The Greatest Place on the Planet

"You know what we should do sometime? We should go check out the Pinball Hall of Fame."

I have said that exact sentence too many times to count but last week, I made it happen. Payton's little sister was in town so we were in search of something "kid friendly" in Vegas - we'd already seen Toy Story 3 so.....

Oh! Oh! Pinball! We could totally take her to pinball!

So we went, on a Monday evening, around 9 p.m. I walked in with $12 in my wallet and walked out with ZERO but a whole lotta fun happened in between. I beat the Meyers there and found myself wandering up and down the aisles, having childhood flashbacks (I specifically remember spending hours playing the Simpson's Pinball Party at every arcade in my younger years). I was just dying to stop to put quarters in almost every machine that I passed. The only thing I could think was why I had wasted so much of my life not being here.

Not only is the place a photographer's dream come true but they have popcorn. And orange sodas.

The place is 10,000 square feet of machines dating back to the 50s through the 90s (which, from what I understand, is when the pinball craze died out). There are 152+ games, all costing $25-$1. The best part? The place is a non-profit, donating all of their excess revenue to non-denominational charities.

Some of the machines have a little piece of (hand-written) paper with the game's history on it. As I was playing a machine from 1957, I just thought about how romantic it was to think of a cute little couple in the 50's playing this same game while out on their second date.

And then I also spent a lot of time thinking about how I would just have to take my dad, Mr. Carl Knoch, here the next time he is in town. This place would be a dream come true for him. Star Trek, Star Wars, Rocky and Bullwinkle.....now if they only served Old Fashions and played Elton John.

We spent a good two hours there, and the only reason I left is because I ran out of quarters. Otherwise, I'd still be there right now.

My face was as lit up as those machines the entire time we were there and I plan on going back again and again.....but this time, with a full $20.