LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It’s going to take more than the quarters from customers to save the Pinball Hall of Fame.
The pandemic has put their planned move into their new building in jeopardy, forcing the owners to raise funds to keep a roof over their heads.
The sounds of a retro era. Pings of a pinball machine delighting guests. So many to choose from at the Pinball Hall of Fame.
“It’s just a great place to relax and enjoy. It’s a clean place. Fun entertainment and inexpensive,” Paul Schrump, who lives in Henderson, said.
It’s the holy grail for pinheads, or pinball enthusiasts to get their fix.
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“This place has been on my radar…I’ve always wanted to check this place out,” said Dan Maderd, who’s visiting from Maryland.
The museum is moving to a space south of the Las Vegas Strip, more than triple the size of its current building to house more machines. Much of the money from those machines going to local charities.
“It’s just the epitome of what we’re all about. It’s just let's pull in some people and get some quarters going through here and it’d be great,” Beth Cane, a volunteer with the Pinball Hall of Fame, said.
Whether it will be able to finish this project is still up in the air. The pandemic has hit the museum’s finances hard, losing about 50% of its usual revenue. All stemming from having to shut down temporarily and impose capacity limits. Museum staff, after years of giving to charities, now finds itself asking for the community’s help.
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“For the simple fact that we actually had to ask for this GoFundMe page is really heart wrenching for us, but we really like to get this going and give back to our charities,” she said.
They say the $200,000 dollars raised would allow them to complete the construction and move in May. So far, the museum is seeing support.
“They’re still coming in and they know what we’re all about and we’re for charity,” Cane said.
Pinheads already coming through to keep the museum alive.
“We actually made a donation to get our names on the wall at the new location and I hope they’re successful in that,” Maderd said.
The museum staff says it has hundreds of machines in storage that would be placed at their new location and plan to eventually have a soft opening. You can donate to their fundraiser here.
