Pinball Madness

Pinball machines. Believe it or not, pinball machines were patented in 1871 and were called Bagatelle. In the 30’s they became coin operated and were refered to as marble games or pin games. In 1931 David Gottlieb's Baffle Ball became the first overnight hit of the coin-operated era. Selling for $17.50, the game dispensed five to seven balls for a penny. The game struck a chord with a public eager for cheap entertainment in a depression-era economy. Most drugstores and taverns in America operated pinball machines, with many locations making back the cost of the game in a matter of days. Baffle Ball sold over 50,000 units and established Gottlieb as the first major manufacturer of pinball machines.
At this point you’re probably asking yourself, “big deal, what does this have to do with the Embassy Suites Denver Tech Center?” Well tons! And I mean TONS! In less than a week (4/27-5/3) we will have 7 to 10 tons of pinball machines in our hotel! That’s around 225 different machines!

Pinball machines have been around for so long that most of us that didn’t grow up with a portable game, Ipad or games in our phone can remember going to the arcade or the bowling alley and trying to rack up that high score! Everyone had their own tricks of when to bump the table or tweak it just right to gain more points or save the ball from dropping out of play.

Pinball plays such a big part of our society that they’ve shown up in many of our popular movies. Starting with the first appearance that I could find way back in the 40’s in “They Drive by night” with Humphrey Bogart. They may not pop up as much now in movies but they still come in every now and then even making an appearance in 2000 in “What Women Want” and in 2001 in “Behind Enemy Lines.” The most recent I could find was 2003 in “Bad Santa.” As much as we have a love affair with these machines I’m sure there are other movies out there that I just didn’t find.

Another way pinball machines remain in the spotlight is their panache for taking on the titles of some of our most popular movies. Indian Jones, Tomb Raider, Predator, Aliens, Terminator, Lethal Weapon just to name a few. I see a theme here.

Over these next few weeks as the pinball machines arrive our guests will be able to buy discounted tickets & play if they want. We expect over 2000 visitors for this action packed event. If you love pinball machines you’ve got to get out and come down to see this amazing event! Hope to see you here!