# RePlay Magazine Podcast - Bob Geschine

**Source:** Replay Magazine Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-07-16  
**Duration:** 33m 44s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** Buzzsprout-17516165

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## Analysis

Bob Geschke, president of Betson Enterprises for 25 years (50 years total tenure), discusses the company's evolution from a regional distributor to a major amusement industry player across four generations. He reflects on pivotal decisions including disrupting territorial distribution models, entering manufacturing after Midway's closure, and launching Betson Technical University to support technicians. Geschke emphasizes company culture, family succession planning, and optimism about the FEC and location-based entertainment market.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Betson Enterprises is 91 years old and in its fourth generation of family leadership — _Geschke explicitly states 'at 91 years old, we're better than we were at any other point in time'_
- [HIGH] Bob Geschke has been president of Betson for 25 years (since late 1990s) with 50 years total tenure — _Geschke confirms 'president since the late 90s' and 'a total of 50 with the company'_
- [HIGH] In 1999, Midway closed and Geschke purchased 10,000 program chips and established a royalty agreement to manufacture games — _Geschke describes: 'in 1999, when I became president...Midway, closed their doors...I bought 10,000 things' and partnered with Eugene Jarvis_
- [HIGH] Betson Enterprises challenged and eliminated exclusive territorial distribution in the amusement industry — _Geschke states 'we just blew up the whole territory thing' and manufacturers 'all followed suit because they saw it as a tool to sell more product'_
- [HIGH] Betson Technical University has graduated 'thousands of technicians' in the past 7-8 years — _Geschke claims 'we've graduated tens, not tens, thousands of technicians already' and runs classes 'four or six times a year'_
- [HIGH] Betson Enterprises represents Light and Wonder (Scientific Games) exclusively in four states with video lottery terminals (Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Nebraska) — _Geschke states 'we exclusively represent Light and Wonder in four states now' and lists specific states_
- [MEDIUM] Less than 1% of businesses survive and thrive into the fourth generation — _Geschke references statistics: 'reaching the fourth generation is probably less than 1%'_
- [HIGH] Early 2010s skill-based gaming trend was a regretted era for the industry that risked turning FECs into casinos — _Geschke: 'I regret that era...a lot of the equipment we were selling, I don't think, was of skill based' and involved 'quick dollars' with 'thousand dollar prize' mechanics_

### Notable Quotes

> "Life is good, Randy."
> — **Bob Geschke**, early in personal section
> _Encapsulates Geschke's optimistic, satisfied worldview about his career and life balance_

> "This business has been built up to perpetuate. And I think when you have a lovely family who wants to – there's no guarantee the next generation wants to come in. But fortunately, the next generation loved the business, commends the business."
> — **Bob Geschke**, succession planning discussion
> _Core philosophy differentiating Betson from businesses built to flip or exit; explains multi-generational success_

> "We just blew up the whole territory thing. And, you know, eventually over time, most manufacturers, all manufacturers followed suit because they saw it as a tool to sell more product."
> — **Bob Geschke**, territory disruption discussion
> _Describes Geschke's major industry disruption that became standard practice_

> "Thank God it's Monday. That excellent. Thank God it's Monday."
> — **Bob Geschke**, employee culture section
> _Company motto reflecting positive workplace culture and employee engagement philosophy_

> "If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life."
> — **Bob Geschke (citing Will Rogers)**, career satisfaction discussion
> _Expresses personal philosophy about work as calling rather than burden_

> "I never looked at how many employees I looked at, how many people are in the families of the employees I had. And they're relying on their CEO to make the right decisions."
> — **Bob Geschke**, final section on hiring philosophy
> _Reveals stakeholder-centered leadership philosophy extending beyond business metrics_

