Hidden Buffet of Awesomeness: Las Vegas #1

Recently the comedy duo I’m apart of, Picard Maneuver, went to headline in Las Vegas. It was a great show with an equally as great crowd. The experience ranks in the top 5 of my favorite moments in my comedy career (I use the term career loosely). Because we were in Sin City for a couple of days I was able to expand the realm of Offbeat Frontier. Not only focusing on the hidden treasures of Southern California, but now the Las Vegas area. Our first spot in this rendition of what I am now dubbing: Hidden Buffet of Awesomeness: Las Vegas, was the Pinball Hall of Fame.

Off the strip on Tropicana, a few blocks away from the Liberace Museum (which we will be exploring the next time I’m out there) is a warehouse with a simple sign that entices children, men, and wizards alike.

Once you enter the building you are teleported back to the age of birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese and high school dates at miniature golf courses. The sounds of chimes, rings, lights flashing brought me to a childhood incidences that I had almost forgotten.

Aisles of pinball machines stretch the length of the building, old and new, all refurbished and ready for action. It is the world’s largest collection of pinball machines. We were able to play a Balley’s Machine Heavy Hitter from 1947, jump over the humors Water World pinball machine (the game was more entertaining than the movie and cost twice as much as the film made domestically), and still had time to play a the original Mario Brothers. That’s right they had video games ranging from Centipede to some sort of Tron game I couldn’t figure out how to play.

Picard Maneuver playing the Star Trek, Bally, 1979 (Solidstate)

Probably the coolest game I stumbled upon, of which I can’t recall the name, was in the very corner in the back. It was a racing game. The screen was not digital, it seemed like it was made of models of cars on a highway (a conveyer belt thing i suppose). When the game starts, a black light comes on and your car is on the side of highway about to merge into on coming traffic. The cool part is that the car seems as if it’s a hologram (either from mirrors or magic). So when you pull into traffic, you race around these cars rushing by and if you get hit, the transparent car flips into the air in slow motion back to the side in starting position. I have no clue how they came up with it, but it was an ingenious idea.

So if you’re looking for something quirky, a fun, and inexpensive in Vegas, check out the Pinball Hall of Fame.

Until Next Time Explorers!

Pinball Hall of Fame

1610 E. Tropicana, Las Vegas NV 89119

Website: http://www.pinballmuseum.org/