# Pinball Heroes: Tim Arnold

**Source:** The Pinball Blog  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2009-01-18  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** http://www.thepinballblog.com/2009/01/pinball-heroes-tim-arnold.html

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## Analysis

Tim Arnold, founder of the Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame, discusses the museum's operations, charitable mission, and future plans in this interview. Arnold reveals the Hall of Fame is relocating to a new $1.2M building and launching a membership fundraiser to cover a $500K debt, while emphasizing the venue's year-round operation model and commitment to the Salvation Army. He shares anecdotes about notable visitors and clarifies that perceived rudeness is actually dedication to machine maintenance.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Tim Arnold no longer plays pinball regularly, spending time instead with his dogs — _Direct quote from Tim Arnold in interview_
- [MEDIUM] Pinball Hall of Fame generates approximately $22,000/month in revenue donated to charity — _KB context (may be from earlier source); not explicitly stated in this article_
- [HIGH] PHOF is relocating to 1610 E. Tropicana in a building they will own for $1.2 million — _Direct quote from Tim Arnold regarding new property acquisition_
- [HIGH] PHOF currently has $500K debt after paying $1.2M for new building with $700K from building fund — _Direct statement by Tim Arnold about financial situation_
- [HIGH] PHOF keeps less than $500 in change on site overnight for security reasons — _Direct answer from Tim Arnold about cash management_
- [MEDIUM] Las Vegas is the only place pinball arcade can work year-round due to combination of tourists and locals — _Opinion stated by Tim Arnold about venue viability_
- [MEDIUM] Steve Ritchie refused to autograph his brother's games — _Anecdote from Tim Arnold about a notable visitor_
- [HIGH] PHOF plans to launch tiered membership program (basic, gold, silver, platinum, diamond) and machine sponsorships to raise funds — _Direct statement by Tim Arnold about upcoming fundraising strategy_

### Notable Quotes

> "I don't really play pinball anymore. I spend all day every day around the machines. If I get time away, the last thing I want is more bells buzzers and brats."
> — **Tim Arnold**
> _Reveals the burnout aspect of running a pinball museum and how constant exposure changes one's relationship with the hobby_

> "Our charitable acts are the most important thing we do."
> — **Tim Arnold**
> _Core mission statement of the PHOF, emphasizing charity over profit_

> "We have had several e-mails from people who came to the museum and expected a personal tour and a lot of time with the Hippy or me, and we spent very little time with them. Every second we are there, we are fixing games."
> — **Tim Arnold**
> _Clarifies perception of rudeness as actually being dedication to machine maintenance and care_

> "Las Vegas is the only place on earth this can work. You need tourists AND locals to make the numbers work 52 weeks out of the year."
> — **Tim Arnold**
> _Strategic insight about why PHOF's year-round model is only viable in Las Vegas market_

> "We paid 1.2 million for the new place. We had 700K. in the building fund. We are now 500 thousand in debt."
> — **Tim Arnold**
> _Reveals the financial stakes of PHOF's relocation and upcoming capital fundraising needs_

> "Needs more salt!"
> — **Tim Arnold**
> _Humorous one-word summary of pinball; deflects serious sentiment with joke about food seasoning_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Tim Arnold | person | Founder and operator of Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame; interviewed about museum operations and future relocation |
| Pinball Hall of Fame | organization | Las Vegas-based nonprofit pinball museum and arcade; currently relocating to new owned building at 1610 E. Tropicana; operates year-round and donates revenue to Salvation Army |
| Salvation Army | organization | Primary charitable recipient of PHOF revenue; supports job training and rehabilitation programs |
| The Pinball Blog | organization | Media outlet conducting the interview with Tim Arnold |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Pinball designer; anecdote mentions he refused to autograph his brother's games when visiting PHOF |
| Leonard Maltin | person | TV critic; notable non-pinball celebrity visitor to PHOF who arrived by limousine |
| Eugene Jarvis | person | Legendary pinball designer; visited PHOF and expressed appreciation for their Asteroids machine artwork |
| Nick | person | Author/editor of The Pinball Blog who conducted and published this interview |
| The Hippy | person | Co-operator of PHOF with Tim Arnold; assists with museum management and attended Salvation Army graduation ceremony |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball Hall of Fame operations and relocation, Nonprofit charitable fundraising strategy
- **Secondary:** Year-round arcade venue business model in Las Vegas, Notable pinball designer and celebrity visitors, Machine maintenance and preservation
- **Mentioned:** Personal philosophy on pinball hobby

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Tim Arnold expresses pride in charitable work and optimism about relocation despite financial challenges. Tone is matter-of-fact and occasionally humorous. Some defensive tone regarding perceived rudeness, but overall constructive and forward-looking.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** PHOF relocating to new $1.2M owned property with $500K remaining debt; launching tiered membership and sponsorship fundraiser model (confidence: high) — Tim Arnold directly states: 'We paid 1.2 million for the new place... We are now 500 thousand in debt' and plans to launch membership tiers and machine sponsorship fundraising
- **[community_signal]** PHOF planning structured membership and sponsorship program to involve broader pinball community in fundraising (confidence: high) — Tim Arnold outlines plans for 'basic memberships, gold, Silver, platinum and diamond memberships, along with sponsorship of a machine, restroom, vending machine, etc.'
- **[market_signal]** Insight into year-round pinball arcade business model viability; requires both tourist and local traffic and is Las Vegas-specific (confidence: high) — Tim Arnold: 'Las Vegas is the only place on earth this can work. You need tourists AND locals to make the numbers work 52 weeks out of the year.'

