Arcade machines in premises in Cork

TheChief36

Does anyone know of any working arcade machines in places in Cork City? Not couting the Leisureplex.There's two in the airport of course. There are a few in the Maldron hotel I've seen. Vicarstown pub on North Main Street have one but it is not plugged last time I checked. Does anyone know of any others? I heard Crane Lane have one tucked away.

horgan_p

Fred Zepplins on parliment street have a poker machine.
Crane Lane is a poker one as well I think (could be a quiz game though...)

I always wonder where did all the machines go from the mardyke, the savoy and theres 2 more I cant think of.
In my head theres a lockup somewhere full of machines , just waiting to be found.

o1s1n

horgan_p wrote: »

Fred Zepplins

Best name ever!!!

Jack burton

Cool place aswell

I wish there was a lockup, but from having rang a few arcade owners looking for info I can tell you something, odds are that they got dumped

kevin2me

None bar leisureplex and crane lane. What has that pub and Maldon have?
They have cocktail and STD cab, they need repair though after abuse and such, great to see someone tried bring back good ole days.
I'd say if I opened up my house to public id be second biggest arcade spot n all of cork :-)

It be cool to see how many big collections we have in Ireland,
Jamma+ d do it, u put what u own cab and PCB wise against Ur profile.
There's a lad on it, lukewells i think and his like 80 cabs collected over the years, unreal thread.

Jack burton

80 cabs, jesus christ!

Yeah I'd say theres loads of cabs around the place. Very few people actually post stuff online about their collection etc

mackg

There is a place in Midleton near the army surplus store that advertises video games on its sign but I didn't look in as I was in a rush. Not sure what the story with the place is or even if they have them but might be worth looking into further.

kevin2me

Ya I never worry about posting my cabs up, coz they took my forever to get into the house,
So any robber would take them an eternity To rob them :-) but be cool to have a list,
Without us collecting hem there prob be none left in country in another 10 yrs.

My first cab i got for free, it was in a guys shed for 20 yrs in west cork, just left to rot,
God knows how many more are stuck in sheds somewhere.
I haven't found another cab to buy in cork since.

Jack burton

Yeah its a pitty, trying to get a pinball machine recently myself and very hard to find one. Plenty of them rotting around the place I can be sure

There is an old arcade near where I live and its been closed years, few cabs and pinball machines in there supposedly. I found out who owns it but i was told by the chap that the people who own it are very particular. I'm going to wait till the new year and see if I can organise something. Maybe tell them I can sell on all their stuff, or i could just get a van and a high vis vest and go in there, nobody bats an eyelid when your wearing a high vis!

Mr.Saturn

Jack burton wrote: »

nobody bats an eyelid when your wearing a high vis!

They probably would, given their rarity in the current economic climate. Mind, you wouldn't be short on helpers, once you swing by the local SP office en route.

horgan_p

mackg wrote: »

There is a place in Midleton near the army surplus store that advertises video games on its sign but I didn't look in as I was in a rush. Not sure what the story with the place is or even if they have them but might be worth looking into further.

I'll be in Midleton tomorrow , think I'll have a wander and see whats there

I don't have any specific places for you, but i sourced a couple of machines a few years back for my first couple of builds and there are a few tricks you can use to get to people who know where they are at.

Firstly, visit any arcades you know of (obviously) and keep at them till you get to speak to the owner or the guy responsible for signing the cheques. Tell him that you're a guy who's interested in rescuing one, you have fond memories of the arcade scene and want one for yourself before they're all gone and impossible to get. There's a good chance he'll have the same fond memories of the scene as you do, even if it's just for financial reasons. Be clear that you're not looking to punt these cabs on for profit, you're just looking for one for yourself personally to use at home and give a good home to. He'll be more likely to help you.

Get his name, and ask him:

1)Does he have any cabs he wants to sell or know who might?
2)Who supplies him?
3)Who does his repairs and maintenance on his current machines, poker cabs, quiz machines, etc?
4)Is there anyone else he knows of that you should be talking to?

Get names and numbers of who you speak to, and when you call someone, make sure you drop the name of the person who referred you, and just start the process all over again. A lot of these guys know each other and will help you out as a means of doing a favour for someone they are in business with and keeping them sweet, whereas if you're a punter who just calls up out of the blue they're much less likely to want to bother. Always talk to the boss or the buyer/decision maker in any business, not the staff, who will rarely care.

Also if you do come across any cabs that are in arcades and are still working, there's often a little metal tag rivetted on to the side of them with a wholesaler's details and phone number. Many of these guys are in the UK but some are in Ireland. Make a note and give them a call and see if they can help. Also ask if there's anyone scheduled to be doing any repair or sales calls to anywhere in your general direction any time soon that you can arrange to bump into for a chat while he's there.

Doing this, i ended up getting referred to a guy in greystones in wicklow in a little tiny chip shop arcade down at the pier that i didn't even know existed. Turns out he had a whole load of old machines he was happy to sell. I got my pick of any of them for €50 a pop, and the €50 it cost me to get a van. I took one for my first build and was sorry i hadn't more room at home to take more with me.

There are also plenty of sites where cabs come up now and again for one off sales. Put an alert up on adverts.ie for "arcade machine" and you'll get a notification as soon as one goes up. Get in quick with an offer and you'll have first dibs. Keep an eye on gumtree and the like for the same thing.

TheChief36

50 euro! Jesus. I live in a tiny apartment but maybe if I got rid of my armchair I could fit it. Not really what I was asking at the start but thanks for the replies. I forget exactly what they have in the Maldron, they have a shooter, similar to time crisis but you can change your hiding spot. It has a name like "Sugar Delight". Quite fun. They had a racer but I usually don't pay attention to those.

TheChief36

I suppose America and Japan are the obvious answers. Has anyone ever visited a country or place and been like "damn there are a lot of arcade machines here, they have remained popular". Then I might go there.