This RePlay Magazine Podcast episode just might be from the most exotic location we’ll ever have as Randy Chilton visits with Game Exchange of Colorado’s Rich Babich, who was docked in Bora Bora at the time of the chat. Rich and his wife of 50 years, Bev, were celebrating last year’s golden anniversary with a 4-and-a-half-month cruise, seeing the world.

On the business side, Rich has sure seen the world of coin-op change over his almost five decades in the industry, which started on the operations side. Today, his distributorship sells just about as many games to the industry as he does to the home enthusiast. (The retail side of things has been built up by his son JJ.) And did you know that back in the 1980s, Rich was also a manufacturer for a bit? He teamed up with an engineer to develop Hot Seat, which he said was the first dual-axle motion simulator.

There is much to this conversation from his early days in the industry, working with family, the importance for our industry to give back to the children and families who play our games and more. Give it a listen!

If you’ve been in coin-op any appreciable amount of time, you know the name Frank Seninsky (​maybe you know him by his alter ego “Frank the Crank”), and if you’re fortunate, you’ve had the opportunity to work with him and call him a friend.

Since he started in coin-op in 1969 with a $25 investment, placing a Gottlieb North Star pinball machine in his college fraternity house, Frank has been all-in. His Alpha-Omega operations grew from college game rooms to arcades on the Jersey Shore to distribution, consulting and more. Frank is the consummate entrepreneur, industry cheerleader, seminar presenter, prolific writer, association president (AMOA and IALEI), operator, distributor, consultant, idea man, founder of Foundations Entertainment University… the list goes on. (We’ve never seen the Energizer Bunny and Frank in the same room. Coincidence? We think not.)

In short, it was a real treat for RePlay Magazine podcast host Randy Chilton to talk with Frank, who reflects on his years in the industry and more in this not-to-be-missed episode. Dive in!

RePlay Magazine Podcast host Randy Chilton had the great pleasure of sitting down with industry icon and member of the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame Malcolm Steinberg for Episode 7. People in the coin machine world will know Malcolm from his years at the helm of LAI Group, but what many might not know is how he entered the amusement industry. 

Impatient to get started in business, Malcolm left high school early, and when he was 18, a vacation visit with an uncle led him to take 21 pinball machines and start Indoor Amusement Games in Perth, Australia. The year was 1958 and Malcolm was just 18 at the time. From that early operation to distributing, manufacturing and beyond – and from Australia to other parts of the world – his businesses continued to grow and expand. Today, a group of eight companies – including such well-known names as LAI Games, Embed and Timezone – bring in about a billion dollars in annual sales.

 Malcolm’s son Adam leads those companies today, but you can quickly see that Malcolm is well-versed on the details, and at age 86, is still sharp as a tack. Today, he puts his energy into a philanthropic organization called the Malka Foundation that he started to honor his grandmother. It encourages and supports entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership in Western Australia to improve and grow the economy and quality of life for all in the region. 

 Enjoy learning more. We sure did! 

As host publication RePlay Magazine celebrates its 50 years of covering the coin-op industry, it’s only right that Randy Chilton sits down with Publisher Eddie Adlum for a two-part episode.  

The wide-ranging interview begins all the way back in the East Bronx, where Eddie was born and raised. Eddie shares tales from his teenage years, about his band The Castle Kings (which had two singles for Atlantic Records) and his two 1970s horror films, Invasion of the Blood Farmers and Shriek of the Mutilated. He walks listeners through his early days at Cash Box magazine where he worked for 11 years before founding RePlay and where he first met some of the “earliest fellas in the jukebox and games business.”  

Sit across the virtual table from Eddie and hear about his colorful encounters with entertainment legends Elton John, John Lennon, Willie Nelson and Diana Ross, and industry icons Bert Betti, Nolan Bushnell and Al Kress (aka “Kressie”). He’ll tell you about the early days of the “video game” and how that term came to be in the first place. Eddie also talks about RePlay Magazine itself and its relevance today: “You know more after you looked at a RePlay every month than you did before you picked it up.” There’s a whole lot to know about Eddie Adlum, too, so do yourself a favor and watch! 

As host publication RePlay Magazine celebrates its 50 years of covering the coin-op industry, it’s only right that Randy Chilton sits down with Publisher Eddie Adlum for a two-part episode.  

The wide-ranging interview begins all the way back in the East Bronx, where Eddie was born and raised. Eddie shares tales from his teenage years, about his band The Castle Kings (which had two singles for Atlantic Records) and his two 1970s horror films, Invasion of the Blood Farmers and Shriek of the Mutilated. He walks listeners through his early days at Cash Box magazine where he worked for 11 years before founding RePlay and where he first met some of the “earliest fellas in the jukebox and games business.”  