> "If you don't get the CEO position, If the guy at top, if you don't get that right, nothing else matters. You can't fix it."
> — **Randy Chilton**, leadership discussion
> _External validation of Geschke's leadership impact from interviewer perspective_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Bob Geschke | person | President of Betson Enterprises for 25 years (50 years total); key figure in amusement industry; mentored by Bert Betty; partner with Peter Betty; father of Robert Jr. and Kristen |
| Betson Enterprises | company | 91-year-old amusement and arcade equipment distributor, manufacturer, and service provider; four-generation family business; major parts company; represents video lottery terminals; operates Betson Technical University |
| Peter Betty | person | Co-partner with Bob Geschke in early years; son of Bert Betty; inducted into Hall of Fame third class alongside Geschke; now retired |
| Bert Betty | person | Founder/second generation of Betson family; inducted in first inaugural Hall of Fame class; mentored both Geschke and son Peter |
| Eugene Jarvis | person | Game designer; noticed his games (Cruisin' Exotica) selling again through Betson; became 20+ year partner with Geschke in founding entity (Roth Rills) |
| Midway Games | company | Industry's largest supplier; closed in 1999; held 10,000 unsold program chips; Geschke purchased chips and signed royalty agreement to manufacture games |
| Light and Wonder (formerly Scientific Games) | company | Major slot machine and video lottery terminal manufacturer; Betson exclusively represents in Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska |
| Robert Jr. (Geschke) | person | Bob Geschke's son; director of operations at Betson's Carlstead facility; fourth generation family member in business |
| Kristen (Geschke) | person | Bob Geschke's daughter; works in wine and spirits business; involved in restaurant operations |
| Randy Chilton | person | Podcast interviewer; chief revenue officer of National Entertainment Network; former industry association president; moderates RePlay Podcast |
| American Amusement Machine Association (AMA) | organization | Industry organization; Geschke involved in developing code of ethics addressing fair play and skill-based gaming standards |
| Betson Technical University | organization | Educational program established 7-8 years ago; trains thousands of technicians in basic electronics and repair; operates 4-6 times annually; 3-4 day intensive courses |
| RePlay Magazine | organization | Industry publication covering coin-op entertainment for 50 years; hosting podcast series featuring industry veterans |
| George Smith | person | Successful operator mentioned as example of operator evolution and returns in FEC world |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Multi-generational family business succession and perpetuation strategy, Industry disruption of territorial distribution and exclusive territories, Amusement equipment manufacturing and supply chain (Midway transition, royalty licensing), Family Entertainment Center (FEC) market evolution and operator models, Workplace culture, employee retention, and company values
- **Secondary:** Video lottery terminal (VLT) market and state licensing partnerships, Technical support and technician training infrastructure (BTU), Skill-based gaming regulation and ethical standards in 2010s

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Geschke expresses consistent optimism about business, family, and industry future; reflects satisfaction with career decisions; acknowledges past regrets (skill-based gaming era) but frames them constructively; genuinely enthusiastic about new generation and company direction

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Supply chain and tariff concerns acknowledged as potential headwinds for industry growth, though Geschke remains optimistic about fundamentals (confidence: medium) — Geschke: 'I think the concerns with tariffs, concerns with the Mideast, But ultimately...I see things really, really moving well'
- **[business_signal]** Betson Enterprises successfully transitioned from distributor to manufacturer in 1999 post-Midway closure through royalty licensing of 10,000 chips; partnership with Eugene Jarvis resulted in long-term manufacturing capability (confidence: high) — Geschke: 'in 1999...Midway closed their doors...I bought 10,000 things...signed a royalty agreement...couple months later, we're a manufacturer'
- **[industry_signal]** Early 2010s skill-based gaming trend presented regulatory and ethical risk to industry; Geschke and AMA worked to establish code of ethics rejecting 'quick dollar' prize mechanics ($1000+ payouts) that risked casino-like perception (confidence: high) — Geschke: 'I regret that era...we didn't want to turn our family entertainment centers into casinos...Betson was very involved in the code of ethics...fair play and not fall accustomed to quick dollars'
- **[market_signal]** Video lottery terminal (VLT) licensing expanding across states (Illinois: 50,000 terminals, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nebraska launching); represents growing ancillary revenue stream for amusement distributors (confidence: high) — Geschke: 'Illinois has got 50,000 terminals right now. And Georgia is not far...Nebraska is going live this summer. And Pennsylvania, we've been involved with Pennsylvania for eight or nine years'
- **[market_signal]** Family Entertainment Centers increasingly capable of operating own equipment rather than relying on traditional operators, though operator model still viable for venues prioritizing food/beverage focus (confidence: high) — Geschke: 'people, big family entertainment percentage, owning their own equipment. Well, yes and no' and notes places that want operators 'focus on their food and beverage...run out of money when these places could be $5, $10 million'
- **[personnel_signal]** Betson Enterprises recently promoted two external CEOs (John's older brother and Todd Cravens, from public companies) into management roles, representing fourth-generation leadership expansion (confidence: high) — Geschke: 'we just brought on John's older brother and Todd Cravens, who are both CEOs of public companies. And they bring tremendous skills and new eyes into our process'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Industry sentiment shifted from viewing amusement entertainment as 'back alley' business to mainstream 'Main Street' entertainment; COVID validated location-based social entertainment demand (confidence: high) — Geschke: 'this industry has come a long way from being the back alley industry to Main Street' and 'humanity wants to get out and socialize and be with other people'
- **[business_signal]** Betson's core strategy emphasizes maintaining healthy customer base through post-sale support infrastructure (Betson Technical University, 24/7 hotline) rather than transaction-based selling (confidence: high) — Geschke: 'you just can't sell equipment and hope it works...we've got to keep our customers healthy. That's a great, great mission statement'

