, edit and post it. I really enjoyed it, and essentially it made me want to visit again..