# Dutch Pinball Museum Opens **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2015-11-26 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/dpm.html --- ## Analysis The Dutch Pinball Museum officially opened on November 26, 2015, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with former Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm as the special guest. Owner Gerard Van de Sanden curated a collection of 45 machines (targeting 50) spanning pinball history from the 1900s to modern releases, organized by era and historical significance. The museum operates as an educational venue during weekdays hosting tours and private events, and as a casual arcade on weekends, with entry based on duration (€6-€16) and special token restrictions for the newest games provided by Ministry of Pinball distributor Bertjan Postma. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Gerard Van de Sanden was inspired by visiting the Seattle Pinball Museum (50-machine model) as the base for the Dutch Pinball Museum, rather than the larger Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame model — _Gerard's direct quote about visiting both museums and choosing the Seattle model as his inspiration_ - [MEDIUM] Rotterdam is currently a better location than Amsterdam for attracting visitors and tourists — _Gerard's opinion that Rotterdam is 'hotter than Amsterdam' and a booming tourist area, though this reflects his perspective rather than independent verification_ - [HIGH] The Museum space was originally a concrete shell with no utilities (water, electricity, sewage), and construction was completed through community donations and volunteer labor from pinball friends — _Gerard's detailed account of the building's initial state and how it was developed_ - [HIGH] The Museum charges tiered admission: €6 for 1 hour, €10 for 3 hours, €16 for full day, with tokens restricting play on newest games — _Gerard's explicit pricing structure explanation_ - [HIGH] Ministry of Pinball displays 5-6 brand-new machines (including Kiss LE, Star Trek LE, The Walking Dead LE, ruby red Wizard of Oz, and Medieval Madness remake) in the Museum as a showroom arrangement — _Gerard lists specific machines provided by Bertjan Postma and Ministry of Pinball_ - [HIGH] Gerrit Zalm, the opening ceremony's special guest, is the longest-serving Finance Minister in Dutch political history and a pinball fan — _Stated directly in the article about Zalm's background and his animated playing style_ - [HIGH] A Williams Hurricane machine from 1991 remained sealed in its original box for 24 years before being opened at the launch party — _Article documents the unboxing event with photographs_ ### Notable Quotes > "The idea had been around, in the air. Somebody had to do it, and it had to be me!" > — **Gerard Van de Sanden**, N/A > _Demonstrates Gerard's personal conviction and motivation for founding the museum_ > "Not too big – 50 machines – all nice machines. And I think this is the base to start from. Then we went to Las Vegas and the Pinball Hall of Fame – that is not the way I want to do it." > — **Gerard Van de Sanden**, N/A > _Reveals Gerard's deliberate curatorial philosophy and rejection of the larger venue model_ > "I'm a museum director. Because I have the stories, I have the know-how. I can play, but I really want to share the stories." > — **Gerard Van de Sanden**, N/A > _Articulates the museum's core mission: educational storytelling rather than commercial arcade operation_ > "I don't know much about the early games – but I'm learning. I know everything about dot-matrix games." > — **Gerard Van de Sanden**, N/A > _Shows Gerard's willingness to learn and his depth of knowledge in a specific era_ > "The idea was, when people come in they have a certain age – 30s, 40s, 50s. I want everyone to re-live their youth" > — **Gerard Van de Sanden**, N/A > _Explains the curatorial strategy of organizing machines by era to appeal to visitors' nostalgic memories_ > "It's a win-win situation. When people want to buy a machine they don't have to go to the showroom… he can do his job, and he can sell a game to me and everyone can play the machine." > — **Gerard Van de Sanden**, N/A > _Describes the mutually beneficial business arrangement between the museum and Ministry of Pinball_ > "I get a lot of questions asking if people can buy one of my machines. No!" > — **Gerard Van de Sanden**, N/A > _Clarifies that the museum's machines are not for sale except through the Ministry of Pinball partnership_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Dutch Pinball Museum | organization | Official opening on November 26, 2015, in Rotterdam, Netherlands; 45 machines currently with goal of 50; hybrid educational-arcade model | | Gerard Van de Sanden | person | Founder and owner of Dutch Pinball Museum; museum director with extensive pinball hobby