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## Transcript

 Welcome to Replay Magazine's podcast, where we'll dive into the legends and interesting stories within the world of what we call coin-op entertainment. That's games and amusement machines you find in arcades, fun centers, bars, restaurants, and beyond. Replay's covered this business for 50 years and is joining forces with industry veteran and former association president Randy Chilton. He is chief revenue officer for National Entertainment Network, owned by Japanese amusement giant Kittleton Genda. And now, here's Randy and this month's Replay Podcast. Welcome everybody to the third edition of the Replay Podcast. Today, I am more than excited to spend some time with Bob Gashin, who has been with Besson for 50 years. He's been the president for 25 years. He's been involved and responsible for many of the twists and turns that have occurred in this industry. They are a fourth-generation business, which is against all of the odds itself. But if you're listening to this and you're in the industry, you are certainly familiar with Betts & Enterprises. And today we're going to spend time with the guy who's been at the top of the organization for 25 years. So I hope you enjoy our conversation with Bob Gashin. Kicking off, thanks, Bob, for taking the time. And this is a pretty big honor. The story is fascinating. Betson, your personal history. I've done a lot of reading on Betson and the family and everything. It's just a great story to tell. So I'm pretty excited to get into this and appreciate your time. Hey, you're episode number three, man. So we're on a roll. I'm following two people I highly respect for two. So I think what you're doing here with this series is I hope it continues. And there's a lot of interesting people to talk to. Yeah, there's certainly some of them work for your company. So we may not be done with Bessie. You've got a whole roster of legends over there. Anyway, Bob Gashin, president of Bessie Enterprises for the better part of 25 years. Do I have that right? Yeah, a total of 50 with the company. But yeah, president since the late 90s. Yeah, that's fantastic. We're going to get into that. I wanted to kind of start because everybody knows Bob and your role and about that's in at some level. Tell me, maybe you could just share with us a little bit about non-work related. Bob, what do you do? What are your hobbies? Tell us about your family. Looks like you might have some pictures over there. Yeah, you know, my my family, I'm blessed with a very close knit family. And, you know, my life's been pretty simple. I think Terry said the same thing as me. We're all in on the industry. I bought my house 50 years ago, and I still live in it as my main residence now. My wife and I have been together 53 years, and I've been here for 50 years. And fortunately, we were able to spend a lot of time in other places around the country that we bought. But my main love has been the Jersey Shore. I kind of grew up on the Jersey Shore, and the boardwalks and the arcades is when I had a chance to – I graduated college, and I went into a big national accounting, public accounting firm, certified public accounting, Ernst & Young. And, you know, I had an opportunity that one of my clients became a little distributor in northern Jersey, called H. Betty and Sons, had 20 employees. It was a but they offered me a controllership back then. And I told my wife I needed to take a big pay cut to get out of accounting. And this is where I wanted to be. And I joined the wonderful man, Bert Betty. And, you know, this was 50 years ago. And it was so such an honor that Bert was the in the first inaugural class of the Hall of Fame that that went in. So obviously he was my mentor and he mentored me and his son, Peter, to start crafting where this industry was going to go. But, you know, my summers took me down the Jersey Shore and, you know, I spent a lot of time down the shore. And as I have a house, you know, really literally on the ocean. And I spent most of my summers with my old friend, Matt Frank Sininsky, who was we would spend every weekend together doing those kind of things. and with his kids and just became a love affair down there. So I was blessed to have three grandchildren who really got involved in another type of activity called sailing. And their sailing, it got to be pretty serious. Their sailing has taken the family to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, or whatever it's called now, and even sailing in Europe. So they became really, really high end. And they're both in college now, sailing Division I. So we've become much more of a sailing family. So that's kind of what my weekends, I've had homes in Florida. I still do. And we spend a lot of colder times in the winter down there. But again, it's all around water and boating. And more recently, Randy, Vetson has been in this building for 35 years. And so, you know, I look at my window right now, I'm staring at MetLife Stadium. If I had a window in front of me, I'd be staring at the American Dream Mall, which I encourage everyone to Google it. It's the future of entertainment. It's the biggest mall in