Shows not being profitable is a choice.
We produce the shows for peoples enjoyment, we are a 100% volunteer run , non-profit 501c3 registered organization, we make zero money, we don't take any money home, its not about profit.
the more shows and pop-up arcades hurt shows, when I started doing this 7+ years ago, there was zero places to go play pinball and arcades at, now there is at least 6 in just Orlando.
Player One
Bart
Pinball Lounge
(a new one opening in Pinball Loung area ) Arcade Monsters
Rumor has it a new pinball place opening up @ Artegon by Dezer ( same Dezer as Miami Pinball )
Joysticks
Outside of Orlando:
Arcade odyssey
Miami Pinball ( not closing, but "re-branding" )
Arcade Game Sales ( they have monthy events ) ... not really a "location" but a place to play games.
Del-ray Pinball Museum
Purple Rain Cafe ( not open yet )
Cafe One
the 10+ pizza joints Cody has games in.
Rec Room arcade+bar ( riverside, jax )
Flippin Great Pinball
Replay Museum
Lowry Parcade
Vector ( not open yet ~ slated for April?)
Little Shop of Games Wesley Chapel.. ( you can play pinball there, but you should be there to buy and not pound on machines )
Winter Park Pinball( not open yet ~ slated for March ?)
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A lot of these places didn't exist pre-Gamewarp/SPF , Some of them were starting to open or just had opened, but a lot of them are collector driven and have dried up the available of staff and people being able to bring games to a show.
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Running a show is not a profit generating experience, if you take the number of man hours the crew put into the show into the amount of net proceeds, i think we would make less than a dollar an hour. We do it for the love, to allow people to enjoy unique games you don't see everyday and the entertainment and talks. ( things the above can' do ) and allow parents to share the experience with their kids which we hope educates and teaches the history of amusement gaming making it a family experience to help get the younger generation into gaming outside of their cell phone.