experience; focuses on storytelling and education | | Gerrit Zalm | person | Former Dutch Finance Minister, CEO of ABN AMRO bank, pinball fan; officiated the museum's opening ceremony by striking a gong | | Bertjan Postma | person | Owner/operator of Ministry of Pinball; Jersey Jack Pinball distributor; provided 5-6 brand-new machines as showroom display in the museum | | Ministry of Pinball | organization | Pinball distributor and showroom operator; partnered with Dutch Pinball Museum to display and sell new machines | | Seattle Pinball Museum | organization | Inspirational reference model for the Dutch Pinball Museum; Gerard Van de Sanden visited and used it as basis for his 50-machine concept | | Pinball Hall of Fame | organization | Las Vegas-based museum referenced by Gerard as a model he explicitly rejected (too large) | | Van Es Amusement | organization | Referenced through Dieter van Es, who shares pinball stories with Gerard | | Peter Homan | person | Released pinball documentary 'Same Player Shoots Again'; participated in official opening ceremony | | ABN AMRO | organization | Dutch bank; Gerrit Zalm is CEO; was floated on Amsterdam Stock Exchange the same week as the museum opening | | Rotterdam | organization | City in the Netherlands where the Dutch Pinball Museum is located; positioned as a growing tourist destination | | Kiss LE | product | Pinball machine provided by Ministry of Pinball as part of showroom display | | Star Trek LE | product | Pinball machine provided by Ministry of Pinball as part of showroom display | | The Walking Dead LE | product | Pinball machine provided by Ministry of Pinball as part of showroom display | | Wizard of Oz | product | Ruby red edition pinball machine provided by Ministry of Pinball as part of showroom display | | Medieval Madness | product | Remake version pinball machine provided by Ministry of Pinball as part of showroom display | | Williams Hurricane | product | 1991 Williams pinball machine; remained sealed in original box for 24 years before being unboxed at museum launch party | | Twilight Zone | product | Pinball machine in museum collection; machine mentioned as location where reporter played during opening party | | Indiana Jones | product | Pinball machine in museum collection; Gerrit Zalm played this machine for media photographers during opening | | Fenix Food Factory | organization | Boutique food venue in the same warehouse building as the museum; example of artisan/trendy tenant mix | ### Topics - **Primary:** Museum business model and operational strategy, Pinball machine collection curation and historical significance, Educational programming and storytelling in pinball venues - **Secondary:** Pricing structure and revenue models for pinball venues, Partnership between museum and commercial distributor (Ministry of Pinball), Rotterdam's emerging status as a tourist destination, Community funding and volunteer labor in venue development - **Mentioned:** Historic preservation and adaptive reuse of industrial buildings ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Article is celebratory of the museum's opening and Gerard's achievement. Tone is enthusiastic about the curatorial vision and hybrid model. No critical perspectives or controversies mentioned. The narrative is documentary-style but clearly favorable toward the project. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Ministry of Pinball established physical showroom within museum with 5-6 new machines (Kiss LE, Star Trek LE, Walking Dead LE, ruby Wizard of Oz, Medieval Madness remake) for sales and demo (confidence: high) — Gerard's explicit description of the partnership with Bertjan Postma and specific machines on display - **[community_signal]** Museum designed with dual-mode operation: weekday educational tours/private events with storytelling, weekend free-play public arcade access (confidence: high) — Gerard's explanation of the operational split between tours/corporate events and weekend public play - **[market_signal]** Shift toward educational, story-focused pinball venues as alternative to purely commercial arcade/barcade model (confidence: high) — Gerard's explicit rejection of arcade/barcade model in favor of museum/educational approach; emphasis on storytelling over profit maximization - **[event_signal]** Official opening of Dutch Pinball Museum with significant media coverage and high-profile government guest (Gerrit Zalm) (confidence: high) — Article documents the November 26, 2015 opening party with media presence and Zalm's participation - **[market_signal]** Curatorial focus on machines organized by historical era and personal nostalgia, appealing to multiple generational cohorts (1970s-2020s players) (confidence: high) — Gerard's description of timeline from 1900s through modern games and strategy of matching machines to visitors' ages and