America, and it's something that everyone should experience. And right behind me is a restaurant adjacent to our parking lot called Red's Restaurant. If any, some of the people in the industry have been to Betts in New Jersey, you know about Red's. And Red's is the top sports bar in Jersey. So me and Red, me and the guy who owns Red, we decided a few years ago to open our own restaurant. So about a mile from the office here, we opened up a place called the Roosevelt. And I encourage you to look at their website. It's a speakeasy type bar. It's an old Prohibition type style decor. and it's a pretty cool place and affords me a place to go after work and learn a little bit about that business. So yeah, it's all about my family. And I'm blessed with a wonderful family. We only take vacations together. We go around the world together. It's kind of a family where the sum of the whole is greater than the units. We all do our thing. We all have our mission in life and we all get together. It's kind of the same philosophy I had towards business about positive culture, everybody rowing in the same direction and moving forward. And just like I find this industry to be the ultimate family industry, and Betty family was very gracious to me 50 years ago. It's the same mindset. Family is everything. And if you're lucky to have a great family um you're gonna have a good life you know whether it's in business or or in personal so uh your family you've got three kids is that right two two two kids and my son's in the my son's in the business with me right what's his name my daughter's in the uh wine and spirits business so she's again very much involved with restaurants so uh there's going to be a handoff there down the road i think and uh in terms of well we got a nice little restaurant and it's uh that's doing well also. So it's, as I like to say, life is good, Randy. What is your daughter's name and your son's name? Robert Jr. is my son, and he's the director of operations here in the Carlstead facility, and my daughter's name is Kristen. Kristen. And when you guys sail, I mean, is this like the whole family getting on a mammoth sailboat? No, this is a whole mammoth family getting on a powerboat going out into the wherever we are and watching the sailboats in regattas well that's the important part thanks for uh thanks thanks for sharing that my my whiteboard over here is uh i couldn't get my arms around uh the betty family tree it's i mean we're into the fourth generation now aren't we yeah yeah the gentleman i mentioned burke was the second generation and uh and obviously I had the pleasure of being partners with Peter and Robert and Steven and Joseph And obviously they kind of built Bets in the way it constituted today with our growth. And now I've had the pleasure of working with the fourth generation, who by far is the strongest generation. Going forward in the next, we have what I call an embarrassment of riches in our management team with John and Catherine and Kyle and Brittany. And we just brought on John's older brother and Todd Cravens, who are both CEOs of public companies. And they bring tremendous skills and new eyes into our process. And yeah, I'm excited for what this group's going to do in the future. Hopefully, I can continue to mentor. And I'm enjoying myself immensely now. It's just seeing no one is mailing it in, as they say. They are really into the business. And, you know, you asked me a question how the business is doing. I think the future of our industry is brighter than ever right now. And so, yeah, we're really optimistic about what we see going forward. Yeah, it strikes me. I mean, the odds against a business not only surviving but thriving and growing with every generation. And now you're into the fourth generation. The odds against that are astronomical. What do you attribute this to? Because that shouldn't happen. Yeah, and there is statistics that add not. I think reaching the fourth generation is probably less than 1%. But again, the Brady organization, the Schaefer organization, we're all along those same lines. And I'm sure – and look how long Terry's been involved. So I think good family, good roots in the ground, and with the right attitude, not being – there's a lot of times business built up to sell. This business has been built up to perpetuate. And I think when you have a lovely family who wants to – there's no guarantee the next generation wants to come in. But fortunately, the next generation loved the business, commends the business. And like I said, at 91 years old, we're better than we were at any other point in time. And, you know, all the arrows are still pointing up. So it's a good thing. But, you know, the industry, I think, is poised to do well. And entertainment is an important part of everyone's life now. And, you know, this industry has come a long way from being the back alley industry to Main Street. And it's great to see that. Let's face it. All our kids grew up as gamers. Now those gamer kids are now parent kids. Going to a Dave & Buster's is as much fun as playing a baseball game. And people love games. And people love playing games. And we're the ultimate playground for that. So, yeah, as game