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LBX Collective
The LBX Show #37 - D&B New CEO, Hyperbole, ROLLER's Pulse Report, and more!
Sponsored by Intercard!
On this week's episode BW extends News You Should Know to discuss the new leadership at Dave & Buster's, the overuse of hyperbolic language to hype entertainment concepts, and the struggles of free-play arcades without strong monetization models among other topics.
• IAAPA Foundation FEC Scholarship offers $2,500 to cover expo costs, education, and accommodation for students or employees in attractions industries
• Roller's new "Pulse Report" provides insights from 2,000 guests across three continents, highlighting that 80% of visitors value unique experiences
• Dave & Buster's appoints Tarun Lal as CEO, bringing 25 years of QSR experience from Yum Brands amid declining same-store sales
• Entertainment venues using hyperbolic marketing language create unrealistic expectations, with venues claiming to "make Universal Studios look like a playground"
• Park Golf, a Japanese sport gaining traction in the US, requires minimal space with holes maxing at 100 meters, making it potentially viable for outdoor entertainment venues
• The struggle of free-play arcades continues, as demonstrated by Highest Score Arcade in Salisbury requesting donations to stay open
• Crane arcades appear to be reaching market saturation in certain areas, with some already closing
• Mattel bringing Uno to the competitive socializing space with Uno Social Club at Palms Casino Resort, with plans for expansion to New York, Chicago, and more cities
All right. Well, welcome everybody to the LBX show for July 20th 2025. I'm your host, Brandon Wiley, and you know we've got a really simple show lined up for you today. We're going to kick things off with a bit of an extended news, you should know, because you know what we got time. We got time. So I'm going to do a little bit of talking and then we're going to roll into an open and shut with Kevin Williams and we're going to learn about the latest openings and trends and closings and we're going to have some good discussion and then we're going to wrap it up. That's it.
Speaker 1:Everybody's kind of on summer vacation, wrapping things up before the end of the summer, people going back to school already, which is crazy, by the way. I don't remember, actually, I know for a fact that I never went back to school in July. School was always like either right after Labor Day or it was like the end of August, but now, shit, your kids are going back to school already next week. So, anyway, everybody's getting all their good fun stuff wrapped up before that ends up. So you know, we've got a nice easy show today, all right. So, that being said, let's dive into some news you should know. All right.
Speaker 1:So first up, we're going to talk about the what do we got here? The IAPA Foundation FEC Scholarship 2025. So, like we've talked about this the last couple of weeks and you know, just if you didn't listen to the show last week or the week before then, I just want to make sure you know that this is out there, because this is really important and a really big opportunity, and you only really have about another couple of weeks before this entry application timeframe ends. And you know what it is is. Basically, the IAPA Foundation is providing a scholarship to either students or employees that are currently studying or working in the attractions or entertainment industries. It doesn't matter the role, it doesn't matter what you're studying specifically, just that you're in this industry, and it's a value of about $2,500. And that covers all of your expo costs, it covers extra education, it covers access to the FEC lunches and some other educational events, as well as then, obviously, access to the trade show floor, and then it also covers your room and lodging whatever's remaining up to that $2,500. So it's a really cool opportunity and it's pretty straightforward. Submission and the letter of recommendation is required either from your employer or your instructor, one of your professors and then a resume and a CV and look, if you're an employee and you don't have a lot on your CV, that's okay. I mean, that's the point of this scholarship. So, anyway, if you haven't had a chance to and you are considering doing this, or you know somebody in the industry that would be interested in attending the expo, I highly recommend it. If you want, if you're involved in this industry, I really recommend that you do this thing. So, anyway, you can apply. You just Google IAPA FEC scholarship 2025, and it'll come up. It'll come up in Google and you can click on that link and take you right to the application area. So that is that's what we got on that front, okay.
Speaker 1:Next up, there's a new report out there. This is the RollerPulse report, and if you follow any of the news at all, you've probably come across some different publications. They've really done quite a bit of press release information about this, but the RollerPulse report is ultimately. First of all, if you're not familiar with Roller, they're the ticketing, crm, point of sale platform. They call themselves a guest experience platform and so, anyway, they've basically brought together insights from visitors to attractions around the globe and they are calling it the crystal ball for your strategy. Ok, all right, that's fine. That's like a little press release for me, but you know we'll get into press release words and terms later on news. You should know I might have a little bit of a rant on that front. So anyway, call it your crystal ball, if you want, or just call it a really useful document. It is. It is lengthy but I highly recommend digging in. It's about 60 pages long. Obviously there's insights you can glean and pull from.
Speaker 1:A. Blue loop actually has done a really good interview with Luke and then their head of product as well. Luke Finn is their CEO and then their head of product, who is also interviewed on the Blue Loop article, and they kind of break down some of the key insights. And in fact we're actually going to have somebody I don't know if we'll have Luke on the show next week, but we are going to have somebody from the Roller team to talk about the Pulse report on one of our guest gap segments. So we will actually be able to dive into the results and insights of this report. You know, one of those, for example, is one of the things they identified is to be unique. So it means 80% of guests feel they get exceptional value for money when they experience something unique. So whatever you're doing right Like, if it's, if you're just going to be doing the same thing over and over, well then maybe you may not be like what consumers are currently looking for, based on the type of feedback and insights that were gleaned from this Pulse report. The Pulse report basically pulls insights from 2,000 guests across three different continents, and so it is. You know it is not a small report. They did really pull in a lot of insights from a lot of different consumers, so that is the Roller Pulse report. They did really pull in a lot of insights from a lot of different consumers, so that is the Roller Pulse Report. If you haven't had a chance to find this yet again, you can just go to Google, type in Roller Pulse Report and it'll come up with both the Blue Loop article, which is actually interestingly above the Roller website, and then it'll have the Pulse Report that you can fill out, a little form, put in your information and then you'll get a link to download the Pulse report. So I highly recommend checking that out. But we'll have a guest gab next week about this and looking forward to sharing a little bit more information and learning a little bit more about this report as well.