youth experiences --- ## Transcript Date: 26th November 2015 Although the Dutch Pinball Museum had a 'soft launch' at the end of August, the official opening party took place this evening at the Museum's home in Rotterdam. The exterior of the Dutch Pinball Museum Museum owner Gerard Van de Sanden has been feverishly refurbishing the building and purchasing games so that he can realise his dream. The Dutch Pinball Museum logo Tonight, former Dutch Finance Minister and current CEO of recently-floated ABN AMRO bank, Gerrit Zalm, was the special guest to officially declare the Museum open. Gerrit Zalm at the Museum We arrived at the Museum around 3:30pm after a flight to Amsterdam Schiphol airport and a 25-minute train journey to Rotterdam Centraal station. Arriving at Rotterdam Centraal station From there it was a 10-minute metro ride to Wilhelminaplein station followed by a 10-minute walk along the south bank of the Maas River to the Museum. Across the Maas River to the Museum This part of Rotterdam is seeing plenty of construction, with new homes, offices and hotels going up alongside a number of historic buildings such as the New York Hotel. Renovation and new construction on the way to the Museum Meanwhile, the area around the Museum retains much of its historical heritage. Even the building in which it lives preserves much from its former life as a light industrial warehouse. While it may present a public face which is best described as 'shabby-chic', inside it's a very different matter. Inside the Museum before the launch party began With the launch party coming up, Pinball News spoke to Gerard about the Museum. We started by asking why he set it up in the first place. He told us, "The idea had been around, in the air. Somebody had to do it, and it had to be me! I wanted to start this seven years ago, but I didn’t have the time for it, and I didn’t have the energy. But now it’s time. We started seven years ago with a group of guys. We wanted to have a museum about games, arcades, everything, and I was going to do the pinball. But it was too big to do. So last year, Bert-Jan and I went to the [Pinball] Expo, and we went to the Seattle Pinball Museum. I walked in there and I thought, ‘This is the base for me to do it’. Not too big – 50 machines – all nice machines. And I think this is the base to start from. Then we went to Las Vegas and the Pinball Hall of Fame – that is not the way I want to do it." Anyone outside the Netherlands might assume that the best place to be located to attract visitors would be the capital, Amsterdam. But Gerard says that's no longer the case. "You know, Americans always say 'if you do something and want to make a living out of it, there are three things that are important; location, location, location'. Rotterdam is currently the place to be. It’s hotter than Amsterdam and the spot where I am at is very much a tourist attraction… it’s a booming area." The Museum is located in one of the units of a former dockside warehouse. It's a very solid, historical building which has been renovated and now houses a number of trendy artisan shops. The former warehouse There's an electric bike store, a circus school, a gym, and the popular Fenix Food Factory, where boutique bakers, brewers, cheese-makers, butchers and fruit growers bring their wares and serve them up for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The Museum is a good fit for that area, according to Gerard. "I am renting it from the City, and they want specialist shops. They don’t want to have any more food stores. They want to make it interesting. The Food Factory is all 30- or 40-year olds - the hipsters. But the Museum can attract young people." When he first moved in, the space the Museum now occupies was little more than a concrete shell. Gerard told us how the transformation into the Museum took place. "We had nothing, no water, no electricity, no sewage.  It was all friends, pinball friends. A lot of favours. There have been a lot of donations, financially. I don’t have the money to do it, so a lot of people donated money to me or they helped me with the construction, and still people are helping me with the technical stuff." The reception desk with some of the free food and drinks for guests A grey gorilla 'apes' the Congo toy and artwork Unique game designs adorn one wall While rare and prototype playfields feature opposite Why, we wondered, did Gerard want to run a museum - an educational establishment - rather than taking the seemingly-easier and potentially more profitable route of opening an arcade or a barcade? He told us... "You’ve know me for some years now. I’ve done a lot of things in the hobby, all kinds of things; built The Matrix and done the shows. When I put everything together, I think I’m a museum director. Because I have the stories, I have the know-how. I can play, but I really