rooms get bigger and entertainment and attractions get more sophisticated, you don't have to bundle it just in an arcade anymore. You bundle it with a lot of other good activities, movies, theaters. And yeah, fortunately, the old rules of the industry, which I always found to be restraint of trade and silly, we were able to challenge a lot of those things like you can't do this and you can't do that and the concept of exclusive territories and can't sell locations. Well, let's talk about that a minute because you've been somewhat of a disruptor in your career, and I think that's one of the areas. So, I mean, yeah, I remember back in the day, you could buy Williams from that guy and Valley from that guy, and you just don't think about going somewhere else. And how did you just – so you said, forget that. We're going to do something different. Tell me about that. Yeah, you have to have the power to do that. And as a distributor, we all had territories, and we would scream at someone for selling a serial number into our territory. I remember that used to – I had a distributor. He would scratch off the serial number. We all, yes, we all did that. But, you know, when you come right down to it, what does that do? It restrains trade. Obviously, you can make, yeah, in the short version, you can make a little bit of a margin, but competition is good. Rugged competition I've always believed in. You know, this has been written before, but in 1999, when I became president, you know, obviously a real bad thing happened to the industry. our biggest supplier, the industry's biggest supplier, Midway, closed their doors. And I go, oh, what's this? This is not a good sign. And they were having a fire sale out there. And I went out there and met with their CEO. And I asked him, could you build any more games when you close it? He goes, yeah, we have 10,000 program ships that we never built. I said, can I buy them? He said, no, you can sign a royalty agreement with me. He said, let's do it. so I bought 10,000 things, and now I could build, you know, if I built a game, I paid a royalty, so I figured out we've got a lot of smart people here and made some phone calls, get some blueprints, and I didn't know how to build a video game. None of us did, so went out to Chicago, found a place that do that kind of stuff, and a couple months later, we're a manufacturer. We're building Midway Games again under, you know, and paying a small royalty on it, and that was the key thing, I think, for Mike Bettson's career, because one of the games we were building was a game called Cruisin' Exotica, and it was a guy named Eugene Jarvis, and Eugene got noticed the fact that his games were selling again. He was getting the royalty, and we got together, and he says, what if I start a company? I go, let's be partners, and that's where the name Roth Rills came from, and that was 20 years ago plus, and Eugene and I have been partners, and to answer your question, that gave me the impetus of saying hey i'm a manufacturer i'm going to make new rules blow up territories we don't need them anyone can sell anything anywhere and right at that point in time because you're always thinking about how to sell more product and i i said you know these games really are holding their value and i you know it's just everybody's buying cars at the time and we weren't buying them anymore we're leasing them i'm going you know why the heck can't we do this in our industry and uh so i just started leasing product and then the fact that other distributors didn't want to lease because they were afraid of getting used equipment back, and it never happens. We just started leasing, and we started leasing everywhere. And if I had territories, I couldn't lease in other people's territories. And I said, this makes no sense. So we just blew up the whole territory thing. And, you know, eventually over time, most manufacturers, all manufacturers followed suit because they saw it as a tool to sell more product and get, Because not all distributors are created equal, and not all distributors want to extend credit, and we did. Was that pretty turbulent among your distribution credits? I'm sure I was tarred and feathered. Did you have bodyguards at the trade shows? You know, I think ultimately knew, I think everyone knew in the end it was best for maximizing the success of the industry. And again, going back to my mission statement, you've got to take care of both the operator and the manufacturer. Operators evolved to become better operators, as your company has. And distributors or locations started buying equipment. And they're all our customers now. And, you know, it's a little different sale because these locations are not just, you know, they operate the food and beverage. They operate the attractions. They operate, you know, all the elements of whether it's a movie or bowling or whatever else is laser tag. So they're business people. And once they're coming in, our fine are just fine groups. They're well capitalized there. They know right from wrong and how to run a business. And and we're just a component of that success story. And that's just fascinating because much as we did during COVID, we all just sat