Speaker 1:All right, next up, we've got some news on Dave and Buster. So, as some of you may know that they've had an interim CEO for a while, so Kevin Sheehan, who is the interim CEO. He took over when Chris Morris left in December and Kevin Sheehan will still remain chairman of the board. But they've got a new CEO now and I've got his little picture up here. This is Tarun Lal, I think I'm saying that, right, tarun Lal or Lal what? Anyway, he's their new CEO. He, I'm saying that, right, tarun Lal or Lao what? You know everybody, he's their new CEO. He's effective this last week, july 14th, and you know he's got 25 years of experience at Yum Brands.
Speaker 1:Those of you who are not familiar with Yum Brands, they are a they're a quick service restaurant, so QSR restaurant group of different brands and chains. So, for example, you know, kfc, it is Pizza Hut and Taco Bell these are all parts of the Yum brand chain, which I believe Yum brands used to be owned by Pepsi. I should verify that, but that might still be the case. But anyway, yum brands is. So he's recently served as the president of KFC for the last three years, and so they are bringing him on and you know what they think he's going to be instrumental in turning things around. They have investors, which is needed because obviously they've had same store sales declining for several quarters their fiscal quarter in 2025, their fiscal quarter in 2025, the comparable sales were down 8.3%, which is not great, but it is an improvement from the 9.4% decline that they had in Q4 of last year. So, you know, and they're making improvements of declining less. So that's good and hopefully this guy can come in and turn it around.
Speaker 1:You know they say they went through a comprehensive search. They are looking to bring on a talented leader, a seasoned operator. Tarun is a talented leader and a seasoned operator with a highly successful track record of growing and improving businesses and brands in the US and around the world. We are confident he will have an immediate impact, grow our business and create substantial shareholder value. So I hope that's the case. He's clearly a great leader. He's been at a single company for 25 years and then took over as president for three years. It requires a lot of great leadership ability and skills. At the same time, he's been at a fast food joint for 25 years. This is entertainment and not fast food. So there can be great leaders, but he has no entertainment experience and he has no high-end F&B experience.
Speaker 1:One of the biggest criticisms of Dave Buster's in the past has been that their food is relatively not good compared to other FECs in the market, and they have made some improvements and changes there recently. But I think bringing somebody on KFC experience and QSR experience is maybe not the right person. But you know what? If he can find the right other leaders to build a great leadership team around him, then that can help fill in the really significant gaping holes that he has with this industry. Then I think that's amazing, right. I mean, really a good leader should be able to bring in and build other leaders around him. So I wish Dave and Buster's much success. These guys have so much potential and I feel like they're just floundering and floundering and floundering and they have been for many, many years and I really do hope that somebody can come in and maybe, with a different perspective, turn things around. Maybe somebody who's not from the entertainment industry is what exactly this Dave and Buster's and main event need. So anyway, much wish you much success, tarun, and, you know, maybe we'll see each other around IAPO show floor some one of these days. Okay, all right, the next thing we're going I want to talk about is I'm going to pull this guy down and share my screen because I want to talk about Party Shack. These guys are, you know, we've talked about them before on the show. I don't know about the LBX show, but when we were doing a daily show, we definitely, I know we definitely talked about them. So if you're just listening, I highly recommend you go to party.
Speaker 1:So T is in the golf tee par t shackcom and just check out some of the videos, check out some of the stuff they've got, um, you know, like it's a mini golf venue. They have some mini bowling. They have a limitless vr um installation here, at least in their north raleigh location. They have three different current locations. They're opening a flagship location, uh as well, and then they are. They actually just announced that they're opening up another location in Six Forks which is in Midtown, raleigh, north Carolina. So they've got three locations in North Carolina. And then they're opening another location in Charleston, south Carolina, which they are calling, say it's going to be their flagship location In this new location they're opening up in Midtown not the one we're watching on the video here, but I imagine it'll be a very similar vibe.
Speaker 1:It does look like a lot of fun. I really like a lot of what these guys are doing. They've really kind of like created this really lively party atmosphere, especially with their different types of ways you play mini golf. But they are opening up a 20,000 square foot venue. They are opening up a 20,000 square foot venue. It's going to have two they're calling ultimate tactical laser tag arenas neon mini golf, an elevated bar top and lounge area. And then they'll have this it's going to be called Battle and Birdie is the next location, and so I think they're moving away from the Party Shack brand. So it's called Battle and Birdie. But here's the thing in their press release that they wrote Battle and Birdie's laser tag. This is quote Battle and Birdie's laser tag will make Universal Studios look like a playground, says their CMO of Party Shack, dante Valor.
