RePlay Magazine Podcast

RePlay Magazine Podcast - Nolan Bushnell

No doubt, you already know of Nolan Bushnell. Considered the father of the video game industry, his decades of curiosity, hustle, knowledge, creativity and entrepreneurship not only ushered in the Golden Era of the video game (Computer Space, Pong, Atari) and the family entertainment center model (Chuck E. Cheese), but had a far-reaching impact across many companies and technologies. RePlay Podcast host Randy Chilton had the honor of chatting with the industry and tech legend, during which we learned he got started on his pretty-much-lifelong path of entrepreneurship (it started young – when he was 8!), AI and the tech’s potential impact on amusement machine and fun center operators, selling Atari, the video game crash of 1983, family life, and more. For example, did you know he led a company that developed an early computerized automobile navigation system (ETAK)? Did you know that Steve Jobs, Nolan’s former Atari employee, offered him a 1/3 share of Apple for $50,000?  There are many interviews with Nolan and articles about his story, but we learned things we didn’t know in this podcast, and suspect you will too. We greatly appreciated his generosity with his time and will certainly take him up on his offer to chat again someday. With no further ado, enjoy Randy’s chat with Nolan Bushnell.

RePlay Magazine Podcast - Glenn Streeter

Glenn Streeter had a passion for antique radios, and got his hobby started in his garage in 1977. He found his way into the coin machine business by hand-building reproduction, nostalgic-styled jukeboxes. From a storefront on Ventura Boulevard in LA’s San Fernando Valley, Glenn’s Antique Apparatus’ reputation for quality and craftsmanship grew as rock stars, other luminaries and regular folks came in to shop.  In 1992, a unique opportunity fully cemented Glenn’s future in coin-op. Learning that the iconic Rock-Ola jukebox company was for sale, he jumped at the chance. He moved the Chicago-based company out west to Torrance, Calif., propelling it forward while never forgetting its roots. He went so far as to re-create David Rockola’s office in the Torrance, Calif., facility, complete with his desk and key artifacts.  After nearly three decades at the helm, Glenn sold Rock-Ola to Alexander Walder-Smith in 2019, retiring but remaining in touch with many friends he made along the way. With his decades full of experiences, you can bet he’s got a lot of good stories to share. He hits the tip of the iceberg with our host, Randy Chilton, in this episode, starting with the building of his dream house. Give it a listen!

RePlay Magazine Podcast - Rich Babich

This RePlay Magazine Podcast episode just might be from the most exotic location we’ll ever have as Randy Chilton visits with Game Exchange of Colorado’s Rich Babich, who was docked in Bora Bora at the time of the chat. Rich and his wife of 50 years, Bev, were celebrating last year’s golden anniversary with a 4-and-a-half-month cruise, seeing the world. On the business side, Rich has sure seen the world of coin-op change over his almost five decades in the industry, which started on the operations side. Today, his distributorship sells just about as many games to the industry as he does to the home enthusiast. (The retail side of things has been built up by his son JJ.) And did you know that back in the 1980s, Rich was also a manufacturer for a bit? He teamed up with an engineer to develop Hot Seat, which he said was the first dual-axle motion simulator. There is much to this conversation from his early days in the industry, working with family, the importance for our industry to give back to the children and families who play our games and more. Give it a listen!

RePlay Magazine Podcast - Frank 'The Crank' Seninsky

If you’ve been in coin-op any appreciable amount of time, you know the name Frank Seninsky ( maybe you know him by his alter ego “Frank the Crank”), and if you’re fortunate, you’ve had the opportunity to work with him and call him a friend. Since he started in coin-op in 1969 with a $25 investment, placing a Gottlieb North Star pinball machine in his college fraternity house, Frank has been all-in. His Alpha-Omega operations grew from college game rooms to arcades on the Jersey Shore to distribution, consulting and more. Frank is the consummate entrepreneur, industry cheerleader, seminar presenter, prolific writer, association president (AMOA and IALEI), operator, distributor, consultant, idea man, founder of Foundations Entertainment University… the list goes on. (We’ve never seen the Energizer Bunny and Frank in the same room. Coincidence? We think not.) In short, it was a real treat for RePlay Magazine podcast host Randy Chilton to talk with Frank, who reflects on his years in the industry and more in this not-to-be-missed episode. Dive in!

RePlay Magazine Podcast - Malcolm Steinberg

RePlay Magazine Podcast host Randy Chilton had the great pleasure of sitting down with industry icon and member of the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame Malcolm Steinberg for Episode 7. People in the coin machine world will know Malcolm from his years at the helm of LAI Group, but what many might not know is how he entered the amusement industry.  Impatient to get started in business, Malcolm left high school early, and when he was 18, a vacation visit with an uncle led him to take 21 pinball machines and start Indoor Amusement Games in Perth, Australia. The year was 1958 and Malcolm was just 18 at the time. From that early operation to distributing, manufacturing and beyond – and from Australia to other parts of the world – his businesses continued to grow and expand. Today, a group of eight companies – including such well-known names as LAI Games, Embed and Timezone – bring in about a billion dollars in annual sales.  Malcolm’s son Adam leads those companies today, but you can quickly see that Malcolm is well-versed on the details, and at age 86, is still sharp as a tack. Today, he puts his energy into a philanthropic organization called the Malka Foundation that he started to honor his grandmother. It encourages and supports entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership in Western Australia to improve and grow the economy and quality of life for all in the region.   Enjoy learning more. We sure did!