around. or locations were closed or we we actually uh furloughed quite a few folks while we figured out if there was ever going to be a business here would anybody ever get out of their house again is this is this the new world order and uh and and then it all came rushing back and and it just kind of proved that uh you that humanity wants to get out and socialize and be with other people And you had the same experience. The business came roaring back, and then the family entertainment centers and the demand. So that caught us a little off guard, but you were right there ready for it. So that's great. Yeah, I think the key in the company also is this culture. And one thing that's really been important to me is positive energy. And obviously, we see a lot of the opposite happening in the world we live in right now. And it just creates, it's like rowing a canoe with one oar. You're just going to go in circles. If you really bring people in that buy in and want to share your goals and you create that positive momentum, you really can make great strides and have incredible collaboration and open up people's entrepreneurial skills. And that's kind of what we look for. And when we have people that are not along with that, you know, it's you have to make some tough decisions in running a business. You really want good people who, you know, open up and don't become miscreants here and create some positive momentum. And so our culture here has been that I think it has a lot to do with family members being such an important part of it. You know, they've had the same upbringing and mentoring at a personal level that their parents or their siblings had. And so it's really bode well for the Betty family. And obviously, we've had some success in building a very large district. We talk a lot about Betson today, but, you know, we've built a very, very, one of the largest parts company in the industry. And years ago, we got involved in gaming and video lottery terminals. And we partnered up with, again, it's a small world, but a company that was forerunners to the Bally and Williams line became a company called today called Light and Wonder or Scientific Games. But Light and Wonder is one of the largest slot machine companies in the world. And we use the term video lottery terminal, but states are now licensing their product because they're all short of money. And we exclusively represent Light and Wonder in four states now. And that's turned out to be a, you know, that's a location. These are terminals in bars. And so we represent them in Georgia, Illinois. Illinois has got 50,000 terminals right now. And Georgia is not far, that close number to that behind. And Nebraska is going live this summer. And Pennsylvania, we've been involved with Pennsylvania for eight or nine years. So another big part of the family business here. That's tangential to what we do in the amusement side. Yeah, that's a whole separate conversation. So is there any of these big monumental decisions you've made along the way where you go, wow, I got that one wrong? You know, I regretted the era that we went through in the early 2010s where a lot of the equipment we were selling, I don't think, was of skill based. And I think that we need to represent that we're a good fun industry. We're clean fun. We have skill and we can have difficulty settings. And I regret that time we went through that. The industry could have went down a very rabbit hole there with people feeling disenfranchised when they come in. And they go to places, these family entertainment centers, for good fun, to have some enjoyment, to have some egotistical success. And we didn't want to turn our family entertainment centers into casinos. And so I think that was a time where I regret that we all jumped into that vortex of getting enamored with how much a machine does. But I think ultimately, you know, Betson and myself was very involved in the code of ethics that the AMA has right now in terms of basically fair play and not fall accustomed to the quick dollars that something can make with the lure of a thousand dollar prize in there or something. So, you know, I think, but other than that, I can't think of anything that jumps out that I wish I should have, could have, would have. I think we've been very methodical. And again, you know, I've had a great partner in everything I've done, and that was Peter Betty. And it was very important for me personally that, you know, Peter and I went into the Hall of Fame in the third class of the, so, because I think that's one thing that that group got right. And we've had the opportunity to – Pete's retired now, but the fact that we went in together was – it just struck my heartstrings pretty strongly. Yeah. Love the guy. My interaction with – Benson's been hit and miss over the years, but I did meet Peter a number of times. Yeah. And I was quite intimidated by him. He's a pretty big presence of a guy. and he was enormously intelligent and again we did we spent a lot of time in the early years in our thinking and strategizing together and everything I've done everything I said today it was done me and him and we both had the benefit of being mentored by the same man and it's