Speaker 1:So okay, look, you can be super excited about what you're doing and you could have a great concept, but don't call it fucking universal studios or like say that it's going to make you make it look like it's a playground, because there's no way in hell. You don't have the budget to beat universal studios. We saw it with just open to epic universe. Like you cannot say that you're going to make universal studios look like a playground and like again I, maybe it's just hyperbole, maybe we're supposed to see it as hyperbole, but it is not.
Speaker 1:You have to be careful with the words we use, because now people are going to come in with the expectation that your laser tag venue is going to be better than Wizarding World of Harry Potter, better than Gringotts, better than the Ministry of Magic, better than Velocicoaster. Now you've set this expectation that your laser tag is going to be the best thing that exists on the planet earth, because if it makes Universal look like a playground, well, pretty much Universal right now is at the top. There's not too many people and places that are doing much better than Universal. So this is when you use these types of words in your marketing. You have to be very careful. You can be excited. You can say, oh man, we're so excited, it's themed, it's going to make you feel like you're at a universal park or something like that.
Speaker 1:But like to make it, like to to put down universal, say it's going to make it look like a playground because yours is so much better. Anyway, all right, so that's it. I love what Party Shack is doing. Just choose better words, please. Please, use better words. We have so much to get. We have so much baggage when it comes to this type of stuff, and it started with. It didn't just start with, but it was really emphasized by the Wonka Willie's chocolate experience, and we all know about that. I'm not going to rehash that. So, anyway, this is Party Shack and you know, again, I do like what these guys are doing and I wish them success in the next location and I'm sure it's gonna be amazing, it's gonna be just like this, but they just need to get fucking better words, all right. So, speaking of better words, this is a. I'm just going to go ahead and switch here and share my screen for this guy. So I'm just going to go ahead and switch here and I'll share my screen for this guy. I'm just going to read straight from the press release this is Things to Do in Toronto.
Speaker 1:This is a North City Toronto website. This is about a place called Bowls and Blasters. It's about a bowling alley and a laser tag venue. It's a 25,000 square foot venue that's opening in Toronto. They say it promises to cater to people of all ages, but they said it's a first of its kind. Right, wow, first of its kind, first bowling venue and laser tag venue ever. That's amazing. I mean, look at this picture here. I mean, this is like there's nothing better than this first of its kind. Oh, my gosh. All right. So anyway, I'm sorry I'm being a little bit sarcastic here. Anyway, just a few more things. That it says.
Speaker 1:Here is, you know, first of all, there's 12 lanes of bowling lounge seating, black light effects, laser projections, and I'm sure it's going to be a nice venue. They have multi-level laser tag arena and they say it's going to be one of the top experiences in North America, featuring eight different game modes, led, enhanced gear and layout, props and tactical equipment. So pretty much a standard laser tag experience, especially now. But it is going to be apparently one of the top experiences in North America, right, okay, so better than Cedar Fair, better than Hershey Park, better than Meow Wolf. You know, it's going to be one of the top experiences in North America. It's a laser tag venue, and anyway.
Speaker 1:But the pictures I'm seeing here don't say that it looks like a nice FEC and it looks like it'd be a great experience. It's not going to be one of the top experiences in North America, and so they continue to use these types of words and I get the feeling sometimes that this is AI written and then maybe they just leave the really flowery language in. It may not have been. Maybe it was just a CMO who got really excited and was writing lots of information and using lots of big buzzy words. So there's a few other spots in here I'm not seeing them right off band because I'm not going to read through this whole thing but ultimately it looks like a nice place. It looks like a pretty standard, straightforward FEC bowling, laser tag venue with some arcades and some amusements and some redemption. It definitely does not seem like it's going to be the top, one of the top experiences in North America. So I'll just wrap this little piece up between these two things.
Speaker 1:This is like a PSA. This is a major pet peeve, obviously, of mine, which is just use words that accurately descript your facility. It's okay Like, be very excited about it, say it's super excited about the amount of time and energy and effort we've put into this venue. We think all of our guests are going to love it. All of that is great, but be very careful of hyperbole, because it sets the wrong expectations for our guests before they're walking in the door. And when they walk in the door and it looks like a standard FEC that they've been in 17 other times, then they're going to say well, I thought this was going to be like the best experience ever, and it's not because it just isn't.
Speaker 1:It can't be. So please be very careful about what you're using. All right, rovio is killing it. Yeah, rovio is. Uh, it's killing it. Yeah, rovio is the group behind the Angry Birds game that, like, we all know about and we all see, and um Merlin Entertainment has recently, um has recently launched a partnership with Angry Birds in their Sea Life Aquarium and this is something going on.
Speaker 1:Uh, they, they really partnered. They began partnering over Earth Day in April of last year and you know, and Rovio is trying to, they have a lot of connections with Earth Day as well and so, really, this partnership with Sea Life is in letting Angry Birds further their environmental mission by focusing on aquatic life and ocean preservation at Sea Life's UK location. So this is only at the UK locations, by the way, and you know a lot of these events are happening. They're in Great Yarmouth and Birmingham, they're going to go to Loch Lomond and I'm sure I'm saying some of these words wrong, some of these locations wrong, but you know, from basically June 28th all the way through August, september 7th. So at different locations, they're taking this Angry Birds sea life experience around in different locations and we've seen Rovio all around before. Rovio has partnered with Raw Thrills recently that held Angry Birds and Play Mechanics. They introduced the Boom game, which is kind of fun and it's a shooter sort of like, in the seat vibrates a little bit, and that kind of thing Dof Robotics has also released recently this last year at IAPA Expo they released their Fury Road, which is like a little ride, you know kiddie ride vehicle and you can drive and it's, you know, kind of a fun experience, experience. And anyway, you know rovio must be doing something right, or else their franchise or their license fees are really low, because there just seems to be a lot of angry birds out right now and I feel like we probably are ready for something new, some new ip to come in and freshen things up. I feel like angry birds is getting a little bit overplayed, although I do appreciate that actually each of these experiences is different, so they're not at least repeating experiences, which is good, and I'm sure Rovio is very careful about that and the partners that they work with. But I do think that either I know it might be an inexpensive IP for a manufacturer, supplier or developer to work with, but we should think about being a little bit more creative and looking for other IP out there. So, anyway, that is that.
