Page 100 - BCM June 2024

REDEMPTION

come progressively higher amounts with progressively One More Set of Numbers
higher bonus play amounts — $40 with $4 in bonus Some proprietors have intimated that they wouldn’t
play, $60 with $8 in bonus play, $100 with $20 in bonus still be in the “bowling business” if they hadn’t
play and so on. The offers selected are based largely on installed a high-revenue, high-profit arcade. Betson
the target audience and the center’s brand. When Don Enterprises, which has been in the amusement busi-
MacBrayne founded The Summit locations in Colorado, ness for nine decades (see story on page 108), shares
his target market was young adults with high discre- the following numbers based on a typical location
tionary incomes, so he upped the ante not only in his with 40 games:
food-and-beverage operation but also in his arcades, • Space required: about 2,600 square feet.
with higher amounts required on game cards for lower • Purchase of games at an average price of
amounts of bonus play. At one point, the “best value” $11,000: $440,000.
promoted on the Summit kiosks was $100 in bonus play • Average earnings of $200 per game per week:
for loading $250 on a card. Operators that target their $416,000.
arcades to kids and families may do better with lower • Average room payout of 28%: $101,920.
card-load requirements. • Game earnings less room payout: $314,080 in
earnings for the year.
The lowest height, in feet, that a redemption area’s Again with the proviso that every situation is dif-
12 ceiling should be. Higher is better. A low ceiling ferent, this suggests a return on investment of far
suggests a “cheap space” — a suggestion that carries shorter than two years.
over to the prize selection in the mind of the consumer. Now that you have a few of the numbers, the next
Experts stress that whether a center opts for a prize question becomes: Which games? That’s when the
counter or a prize room, it needs to look professionally services of an experienced consultant can pay big
designed and merchandised. dividends.

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