tough for a father and son sometimes but I think we both had great, great tutelage and, um, Rufus in the pudding. And when you say you're both, Bert was, uh, who mentored both of you. Is that right? Yeah. Yeah. We, you know, Peter and I started the same year together and they were both fresh out of literally a year or two out of college. And, you know, I, I, like I said, I didn't want to, wanted to get out of accounting and, um, and, uh, yeah, we, the company was, you know, 20, we had 20 employees when we both started and, uh, obviously we got a lot bigger. But, you know, for me, I'm still loving every minute of it. And I get to work with great young people now who are smarter than I ever was. And they're bringing new systems and technology. And, Jesus, man, it's pretty slick. What do John Youssi happening in this business over the next five or ten years? I mean, I think you're pretty optimistic and bullish on it. Yeah, I think, like I said, we've tested some pretty with COVID. and stock market changes. But I think our form of entertainment, because the player is, the money's there, the locations are there, the tech, what manufacturers are working on right now, or whether it's VR or whether it's motion or great investment in technology. I think the concerns with tariffs, concerns with the Mideast, But ultimately, I think the fact that more locations and more retail will close and those locations are in great demographics. We've got great consultants in the industry who are guiding the right people. We have a lot of people, a lot of people, Randy, who want to come into this place, who find whether they want to bring their kids in or whether they want to just, you know, they hear stories. And, you know, whether it's bowling alleys, movie theaters, bounce places, these are all doing well. So, yes, I see things really, really moving well. God, I wish I was younger. You know, I said that just the other day. You're having fun and I'm thrilled you're still doing it. And I can tell you like going to work every day. Well, you know, it's, you know, it's, is it wrong to have that work as your hobby also? And, and I've always, you know, like I told you earlier, I do a lot of stuff, but I, you know, there's the old, I forget the old saying by Will Rogers, if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. And yeah, I think I'm a devotee of that statement. And yeah, I love it. Thank, you know my employees have a thing here We say thank God it Monday That excellent Thank God it Monday So yeah we all having a good time You know, one of the things that always fascinated me about the family entertainment centers is a lot of these people buying their own. You know, me being a traditional operator, I always said, oh, they'll call in two or three years. It's not going to work. They're going to call and want us to buy our equipment and come in and do a revenue share. It happens, but not very darn off. And I'm going, dang, that model is actually working. So people, big family entertainment percentage, owning their own equipment. Well, yes and no. And bowling centers or whatnot. We underwrite a lot and consult a lot. And there's still a large number of places that are being built that really want to bring an operator because they want to focus on their food and beverage. They want to focus on the entertainment. They want to focus on marketing. and they run out of money when these places could be $5, $10 million to build from the ground up. And they want to bring an operator in for a period of time. And a lot of these, I can mention a lot of names of guys who have made tremendous success. You think of guys like George Smith and how much success he's had, but they've had to evolve. They've had to become better. And they've had to be not reticent to invest. Of course, the returns are there. So I think there's room in the place for both. But I think the operator has to evolve and get the skills that are necessary to bring a value added to that location. But I think there's a place for operations in the FEC world for sure. And you've figured out how to support after the sale. That's what's impressed me. Parts, service, people have issues a year or two down the road. You still take care of them. Well, what I'm most proud of, Randy, is we started something, oh, seven or eight years ago called Bexon Technical University. And we've graduated tens, not tens, thousands of technicians already. Because, again, the concern was, you know, without an operator, you're going to have someone on the location that can fix these things when they go down on the weekend. And so we knew there was a need to teach basic electronics and, you know, how to fix things or, you know, whether it's, you know, just how to diagnose. And, you know, frankly, with technology and coming like best and has to be 24-7 with a hotline. And, you know, we can't have stuff go down on Friday night in a place that's going to do a big number over the weekend with good games and not have a solution. So we graduated thousands of technicians who have become, you know, value added to these locations. And we continue to run these BTUs, you know, four or six times a year. And we fill up the class. It's amazing. We