Speaker 1:And then the last thing I want to talk about is this kind of really interesting thing. I just learned about it this last week. It is a new sport. It's coming and gaining ground in the United States and it's got some similarities to a popular sport here. It's a slightly different gear. It's played with larger balls. And you're going to think that, yeah, oh yeah, it's played with larger balls and you're going to think that, yeah, oh yeah, he's talking about pickleball. No, I'm definitely not talking about pickleball, because I think that shit needs to be out of LBE entirely. But anyway, pickleball is a lot of fun to play. Should not be a part of an entertainment venue. So, no, I'm not talking about pickleball.
Speaker 1:This is park golf. It was apparently developed in Japan in 1980s and, yeah, it's interesting. So it's a form of golf played in a park and it was invented in Hokkaido, japan, in 1983. And it is like it's sort of a cross between croquet and golf. To the game is to still do the same thing as golf hit the hole in the ball with a club and a few strokes. But they also have this emphasis on harmony with other players and there are some rules where you start differently depending on the number of strokes. You had to get the ball into the hole in the first place, and so you don't always start in the same way, and they just really wanted to keep.
Speaker 1:The founders of the sport really wanted to keep it simple so that people of all ages could become parkers is what they call them. So if you play park golf, you're a parker, so you're not a golfer, you're a parker, and they really wanted to make all ages be able to play. So a single ball and club are actually okay. I mean, you can get different clubs there are people who do but really all you need is one ball in one club because there aren't also like crazy hazards in the same way that you would have where you like losing balls, like I do, all the time. Um, so, uh, this is uh, you know, they're relatively short, the physical strain of the game is low and the cost of playing is low as well, according, apparently, and the rules are simple. So they say that this is one of the reasons why it's a good game for children and for families, and I guess a typical round of park golf is nine holes and there is actually believe it or not an international park golf association. So of course, so the international park golf association.
Speaker 1:They've also set upper limits on the length of the park golf holes and courses. So the maximum length of the hole is going to be a hundred meters, which is, in USs measurements, 300 feet. So if you think about that, that's basically 100 yards. You know typical par three core, you know par three hole or you know might be between 150 to 250 yards. You know you've got other longer par fours and par fives that could go all the way up to 500 plus yards, right for some of the par fives.
Speaker 1:So when you think about like the length of the hole, like think of it, it's like it's really just a hundred yards long. It's a length of a football field and that's the max length for an individual hole. It cannot be longer than a football field. A nine hole course is limited to 500 meters, so 1600 feet. So you know, again, like the max length for nine holes is 500 meters. So if you have one hole that's 100 meters, then you have to have eight more holes that are all 400 meters, all within that 400 meter thing. So like it's really interesting and there's really no lower limit, so some of them can be really small.
Speaker 1:So, of course, it can be found in small corners of parks or even in the fringes around parking lots, so they can be kind of squeezed in anywhere because you could have a. You know, you could have a 30 foot hole, right, you could have a 50 foot hole and, you know, have this really kind of interesting thing. So, anyway it is, uh, there, apparently there are about 1300 courses to be found across the country and, uh, you know, so things are kind of moving slowly compared to, like, the number of golf courses that exist. And, uh, you know, the first park golf course to open in the US was actually just in 2013. So this has only been in the US for less than 15 years, right, so just about 12 years. And Destroyer Park Golf Course is in the Northeast, and then Great Gorge Course is open, and so, anyway, there's a number of them.
Speaker 1:I have not played it, I haven't seen it here in Arizona, but, to be fair, I haven't actually looked for it. In my Phoenix area. We have tons of golf courses, so I would imagine that I wouldn't be surprised to see a park golf course. Anyway, just bring it up here because it's new, it's interesting and it is something that you never know. We have mini golf already and we have other things. Maybe this is depending on the size of your facility. If you're an outdoor, indoor FEC and you've got some extra space, maybe there's something you consider dropping in as a park golf course that could be really interesting as something there. So, anyway, and maybe you're just looking for a new sport to play and this is it and you've got one. You've got a park golf course right near you and you didn't even know it. So that is it. That is the extended cashless system, designed, developed and manufactured all under one roof. They introduced cashless technology to the amusement industry and have been leading the way for over 30 years. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Hey, a big hello and welcome to another Open and Shot. How are you, Brandon?
Speaker 1:Doing well, doing well. It is a beautiful day in Arizona. We are finally going to get some rain, I think. So it is cloudy, it is breezy and it is only 95 Fahrenheit, so that is great.
Speaker 2:Only. Yeah, well, it is a okay day in London here, so overcast, but still warm Anyway, so we're still with it Awesome Well.
