In 2015, we took you on a photo tour of the Museum of Pinball, home to one of the world's largest collections of pinball and arcade games under one roof. Since then, the number of games grew by hundreds; the last official count was "over 1,100."
Sadly, the museum is closing for good (and being replaced by a cannabis-growing operation). An attempt to relocate the museum to Palm Springs, California, failed, and the entire collection of games will be going up for auction soon.
Lead tech for the museum Chuck Casey posted this update:
All deadlines have passed to relocate, obtain a sponsorship, sell to one collector, etc.
Therefore, all the games will be auctioned in the upcoming months.
The official announcement will be forthcoming.
You can bid online and/or in person.
The primary auction will take place in Banning at the Museum of Pinball.
Pins and vids are being sold via auction only. The collection is “locked” for the auction.
We'll miss the museum and the amazing array of games. The auction will be one to watch.
Update Aug 5th 2021: The auction is being organized by Captains Auction Warehouse. Bidding will be held both in person, at the Banning facility in Southern California, and online. All info about how to bid, or just watch the auction, can be found at their website.
Our original post about the museum's opening event follows:
BANNING, Calif.—The weekend of January 16, 2015, was host to the inaugural Southern California Arcade Expo. Featuring over 750 pinball and arcade games, the show was the largest in Southern California's history. Unlike most arcade shows, where the games are brought by volunteers and enthusiasts to share with the general public, the collection is primarily owned by one man, John Weeks, who has spent the last 40 years amassing his horde of games. Weeks also owns the 40,000-square-foot facility where the games are permanently housed and is hoping to make events there happen at least twice a year. The second one is currently scheduled for some time in October.
Despite some minor issues typical of a first-time show, it went off spectacularly, with 3,300 people all enjoying the vast collection of games. There was live music, various styles of tournament play, several seminars, and an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for "most games of pinball being played simultaneously." But most people just came for the games, and we've attempted to document them for you above.
Special thanks to the members of Pinside who donated their photos to help make this gallery possible.
That $150/day price that everyone's referencing was ONLY for the final special event held a few months ago. It was limited to about 20% of normal capacity due to COVID (which had forced the cancellation of the prior year's worth of events). Typical rates were more like $40-50/day depending on length of day, or something like $150 for the entire 3-4 day weekend... but again varied a bit as some events were strictly open play (which even at $75 a day would be a bargain compared to playing anywhere else... and the collection here was unparalleled) and others included entries into tournaments that were being held in addition to the open play. Every event I attended was about as packed as it could get without it being a challenge to play the machines you want-- you'd have to wait on the popular/new stuff for a few minutes, but there were always plenty of open machines. I used to make a 3hr round trip drive there and it was well worth it.
That $150/day price that everyone's referencing was ONLY for the final special event held a few months ago. It was limited to about 20% of normal capacity due to COVID (which had forced the cancellation of the prior year's worth of events). Typical rates were more like $40-50/day depending on length of day, or something like $150 for the entire 3-4 day weekend... but again varied a bit as some events were strictly open play (which even at $75 a day would be a bargain compared to playing anywhere else... and the collection here was unparalleled) and others included entries into tournaments that were being held in addition to the open play. Every event I attended was about as packed as it could get without it being a challenge to play the machines you want-- you'd have to wait on the popular/new stuff for a few minutes, but there were always plenty of open machines. I used to make a 3hr round trip drive there and it was well worth it.
Aurich Lawson
Aurich is the creative director at Ars Technica, where he oversees the look and feel of the site as well as the day-to-day story graphic needs.
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