# THE GAME SHOW

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2019-07-10  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2019/07/10/the-game-show

---

## Analysis

The Game Show, a new pinball-heavy arcade opened in July 2019 in Lombard, Illinois by Mark Czarnowski (owner of the former Chicago Street Pinball arcade in Joliet). The arcade features 16 pinball machines including classic Williams/Bally games and recent Stern titles, along with video games and planned additions of Skee-Ball and basketball games. Pricing allows $20 free play for video games and most pins, with recent Stern pins available at $1 per play or $5 for seven plays.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The Game Show arcade features sixteen pinball machines — _Direct statement in arcade description_
- [HIGH] Mark Czarnowski previously owned Chicago Street Pinball in Joliet, which closed due to poor foot traffic — _Operator background and location decision explanation_
- [HIGH] Six Stern pins at the front are pay-to-play at $1 each ($5 for seven plays), separate from the $20 free play admission — _Explicit pricing structure detailed in article_
- [HIGH] Customers can play the six Stern pins without paying arcade admission if they only want to play those machines — _Specific pricing feature highlighted_
- [HIGH] The arcade is planned to add Skee-Ball, basketball shooter, and more fighting video games — _Direct quote: 'Mark said he is adding Skee-Ball, a basketball shooter, and more fighting video games'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Three of my all-time favorite pins side-by-side"
> — **Article author**, Not specified
> _Indicates positive reception of the arcade's machine selection_

> "I couldn't stop playing this addictive pin"
> — **Article author**, Not specified
> _Demonstrates engaging gameplay experience at the arcade_

> "I really enjoyed playing all the pins at Mark's new arcade and I hope it is a big success. It is so nice to have a local location loaded with fun pinball machines to play."
> — **Article author**, Conclusion
> _Overall positive endorsement and community sentiment toward the new venue_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Mark Czarnowski | person | Arcade operator and owner of The Game Show and former Chicago Street Pinball |
| The Game Show | organization | New pinball-heavy arcade located in Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard, Illinois, opened July 2019 |
| Chicago Street Pinball | organization | Former arcade in downtown Joliet owned by Mark Czarnowski, closed due to poor foot traffic |
| Yorktown Shopping Center | event | Shopping mall in Lombard, Illinois where The Game Show is located |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of recent pinball machines featured at the arcade including X-Men, Batman: The Dark Knight, Star Wars, and others |
| Williams | company | Classic pinball manufacturer represented at the arcade with titles like Taxi, Earthshaker!, High Speed II, Big Ben |
| Bally | company | Classic pinball manufacturer represented at arcade with titles like Creature From the Black Lagoon and Dr. Dude |
| Star Wars | game | Stern pinball machine available as pay-to-play at The Game Show |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | game | Stern pinball machine available as pay-to-play at The Game Show |
| Black Knight: Sword of Rage | game | Stern pinball machine available as pay-to-play at The Game Show |

### Topics

- **Primary:** New arcade opening, Pinball machine collection and game selection, Arcade pricing and business model
- **Secondary:** Location strategy and foot traffic, Classic vs modern pinball mix

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Article author expresses enthusiasm about the arcade quality, machine selection, and venue viability. Positive comments about location choice and optimism about success. No negative sentiment detected.

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** New pinball arcade venue opening in Illinois with mixed classic and modern machines, representing continued retail/location presence in Midwest (confidence: high) — The Game Show arcade opened July 2019 in Lombard with 16 pinball machines and hybrid pricing model
- **[market_signal]** Operator relocating from lower-traffic downtown location to shopping mall indicates importance of foot traffic and casual player accessibility for arcade viability (confidence: high) — Mark Czarnowski moved from downtown Joliet (poor foot traffic, closed arcade) to Yorktown Shopping Center mall location for higher visitor volume
- **[market_signal]** Hybrid pricing model separating recent Stern premium machines from classic free-play collection reflects differentiated monetization strategy (confidence: high) — $20 free play for video games and classic pins, vs $1 per play for six recent Stern machines at front of arcade

---

## Transcript

Date: July 2019 Location: 170 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard, IL 60148, USA A new pinball-heavy arcade just opened called The Game Show. It is located in the Yorktown Shopping Center in Lombard, Illinois, on the East side lower level of the mall, right by JCPenney. ![The arcade is located near JCPenney at the mall](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/01-the-game-show.jpg) The arcade is located near JCPenney at the mall The arcade is owned by Mark Czarnowski, who opened the Chicago Street Pinball arcade in Joliet five years ago. Unfortunately, downtown Joliet was not a very popular place for people to visit, so Mark decided to move to Lombard where there is more people traffic and, hopefully, customers. The Yorktown mall looks well maintained and occupied with stores. I enjoyed visiting Mark’s now-closed Joliet arcade, but I think he will do much better in Lombard due to all the mall visitors every day. ![The entrance to just-opened The Game Show arcade](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/02-the-game-show.jpg) The entrance to just-opened The Game Show arcade The arcade features sixteen pins and lots of video games. Mark said he is adding Skee-Ball, a basketball shooter, and more fighting video games. ![Three of my three all time favorite pins side-by-side](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/05-the-game-show.jpg) Three of my all-time favorite pins side-by-side ![More of the pins available to play](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/06-the-game-show.jpg) More of the pins available to play ![The arcade's name may be inspired by this pin](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/03-the-game-show.jpg) The arcade’s name may be inspired by this pin ![Classic video games lined up in the middle of the arcade](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/09-the-game-show.jpg) Classic arcade The pricing for the arcade is $15 for free play on the video games, or $20 for free play on the video games and the pins, except for the six Stern pins at the front of the arcade. ![A row of recent Stern pins](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/10-the-game-show.jpg) A row of recent Stern pins Those pins are an additional $1 each play ($5 for seven plays). If you purchase the $20 free play admission version, a $5 credit is given on any of the pay-to-play Stern pins. ![I couldn’t stop playing this addictive pin](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/11-the-game-show.jpg) I couldn’t stop playing this addictive pin ![A long wall of classic pins](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/04-the-game-show.jpg) A long wall of classic pins A nice pricing feature to me is that you do not have to pay an admission fee if you only want to play the six Stern pins at $1 each play ($5 for seven plays). These were the pinballs available to play on this visit: Creature From the Black Lagoon – Bally Taxi – Williams The Machine: Bride of Pinot – Williams Jackbot – Williams The Bally Game Show – Bally Earthshaker! – Williams X-Men – Stern Big Ben – Williams High Speed II: The Getaway – Williams Dr. Dude – Bally Batman: The Dark Knight – Stern Star Wars (pro) – Stern Guardians of the Galaxy (pro) – Stern The Munsters (pro) – Stern Deadpool (pro) – Stern Black Knight: Sword of Rage (pro) – Stern ![Always great to see an EM pin on location](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/07-the-game-show.jpg) Always great to see an EM pin on location ![Lots of the popular driving video games](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/sites/the-game-show/08-the-game-show.jpg) Lots of the popular driving video games The Game Show is open: Monday-Friday: 11am to 9pm Saturday: 10am to 9pm * Sunday: 11am to 6pm I really enjoyed playing all the pins at Mark’s new arcade and I hope it is a big success. It is so nice to have a local location loaded with fun pinball machines to play.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 1fba11d2-5371-4cdb-94cb-60b4dee187dd*