Speaker 1:I'm excited to learn a little more, see a little bit about where you've been, what you've been discovering while you're out there. But I know that's not what we're here to talk about today, so we can dive in.
Speaker 2:Yes, save something for the next sound off. Anyway, towards the openings, and again the rules apply that if you need to grab any information that I zip past, then hit the pause button. Quite a large selection same number that we've been seeing over these last weeks of about 23, 24 openings. The only thing that I think is a little bit interesting here is that we've been leaning heavily on UK openings to capture the vacation market that we're now moving into Right off the bat.
Speaker 2:We talk about the latest of the Dave Buster's openings, an interesting one that Reno gets another visit from our friends. This is the third facility in Reno that Dave Buster's has opened. I am interested in that. They're going back and going for multiple bites of the cherry rather than developing a larger format of their platform. But as they're parachuting into existing facilities, I suppose it's just when a space in the right target venue opens up, they take it over, they re-skin it and away they go. I get the feeling that this is the last of the older generation of facilities, or what would have been their new interpretation before the rollback. As we're recording this, our friends at Dave Buster's has just announced that they have hired their new CEO permanent CEO, replacing the interim, and they have decided to take a representative from the fast food industry, an ex-KFC executive. So, again, we will be looking forward to seeing how these individuals re-approach their model of 171 facilities now under the new management.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean we won't get into the CEO selection necessarily here, but I was surprised to see but it's already been under construction underway that they're opening one with the social bays. Knowing that this was, they're making a counter pivot away from the social bays and getting back to what Dave and Buster's used to be good at. I'm doing air quotes for those who are listening to this, and so, yeah, I'd be. You know, I'm sure it'll do relatively well in Reno, because there's not a lot of entertainment options there other than casinos. So you know we'll see.
Speaker 2:Well, I've had two bites of the cherry and they've done well, so they're hoping that third is a charm. Again, we're not sure how much of the Social Bay operation they've kept because we haven't stuck our nose in, but as soon as we get a chance to see the new facility then we'll be able to report on that Moving on. And the next of the new developments is entertainment facility an early interpretation of a entertainment venue off to our friends at Game State and that now has been redeveloped, rebranded in their unique color and layout format. And that adds itself to their 17 Game City or Game State, sorry facilities that they have in Europe. Again, it's quite a large one, you know 2,000 square meters of entertainment space that is dedicated to amusement, with on top of that being connected to a movie theater component. You know, again, this will be an interesting one to see how much their rebranding brings in a new clientele. Branding brings in a new clientele.
Speaker 2:Moving on, and the attack of the cranes crane cage, as we try and license the brand. Though I hadn't selected this, mega Claws had opened up their facility and now our friends at Fantasy Claw Arcades have opened up their new facility in Las Vegas. But this is part of their aspiration to roll out quite a large. What they want to say is a hundred facility chain based upon their particular interpretation of the crane cade layout. They've gone for a fantasy themality, but they're using the modern crane machines. They've also populated them with a fantasy element, prize and merch component. But again, we are at that point now where these crane caves are trying to create a critical mass where they can create large chains of cranes facilities and dominate the various territories that they're targeting in the market.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I find it interesting Every one of these claw arcades or clockades or whatever you want to talk. They try to build their own brand, which I appreciate. At least it's not just a very overly generic space. They try to add colors, put their logos everywhere, typically, but I think that's the really only differentiator. And how far can just a differentiated brand called Fantasy Claw Arcade versus JoJo's Claw Arcade or whatever other one you want to create, how much can they really infuse that brand and that theme into a claw arcade when effectively all these claw machines, other than being able to update and manage colors and put some vinyl on the sides of them, how much can they really be differentiated other than, potentially, the merch that you have inside the cranes and the type of crane experience? But they're all very similar and I think we are going to see a saturation in especially in some of these areas like Las Vegas very soon.
Speaker 2:I think we've already hit the critical mass. I've already reported on at least two of the crane cades that have had to close down due to the impact of the market saturation. What is the USP? What is the takeaway for you? To go back and play at these facilities again is the core component that we need to understand. The longevity of these crane machines is essential because if it's a one and done and if it is a fad, then we've got a serious problem because we're going to be saturated with closures and that will have repercussions for the rest of the amusement sector.
Speaker 2:An interesting one again that I threw your way the Big Easy Saloon is what I would call a traditional saloon cade. It is an arcade that is based on the traditional darts and retro machines, a big buck hunter in the corner, a really good selection of American beers, sex in a canoe as well as a pool table and like this. In front of some of the companies they would be aghast that you could still roll out a saloon arcade concept into the modern market, where, again, I feel that this is still a viable business model if you have a locality that hasn't got any saturation of the other types of facilities types of facilities.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean this one. It is. We looked at some of the pictures you sent over my way and I mean some of them are here too if you're watching this. But I mean it is just, it's like a saloon bar. It's remarkable to me actually that this is even, like you said, is even viable. They have one wall just filled with electronic darts, another wall filled with gaming machines and then another wall filled with gaming machines and then, I think, another wall filled with some more retro arcade and pinball stuff, as well as the Big Buck Hunter, and so it's like they literally had wall space.