want to share the stories. I’m not a tournament player, so I don’t want to be a barcade or an arcade, I want to tell stories." But Gerard doesn't consider himself a pinball historian. At least, not yet. "I don’t know much about the early games – but I’m learning. I know everything about dot-matrix games. Dieter David Van Es [of operator David Van Es Amusement], he tells me stories, I collect them in my head, I tell the stories again. A lot of people don’t know pinball or only played pinball in their early years. I want them to renew… to reintroduce them or introduce them, to tell them some stories." The choice of machines to go into the Museum is a mix of the historically significant, iconic titles which players might remember fondly, along with the very latest releases courtesy of Bertjan Postma of Ministry of Pinball, who is the distributor of Jersey Jack Pinball and sells games from all the pinball manufacturers. Bertjan has moved his showroom display of five or six brand new games into the Museum. Ministry of Pinball's showroom "The idea was, when people come in they have a certain age – 30s, 40s, 50s. I want everyone to re-live their youth, so when you come and you were playing in the ‘70s, you play Capt. Fantastic.  So we decided that the machines which go into the Museum have to be rare or have a memory from your youth. I have a time line. I have machines from 1900, 1910…'20…'50… I tell them stories and go to the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and the new machines." Gerard said that there were currently 45 machines in the Museum, but the aim is to have 50. The bank of machines on the left side: The Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Freddy - A Nightmare on Elm Street, Space Jam, Tommy, Dirty Harry, Indiana Jones, Batman Forever, Cirqus Voltaire and Cactus Canyon More machines against the left wall: The Matrix, Mini-Viper, Punchy the Clown and Safecracker Machines in the centre of the room: Taxi, Doctor Who, Elektra, Fireball! Classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Robot and Mr & Mrs Pac-Man Machines against the right-hand wall: Six Million Dollar Man, Pinball Pool, Q*Bert's Quest, Orbitor 1, Pinbot, Black Knight 2000, Bone Busters, Class of 1812 and Strange Science However, fill a room with 50 pinballs and no matter how interesting the stories and the historical background might be, people are going to want to play them. So the museum has two different modes of operation. During the week the Museum is open for tours or private parties. These can be corporate events, birthday parties or organised tour groups. Gerard starts the events by telling his stories and introducing the guests to the machines and their history. "We have companies… Tomorrow I have a birthday party for kids, and the first ten minutes is mine. I tell them the story - I always do the funny stuff, like Capt. Fantastic with Adolf Hitler - and they like it.  It’s educational, it's about the games, and after they can play them." Stairs lead up to the electromechanical and flipperless games Even the stairs tell a story At the top Electromechanical machines upstairs: Dipsy Doodle, Flip Flop!, Hi-Score Pool, Four Million BC, Stop Go, Capt. Fantastic and Wizard! A display of pre-flipper games At the weekend the Museum operates more like an arcade. The same historical information is available on request, but the emphasis is very much on playing the games. Entry to the Museum is charged according to the time spent there. Three types of ticket are available. A one hour ticket costs €6 ($6.40/£4.25), while entry for three hours is €10 ($10.65/£7.05). For longer stays, a full-day ticket is available for €16. The great majority of the games are on free play but play on the very newest titles is restricted through the use of tokens, a number of which are included with each ticket. Gerard explained how it works. "Most machines are on free play, but Bertjan’s are going to be on tokens. So a one hour guy or girl will get one token and can play Bertjan’s machine. A three-hour ticket for €10 will get you two tokens. A day token is €16 you get three tokens.  That’s the idea. People can buy more tokens, but we want to protect his games.  The Matrix will also be controlled by a button, but the rest will all be on free play." We asked Gerard about the tie-up with Ministry of Pinball and how that works, with Bertjan providing the Museum with the very latest games. Has Ministry of Pinball moved into the Museum? "Just the showroom - five or six machines. I’ve got Kiss LE now, Star Trek LE, The Walking Dead LE, a ruby red The Wizard of Oz, and Medieval Madness remake. It’s a win-win situation. When people want to buy a machine they don’t have to go to the showroom… they don’t have to put an hour's worth of effort in – he can do his job, and he can sell a game to me and everyone can play the machine.  