fill up the classes and it goes three or four days. And these kids come out and they're, you know, they're ready to rock and roll. So, again, you've got to invest in the infrastructure and the core. You just can't sell equipment and hope it works. And again, going back to my mission statement, we've got to keep our customers healthy. That's a great, great mission statement. So I certainly wrote that down. We love what we do. And I think, again, as I said earlier, there's such fraternity in our industry. There's such people who like each other. And we all root for each other because ultimately, we all want to stay in the business. And there's plenty of room for all of us to be successful. And let's just be creative. and don't be afraid to challenge things. Having gone through a number of evolutions, we're the bookend conversation here because we've been bought and sold and traded so many times, I even have a hard time giving you an accurate count. So, and it's had its own highs and lows. But one thing that is really evident over the years is if you don't get the CEO position, If the guy at top, if you don't get that right, nothing else matters. You can't fix it. And I think in your situation over the years and especially the last 25, I think Betson's got it right with you because I can tell by your energy and your enthusiasm. And I know you're humble, but the top guy sets the tone and everybody else just executes. And if you don't get the top guy right, nothing else. I've had it right and I've had it wrong and there's a big difference. Yeah, that's true probably in every industry, not just us. And in our industry, my philosophy has always been, as I said earlier, to invest and grow. And not every industry is a family business. Many people start businesses to build it and flip it. But we're not into that business. We're into perpetuation and growth. And fortunately, we've been part of an industry that manufacturers have really delivered great goods and the customers have done a great job in running clean, nice, well-safe locations. And there's a huge need for that, you know, to good, clean fun in the worlds we live in. And I think let's keep our games clean. Let's keep our games skill-based. And everyone's going to do well. So the, you know, move forward a few years when the fifth, sixth and seventh generation of Bettys are sitting in a room going, hey, remember that Bob guy? Oh, yeah, Bob. What do you want? What are they going to say about Bob years from now? Hopefully the same thing I say about Bert Betty, that, you know, we were that I mentored, I mentored their parents or grandparents. and it was all part of a handoff. And yeah, it's just, you know, it's building a mountain is very, you know, just building various layers. And I'm pleased to have had the baton for 50 years. And, you know, like I said, my son's in the business and a lot of people's sons that I worked with, the tenure we have within the company is, you know, we give awards out at five and 10 and 20 year increments. And, you know, when you have a Christmas party and there's 10 people getting a 30-year award, you know, it's pretty amazing. So we haven't had a lot of people leave. And my philosophy when I always hired people, I said, this has got to be your last job. I don't care how old you are. That's all I'm hiring you for. This is not a stepping stone. And it's my job to make their life good and give them a good life. And I feel very responsible for that. I never looked at how many employees I looked at, how many people are in the families of the employees I had. And they're relying on their CEO to make the right decisions. And it's very rewarding to see kids grow up. And I've been here long enough to see kids being born and kids coming into our business. And I love to hear things from their perspective when they were growing up. We all brought our kids into the showroom to play games growing up. and now they're working for us. So it's pretty good. Well, this has been great as I started out. The fun part for me about doing this is I got to, I really focused on researching the company and the family and learning about it. And a little embarrassed that I learned so many things for the first time. But no. Well, you're out in Denver and, you know, maybe we'll open an office up there next year. Oh, I wouldn't be surprised. And then maybe one of these days I will do my podcast on Randy Chilton. Might be a little shorter. But, hey, thank you for taking the time. This has been an honor. We're friends, and I value that, and we'll look forward to seeing you again. But really, thank you. It's a great story. I think people will enjoy it. So we'll keep you posted here. You are getting better at this, and I'm glad you're doing this because you're the right person to do it, I think. And I've enjoyed my time with you, Randy, and I've always enjoyed our time doing business together in the past, too. You're a real gentleman. Thank you. Well, thank you. We will continue to do that. So, all right. Well, thank you. Have a great day, and we'll be in touch. Be well, Randy. Thank you. Bye. Game over.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0602f74f-24b3-4be9-9873-b1943f5ffdbd*