Speaker 1:Let's throw something against it and fill it up and then put some pool tables in the middle. Call it a saloon, and it's pretty bland. It would be remarkable if all of those dart systems were used at any given time. I think there was like eight of them lined up back to back and I did look it up because I was kind of surprised that they have gambling. They have gaming in San Antonio and I looked it up and gambling is illegal in Texas and in San Antonio. The only legal exceptions of a lottery, charitable bingo and raffles, greyhound racing and horse racing obviously anything in Native American lands and in American casinos and then poker clubs. That's it Like not the type of almost like a slot machine type gaming devices that they have there, what we call real machines, real gaming machines.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I'm really surprised that, and maybe they're on some land that gives them the exception, maybe they are on Native American land and they have the exception there and they got a license from the local tribe.
Speaker 2:We will find out very quickly now that they've thrown their doors open, as I quipped. If they aren't, then they'll get a visit from the local sheriff and the rest will be history. But again, watch this space. Another interesting one, again with the retro vibe going for the creation of a retro arcade facility, small scale. We're only talking about 50 pieces of amusement product, including some pinball table. This feels like a labor of love to me. But this is a salutary lesson about being careful on your branding. Because they've called their facility Continues Arcade, they obviously haven't done a simple check to see that there is already a Continues Arc arcade retro facility, not a zillion miles away from where they are, unless they want to get into a feud with these facilities on owning the word. Continue or continues, I don't know. But again, no matter what your brand is, just make sure that you don't clash with your competition.
Speaker 1:No matter what your brand is, just make sure that you don't clash with your competition. Yeah, and they're actually a token-based arcade too, so they are actually running off of tokens, which is remarkable yeah.
Speaker 2:I do get the feeling that this is a labor of love concept where the person has got an idea in their heads of what they wanted to create without doing the due diligence of what will be viable for them to operate. But again, we will give them the benefit of the doubt and look forward to seeing how well the facility does, or if it appears at the end of one of these opens and shuts in a couple of months' time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, one last thing I'll just say. We've had the discussion I can't remember if it was on a sound offer or on one of these, these about free play arcades and the difficulty in which they have really creating monetization. We've seen a lot of maybe it was during the shut portion of open and shut, because we have seen free play arcades pretty regularly shut, and so you know, at least they're not going the free play model, they are going tokens. I think it would probably make more sense to go cards. Obviously they are going tokens. I think it would probably make more sense to go cards, obviously, but at least it's not the free play model, because I do think that they will struggle there.
Speaker 2:If you're running 50 machines, if you're running 100 machines, if you're running 25 machines, you should go card Every night of having to take these machines apart to empty the coin box and then puts those tokens back in another bin to be loaded in the next punters in the next day is lunacy. Yeah, constant operation, when it doesn't need to be Having a touch swipe system or even going for one of the cheap mobile phone app systems because you've only got 50 machines, you have them load up the app, you grab their data while they're loading up the app and away you go is the type of thing that I would expect. Anyone that is really thinking seriously about the opportunity here, really thinking seriously about the opportunity here. Again, this feels a little bit more Heath Robinson, a little bit more DIY from the photos I've been seeing and from the failure of their website. We'll see how they do in the cold, harsh light of business day.
Speaker 2:Moving on our main event we haven't been talking about main event for some time, and so it's nice to see that they're still opening facilities, as it were. They're up to 61 sites now, according to our database, and Oklahoma is now the recipient of a brand new site. Nothing special here that I could see from the information. It was a very you know, low-key announcement and a low-key presentation of what this facility is. I didn't see as much of the climbing frame layout that I normally expect from a main event. The machine layout seemed very rudimentary and again, again, they didn't have any shocking new additional attractions. They're you know, they're known for their laser tag and their other elements, but again we have another main event and we're all waiting with bated breath to hear how their revenue across their 61 facilities has been doing over the last couple of months in comparison to their parent company, dave and Busters yeah, and this isn't anything new necessarily to Main Event, but this location will have the gel blasters as well, right?
Speaker 1:So maybe we could argue that that's the newest thing they've got, but they definitely don't have the climbing system that we've seen in past Main Events.
Speaker 2:The ropes, if they have these things, if they have the climbing frame, if they have the gel blasters. The website doesn't really promote that. Again, maybe this is because it's a new opening and they haven't got into their stride and they're in their alpha web page before they go for the full on. I don't know, but this is the information that we were working on at this point and it wouldn't be a open and shut or a sound off if we didn't have the Geico get into the game of Oasis gender moment. Our friends at gender have been rolling out their facilities, but there's also been some other developments which I'll be touching on in a second. Another Tokyo facility, you know, growing their 800 plus facilities.
Speaker 2:Nothing of amazing announcement here, just another notch on their walking stick and then we have the opening of the UNO Social Club. This is part of the Mattel toy. It's been transferred into a competitive socializing experience, building on the success of the Monopoly full-size development. They have created a bar environment where you can play Uno and various variants of the Uno game, as well as doing some other social entertainment components, and with the opening of this facility inside the Palms Casino Resort Hotel, they have also announced that they will be rolling this out across three other facilities. Well, four other facilities, if we're exact. New York is the next opening for this, then chicago, los angeles, austin and atlanta. Are these permanent facilities? We don't know. Are these pop-ups or foots in the water, to see how well they're taken on board, before they then either turn them into popular permanent installations again. We don't know. I'm looking forward to when we're next in Vegas, getting a chance to stick our heads in and see what is the unique selling component that makes the Uno card game stand out as a social entertainment venue.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and this one is still like, I'm still super confused by it because, you know, even when you go back, and we talked about the uno social club on uh, the lbx show during, I think, um, I think either on the other show or else we talked about maybe even a sound off, but, um, it's not super clear what they are, what they're doing, because on the press release they talk about uh staying.