If someone is interested they can go to the machine and order one." But these are the only machines for sale. "I get a lot of questions asking if people can buy one of my machines. No!" Work on the Museum is far from complete. While teaching pinball's history himself is a fun part of running the business, Gerard wants to expand that part further. "The education part still has to be evolved, with signs.  I don’t have a big budget, but I really want to do an audio tour or something using iPads. It’s in the future, but first, in my head, I want to be open [to the public] for five days [a week].  It’s not do-able now.  Why?  I have to make money – the rent is very high – but I don’t want to be a play hall, an arcade.  So when I’m in the Museum, on Saturday and Sunday people are coming in and they want to play, and I can’t tell them the same story 30 or 40 times. But that’s OK.  I’m going to be open at the weekends for the public, but then schools, tours, companies, who let me tell the story for 20-25 minutes, and then play." Almost every inch of the Museum's wall space is taken up with something pinball related. There's no respite, even when you visit the toilets. The corridor to the toilets is lined with playfields and backglasses Take a seat, courtesy of Creature from the Black Lagoon The seat is located in front of a wall of pinball playfields A display case packed with pinball artefacts There is a second upper floor above the reception area. This provides more seating as well as some spectacular views, and naturally the spiral staircase leading there also has a message to relate. The front upper floor The spiral staircase Cinema-style seating upstairs at the Museum The view across the harbour The Museum started to fill with invited guests and people from the media. Reporters and camera crews were soon milling around, taking pictures, interviewing guests, shooting video and recording the in-game sounds. Soon after 5pm, Gerrit Zalm arrived. Gerrit is the longest-serving Finance Minister in Dutch political history and a pinball fan. He has an animated playing style, and all the media teams wanted shots of him playing an Indiana Jones machine. Gerrit on Indy The timing of his arrival was rather unfortunate for us - just as we were one shot away from starting Lost in the Zone on Twilight Zone. What to do? Abandon the game to get the picture, or carry on playing? Obviously we carried on, made the shot, played the mode, and got the Grand Champion and LITZ Champion scores, all while everyone's attention was focused 10 feet to our right. Ah well, no fame this time. Having done his turn for the media, Gerrit went to the upstairs area with Gerard and Peter Homan - who has just released a new pinball DVD entitled Same Player Shoots Again (review coming soon) - to officially declare the Museum open. Peter, Gerrit and Gerard Everyone on the Museum's main floor watches the events on the balcony Gerrit receives a copy of Same Player Shoots Again Earlier in the week, Gerrit's bank - ABN Amro - has finally come out of government ownership and was floated on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. On that day Gerrit declared the start of trading by banging a gong at the Exchange. Tonight, he repeated that gesture to officially declare the Dutch Pinball Museum open. Gerrit strikes the gong and the Museum is officially open Celebrations lasted into the night as we made our way back to the train station. All the machines were on free play for the launch party Food and drink was provided inside, while a burger van produced meatball sandwiches outside However, there was one more notable event to take place. Throughout the evening, a box had stood in the centre of the floor. Gerard with the 'mystery' box This was actually a new-in-box Williams Hurricane machine from 1991. It had remained in its box for 24 years, but tonight it was to be opened for the first time. The game with its owner (picture: Rens Hooijmaijers) The boxed game is placed on a table (picture: Rens Hooijmaijers) The box is opened (picture: Rens Hooijmaijers) The Hurricane is set up and powers up successfully (picture: Rens Hooijmaijers) The evening provided a fitting launch for the Museum and generated plenty of media interest both about the Museum and about pinball in general. Getting to the Dutch Pinball Museum is pretty easy. There are express trains from Amsterdam Centraal Station and Schiphol Airport, from where it only takes 25 minutes. Then it's four or five stops on the Metro (D Line southbound) to either Wilhelminaplein or Rijnhaven, and a ten minute walk. The view across the city from the Museum Full details of the machines available, travel instructions, opening times and more are on the Dutch Pinball Museum website, although at the time of writing it is only in Dutch. 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