Sit across the virtual table from Eddie and hear about his colorful encounters with entertainment legends Elton John, John Lennon, Willie Nelson and Diana Ross, and industry icons Bert Betti, Nolan Bushnell and Al Kress (aka “Kressie”). He’ll tell you about the early days of the “video game” and how that term came to be in the first place. Eddie also talks about RePlay Magazine itself and its relevance today: “You know more after you looked at a RePlay every month than you did before you picked it up.” There’s a whole lot to know about Eddie Adlum, too, so do yourself a favor and watch!  

Episode 5 of the RePlay Podcast features Jim Stansfield Jr. of Stansfield Vending of LaCrosse, Wisc., the man who host Randy Chilton calls “the consummate amusement operator.” Jim began working for his father back in the days of nickel bingo machines and over time, built a very sizable business. Upon his retirement, Stansfield Vending was initially sold to his daughters Janet and Julie; today, it’s an employee-owned business (ESOP) run by Janet. 

Through three generations the business has not only survived but thrived. The family mantra was: “Get in the room together and tell it like it is.” That, and the “show up every day, work your ass off and you'll be just fine” advice from his father, certainly served Jim and his family well.  

Jim recounts when he was president of the AMOA (the Amusement and Music Operators Assn.) in 1999, which were very turbulent times for the group. “This story is a must-listen for anyone with an interest in the history of our operator association,” says Chilton. “What a few leaders did during those years ensured the AMOA’s very survival and set the stage for how the group operates today.” 

This podcast also features colorful stories about many industry well-knowns – Don Hesch, Ted Furkin, Frank Seninsky, Wally Boher, Dick Hawkins and Jerry Derrick to name a few. And as a bonus, as we near the conclusion, Jim’s daughter Janet joins for more great advice from the Stansfields.  Added Chilton, “This was a pleasure and an absolute honor for me to visit with Jim and Janet, and we hope you enjoy the podcast.”

You can’t talk about pinball today without starting with Gary Stern, the founder and executive chairman of Stern Pinball whose passion for the game has been demonstrated time and time again. In episode #4 of the RePlay Podcast, Gary takes veteran operator and host Randy Chilton on a fascinating journey through his business and personal life, recounting how he got started with his father Sam and the dramatic ups and downs he’s experienced throughout his career. 

Pinball certainly has evolved over those years, and Stern games today feature internet connectivity through the company’s Insider Connected. Among the many features, the platform lets players track their scores and achievements, and operators manage and promote the games. (Gary’s famous for saying: “If it it’s not connected, it’s not going to have a future.”) Today, Gary travels a great deal as he’s taken a step back from company leadership, but his engagement and passion for pinball hasn’t waned a bit. He also finds celebrity far outside the confines of our “coin-op” games industry. We hope you enjoy this month’s episode with Gary Stern.

The RePlay Podcast returns with an interesting and insightful chat with Bob Geschine, president and CEO of H. Betti Industries. Bob, a recent recipient of Amusement Industry Hall of Fame honors from AAMA, has made many contributions to the company we know as “Betson.” Bob came aboard as controller, taking a pay cut to do so, and has been one of the guiding hands shaping its growth and future ever since. Mentored by the company’s second generation’s Bert Betti, Bob worked alongside Bert’s son Peter, and today has the pleasure of working with and mentoring the fourth generation of Betti family leaders. 

People in the industry are well aware of Bob’s business and financial acumen, his ability to see industry needs and changes and how Betson can best position itself for success, and where to find growth opportunities. What readers might not know is he’s got a deep love of the Jersey Shore, a passion for sailing and he’s part owner of a speakeasy-style bar and restaurant called the Roosevelt.

See what else our host Randy Chilton uncovers in episode three of The RePlay Podcast!

In Episode 2 of the RePlay Podcast, we chat with Terry Moss (Moss Distributing). In the 1960s, Terry was working in the music industry in Los Angeles when a tragic plane crash claimed the life of his father and pulled him back home to Des Moines, Iowa, to run the family business. We’ll never know how Terry Moss might have shaped the business of music over a lengthy career, but he’s had a significant impact on the world of coin-operated entertainment, growing Moss into a five-office, leading amusement machine dealership. Learn more about his unique story and follow this channel for interviews with coin machine industry legends.

Welcome to Episode 1 of the RePlay Magazine Podcast, hosted by Randy Chilton, which will share interesting bits of “coin-op” history and entertaining stories from industry greats – the visionaries, legends and characters that make the business fun!  Our first guest is George McAuliffe, founder of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. George has decades of experience and has touched just about every part of the industry at one time or another. On top of that, he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll meet. We hope you enjoy his colorful stories and tune in for other episodes of the RePlay Podcast.