Speaker 1:You know, the experience of the palms casino resort gives one lucky winner and a guest a chance to stay, play and go wild, and one of the Palms Casino Resort gives one lucky winner and a guest a chance to stay, play and go wild in one of the most colorful suites in town from Friday July 18th to Sunday July 20th, but it is. I mean, it looks like it's a separate venue, but is it the suite? Are they coming to the social club to play at the social club and then the winner there that's, you know, the winner there then can get to stay in the suite? Also, like, again, it's not super clear what's going on and I really do want to understand. Is this an actual physical fucking space that has an uno social club?
Speaker 2:like you know, because I'm really interested in the pictures we have it is a dedicated floor. Well, not floor. It is a dedicated unit that has a number of these crap tables that are Uno tables laid out. It has a dedicated bar and it also has some other entertainment. How much of that is rolled into the theming of the Palms is the question.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So again, even like it says, the uno game tables plural in the suite will also be stocked with more uno games than you can imagine, but in the suite. So when I hear the word suite, I think of a, an actual hotel suite that you are staying in and sleeping in, so they have multiple game tables set up in a specific suite. Or is it a like a suite as far as like what you would have like at an office complex and you have a suite that you you stay in an office complex and like they've built out one of their things and on the palms you know, retail district. Right, maybe it's in their retail district suite, I don't know, but it's not clear. But they have different things, different types of uno games that they have available.
Speaker 1:I love uno, um, yeah, I think. Think it would be a lot of fun to go with a group of friends. It would be a really cool social entertainment venue. So that's why I'd really be interested to know more about this. But their press release is terrible because it's not clear at all exactly what the experience is and for who it is.
Speaker 2:What I imagine, and this is a personal opinion. What I imagine and this is a personal opinion. I think that the casino hotel resort team wrote the press release and their interpretation of what a suite is against. Our interpretation of what a suite is is different. Taught me how to play Uno. I wasn't familiar with Uno up until that point and I will be interested to see how much of this entertainment experience is dependent on social lubricant of fantastic cocktails or how much the game will prove compelling to keep an audience coming back for more, because, especially in Vegas, this can't be a one and done.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Moving on and you know, one of the last opens is also a shot. If you bear with me, what we have here is highest score arcade in Salisbury in the UK. Score arcade in Salisbury in the UK. The venue has opened previously and then fallen on hard times and closed, then reopened, kind of with the. This is the last chance. Make or break. Please support us.
Speaker 2:The media coverage was quite salutary in sort of saying help us. You know we need the support of the locals here to make this a going concern. From the research that I've done into this arcade another labor of love, another individual that loves retro arcade machines, another small selection of pinball tables, retro arcadesades, pool tables with a ad hoc bar in the corner. Whatever your dreams are, it is best to be a businessman when you're considering developing and opening a facility, not just for yourself but for your staff and your bank balance. Of course, uh, I wish them the best of luck, but from what I have seen, there is nothing here compelling to warrant their survival and I'm sorry to have to say that, uh, I I look forward to seeing how they survive even after this clarion call for support from the.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean this one is rough because not only do they so, first of all they're on their last shot. As I say, they're open for two days, the 11th and the 12th of July. So that's already passed. They may have not survived, but this is they say visit us for one pound minimum, one pound minimum donation and you can stay as long as you like, come enjoy the games. If we get enough support, they can stay open through the summer. We can't do it without you.
Speaker 1:This sounds like just a desperate grasp at something which is really too bad, but again, as we just talked about, this is literally we just talked about this. This is another free play arcade that is struggling because of their business model. Ultimately and I think, the one benefit of Continues Arcade that we just talked about over Salisbury even though we disagree that Continues should be using tokens they are at least not a free play arcade and they actually have a decent food and drink menu. At Salisbury, there's no food. There's no drink on offer at all. Maybe they have a cooler with some drinks you can buy some bottled sodas or something but there's no food drink when Continues Arcade has a very, very good looking menu custom cocktails named and branded around different games. They're clearly targeting people to stay and hang out for the arcade, but also the bar and the restaurant component.
Speaker 1:You cannot have a free play, especially with no food and beverage available, because one that's an additional element of your per cap that you're going to get from everybody coming in. But it's also going to extend your dwell time. And when you're on a free play model, you have priced by the amount of time that they're there, typically based on number of sessions, hourly sessions, and if you don't have the food and beverage there to extend that dwell time, then they're going to pay for the one hour session. And then again, if you don't have enough games, if you only have 25, 40 games, they're there for an hour. They played them all. They have no food and drink. So your per cap is your $8 that you had when they came in and you cannot survive. So this is a fundamentally broken business model and it's sad to see because it's probably a labor of love. But we need to move beyond the free play arcade model or, if you're going to do that, add on a really high quality F&B program.