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## Transcript

The Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame.The Pinball Blog jumped on a plane and popped over to Vegas to catch up with the man behind the madness (actually, we sent him an email). The Pinball Blog. So you're Tim Arnold from the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. Do you still get the same kick out of pinball that you did when you first opened the doors to the PHOF? Tim Arnold. I don't really play pinball anymore. I spend all day every day around the machines. If I get time away, the last thing I want is more bells buzzers and brats. I go play with my dogs. TPB. If you had to do something else, what would it be? TA. Don't know anything else, this is all I have done my whole life. Perhaps I could open a soft drink stand on the Merrick road..... TPB. You're a keen supporter of the Salvation Army, do you ever see how the money is being used and what difference it's making? TA. Our charitable acts are the most important thing we do. We support the Army because they are a lot like us, low rent, very efficient, and totally dedicated to one thing. The hippy and I just went to the latest graduation ceremony and saw first hand crack heads, dopers, and low lifes that had finished the program, and were placed in a job after training and were ready to rejoin normal life. It was done with our money. I am very proud. TPB. What happens one day if you're too old to run the Pinball Hall of Fame? TA. I figure I have 10 more years at least. After that, I will close the museum, take all the machines out in the parking lot and burn them so nobody will ever play pinball again. Or I could find somebody to take over. TPB. You must have had some interesting visitors to the Pinball Hall of Fame. Are there any that stand out? Maybe one from pinball-circles and one from the 'real' world! TA. Only non pinball famous guy we ever had was Lenord Maltin, Teevee critic. He came in a limo, stayed about an hour, then left. Nice guy. Steve Ritchie refused to autograph his brothers games, so he is no longer famous. Eugene Jarvis really liked the picture on our Asteroids. TPB. So you let people play pinball and give the money to charity. You sound pretty-darn perfect. There must be a dark side to Tim Arnold. Drink? Drugs? Ladies? All of the above? Come on, you can tell us. TA. We have had several e-mails from people who came to the museum and expected a personal tour and a lot of time with the Hippy or me, and we spent very little time with them. Every second we are there, we are fixing games. Many people take this as rudeness, when it is just attention to detail. If we have offended anyone, we are sorry. TA. Las Vegas is the only place on earth this can work. You need tourists AND locals to make the numbers work 52 weeks out of the year. Many other places have shows once or twice a year, which is SUPER WAY COOL, but keeping it open year round is a whole nother Magilla..... TPB. All those change machines and pinballs. How many quarters are in circulation at any one time at the PHOF? TA. Games are scooped all the time, and we leave very little change in the place over night. No use tempting people. Under 500 dollars. TPB. Although everyone should try and get to the PHOF, it clearly won't be possible. Is there anything we can do from afar other than marvel at your collection? TA. In the coming months, we will be moving to 1610 E. Tropicana, a building we will OWN, out of the cramped and dingy rental we are now in. We paid 1.2 million for the new place. We had 700K. in the building fund. We are now 500 thousand in debt. As soon as we get the move over with and up and running, we will be passing the hat among the pinball world in a GIVE ONCE fundraiser. We will have basic memberships, gold, Silver (Not Herb), platinum and diamond memberships, along with sponsorship of a machine, restroom, vending machine, etc. Sorry, toilets are already named for Shaggy and Normm. When the time comes, PLEASE SEND MONEY!. The sooner we are out of debt, the sooner we can get back to giving to charity. TPB. Finally, can you sum up pinball in one word or sentence? TA. Needs more salt! Many thanks to Tim Arnold who I'm sure has much better things to do than answer questions from us! Thankfully, he found the time. If you'd like to send a paypal donation to the PHOF then you can use this address (pinballhalloffame@msn.com) to send payment. Or check out the PHOF Support Page to find out other ways you can help the guys. Hopefully, you're starting to see how Pinball Heroes works! 10 questions, some for fun, some out of curiosity and some to try and start a bun-fight. These guys will have answered thousands of questions over the years, so we're trying to make it a little different! More Pinball Heroes coming soon! Cheers Nick The Pinball Blog Pictures used with permission from The Pinball Hall of Fame.

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: af95ad83-7af1-453a-8c07-aed8feb9c00c*