Speaker 2:Agreed, I'm not going to spend too much more on this, because I get the feeling we're going to be talking about this in another part of our session in a couple of months' time. Yeah To the shots and sales, and it's our Genda moment again. Ah well, I have had the pleasure of visiting Akihabara both under the Sega tutelage as well as the Geico tutelage, or branding, should I say, as well as the Geico tooth lich, or branding, should I say. A traditional next wave arcade, where next wave arcade was something we were talking about in the 90s rather than currently. The facility multi-level. If my memory serves me right, it was eight floors. I remember having to walk up the stairs rather than use the rickety lift. Each floor has a wide selection of amusement. It used to be a test facility when Sega ran it, then Geico after Geico in 2022 took over the Sega operation division and turned it into a Geico. They kept the amusement machines and they populated the ground floor with their crate capsules.
Speaker 2:Well, anyway, the reason for the closure is given in the press release as being due to the expiration of the facility's fixed term building lease agreement. Or, as I like to put it, someone put the rent up and they've decided to move on with the announcement that a amusement facility will be opening up in the vacated space. So that's interesting. They're leaving what is an iconic facility, a very well-known locale. There are three Geico facilities dotted around this area.
Speaker 2:You can literally go to the top floor here, throw a stone and you'll be hitting one of the other venues, but I do get the feeling that the rent's gone up or the landlord has proven problematic. They've decided that it isn't worth the candle. They're it and some other company. Well, a well-known alternative amusement operation facility will be going in there. Whether this will be taking place after the building has been refurbished or if that building is actually coming down rebuilt and a brand new facility goes into there, I don't know. At this point, though, it is interesting that they are leaving at the end of August, which is only from when we're recording this. A matter of weeks away kind of tells us that this is a decision that has been forced upon them rather than a long-term position.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe it is forced on them just because of the rent increase and maybe it just was non-viable given their current their their business model and their margins. But it does seem interesting that they would let a like. If anything, I would think that they would want to stay in that location, even if it's a, you know, a taking a slight loss, because it's opening them up for competition in their area around the other Geico locations. And so, anyway, it may be one of those things where, strategically, it made sense or it would make sense to hold on to the location just so somebody else can't come into it. But it does obviously sound like they feel comfortable with the decision they're making to walk away.
Speaker 2:I think the friends at Genda are very smart cookies when it comes to this kind of negotiation. Someone's called it bluff and I think a landlord is going to be very surprised by their position that they may have forced themselves into. We will have to wait and see. I am sure more will be known, especially when that Geico logo comes down and whoever's new logo goes up. Away from the food, sorry, sorry. Away from the amusement industry into the food industry. And I was touching upon hooters going through their bankruptcy and liquidation and cancellation situation which still hasn't resolved itself. We still don't know who will be taking on the hooters chain.
Speaker 2:And I was pointed to by our viewers to the Hooters alternative, which is Twin Peaks. We're not going to fixate on adult restaurant chains, we're going to fixate on chain food facilities that are feeling the pinch and going into bankruptcy, and we've just learned that Twin Peaks is also now entering into bankruptcy. So this kind of food and fun entertainment wings, breast and wings, as someone was trying to explain it to me. Facilities are feeling the pinch, literally, and falling out of favor and many people see the competitive socializing venue as a kind of alternative to the market that is being lost with the disappearance of these facilities. We can go into the machinations of really where fast, casual food and competitive socializing fit, but one thing is clear that we're seeing the food and competitive socializing fit. But one thing is clear that we're seeing the food and fun sector, away from the entertainment, feeling a real impact post-COVID, and this is a market that we will, in the out-of-home entertainment market, be picking up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and just for point of clarification for anybody who's listening and not able to see the slide here, this is specifically a Twin Peaks multi-unit franchisee. So this is actually a couple of franchisees involved together and it's a multi-unit franchisee. So they have about 90 franchise locations between these a couple of different franchisees between these a couple of different franchisees, and ultimately they are involved in litigation with Hooters based on the fact that they took trade secrets from the Hooters.
Speaker 1:A ledge A ledge right, yeah, so it's a ledge. The claim is that they took trade secrets from Hooters.
Speaker 2:Ex-executives from Hooters left to set up their own facility, and as soon as their facility started to gain momentum, that's when Hooters decided to start litigation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so just to be clear, this is not Twin Peaks corporate or this isn't affecting or impacting the other franchisees of Twin Peaks. This is specifically a franchisee who owns and operates multiple locations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the state of the core Twin Peaks operation I haven't looked into because I was more interested in this particular story and I don't want to spend our time looking at wing facilities all my life.
Speaker 1:No, I think we could pass.
Speaker 2:Anyway, that's the main coverage from the market. Again, if you're not receiving the Stinger Report or the Entertainment Social Arena directly to your inbox, there's a link on the website to get that. And if you have any questions or more information to pass on to me about stories or new developments, we're always willing to follow up on that. Hopefully I've touched upon everything there, Brian.
Speaker 1:Well, I think so. We've another great opening shot. See you on the next one. Intercard is the only cashless system designed, developed and manufactured all under one roof. They introduced cashless technology to the amusement industry and have been leading the way for over 30 years. Cashless systems from Intercard increase customer spending, guest satisfaction and boost revenues by up to 30%. Intercard is so proud to be serving the amusement industry, and if you aren't already part of the global family of customers, they hope you will become one soon. All right, Well, that wraps up our really simple but robust LBX show for this week. Stay tuned for this coming Tuesday We've got sound off number 83 with Kevin Williams, and it's another. It's a really good. It's a really good sound off, so I highly recommend you to give that a listen or a watch. Otherwise, that is a wrap for this week's LBX show. This is Brandon Wiley signing off. Stay tuned and keep kicking ass.
