int'l bowling industry - jan 2011
DESCRIPTION
The World's Only Magazine Devoted Exclusively tothe Business of Bowling.TRANSCRIPT
4
6THE ISSUE AT HAND
Celebrating PeopleBy Scott Frager
8SHORTS
Barbera promoted atBrunswick … Bowl for
Water … charitybowling …Steltronic
expands
12 CENTER STAGE
Big Al’s – take two inBeaverton, Oregon
16OPERATIONS
From counselor to the“real” thing
How Robin Douglas turnedthe tables on his career.
20OPERATIONS
Dream comes trueBrothers Uyeda transform
Aiea Bowl in Honolulu.
22COVER STORY
Fran and Dave DekenTwo bowling careers,one bowling couple.
By Lydia Rypcinski
26
CONTENTS
26NEW DEVELOPMENTSA billionaire’s houseFoxwoods Casino’s newHigh Rollers Luxury LanesBy Robin Breuner
31PROFILELands’ End catalogshows off campGreat Camp Sagamore inthe Adirondacks has offeredbowling since 1914.
33THIS IS BVLWally Hall remembershis grandson, JasonHall.
35WHAT BOWLINGMEANS TO MEArthur Fortaliza keepsSan Diego’s Mira MesaLanes shining.By Kelly Bennett
46REMEMBER WHEN1938LOOK magazine featurestips on bowling withJoe Falcaro.By Patty Heath
36 Showcase
38 Datebook
38 Classifieds
VOL 19.1THE WORLD'S ONLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE BUSINESS OF BOWLING
IBI January 2011
12
20
PUBLISHER & EDITORScott Frager
[email protected]: scottfrager
MANAGING EDITORFred Groh
EDITORIAL CONSULTANTGregory Keer
OFFICE MANAGERPatty Heath
CONTRIBUTORSKelly Bennet
Robin BreunerPatty Heath
Lydia Rypcinski
SPECIAL PROJECTSJackie Fisher
ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTIONDesignworks
www.dzynwrx.com(818) 735-9424
FOUNDERAllen Crown (1933-2002)
Cover photo by Michael Cooper
13245 Riverside Dr., Suite 501Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 789-2695(BOWL)Fax (818) 789-2812
www.BowlingIndustry.com
HOTLINE: 888-424-2695SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy ofInternational Bowling Industry is sent free toevery bowling center, independently ownedpro shop and collegiate bowling center inthe U.S., and every military bowling centerand pro shop worldwide. Publisher reservesthe right to provide free subscriptions tothose individuals who meet publicationqualifications. Additional subscriptions maybe purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50per year. Subscriptions for Canada andMexico are $65 per year, all other foreignsubscriptions are $80 per year. All foreignsubscriptions should be paid in U.S. fundsusing International Money Orders.POSTMASTER: Please send new as well asold address to International Bowling Industry,13245 Riverside Drive, Suite 501, ShermanOaks, CA 91423 USA. If possible, pleasefurnish address mailing label.Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2010, B2B Media,Inc. No part of this magazine may be reprintedwithout the publisher’s permission.
MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:
6 IBI January 2011
THE ISSUE AT HAND
In January 2010, IBI zigged fromits traditional roots of focusingexclusively on hardcore, how-to,bowling business stories that wereadmittedly dry and cold. We zaggedafter our research discovered thatwhat our readers were really yearningfor was an emotional connection tothe industry.
However, it wasn’tuntil Bowl Expo that theconcept and the realityhit home. There, in anice cool convention hallsurrounded by 110degree heat, I wassurrounded by people,all types of people, fromall over the world. My face wastired from smiling, greeting friendsand making new acquaintances.My feet were exhausted fromwalking the miles of aisles androws of booths. My brain was fuzzyfrom a general lack of sleep andslight over consumption of spiritsfrom the previous night’s dinner.
Yet with all of that, I felt good.No, great. What made sense inJanuary made even more sense inJune and now.
After all, what is a bowling center?It’s a place where men, women andyouth congregate and socialize.Whether for fun or competition,bowling is all about people and IBIwants to celebrate the people whobring life to our industry.
That celebration extends to thecathedrals of bowling too. Bowlingcenters of all types have beenfeatured in our magazine. From thedivinely gorgeous archetypes ofwhat modern bowling centers can
be to the downright historic. We hope the words and photos within IBI willinspire you.
In many ways, this issue is the culmination of that dream and vision.On the cover, we celebrate Dave and Fran Deken, a classic American
bowling couple with a not-so-ordinary tale to tell about life, love and thebusiness of bowling. In our modern take on Grant Wood’s famous painting,American Gothic, we explore how this amazing couple met and how theirlives grew together in bowling.
You’ll discover two brothers who own a bowling center in Hawaii and howwell they pair, even though theirdistinctive professional backgroundsdictate that they should not betraditionally compatible.
And, this month we’re launching abrand new section title “What BowlingMeans to Me.” Be prepared to beinspired by the story of a 43 year-oldArthur Fortaliza. A very unique and
special employee of Mira Mesa Lanes in San Diego, CA. Yes, bowling is much,much more than a place to gather and much more than a simple place togo to work.
Be warned, you will shed a tear or two over WallyHall’s own deeply personal connection with the BVLand why this organization is held so close to his heart.
We believe everyone has a story to tell. The way wesee it, it’s our job to find these stories and bring themto life. What’s your story?
– SCOTT FRAGER, PUBLISHERAND [email protected]
Celebrating People
On January 13, 9 AM PST; 11 AM CST; NOON ESTBowling Industry will host the next in its series ofFREE webinars—“Bowling 2035 Saving theIndustry”. Joe Schumacker, BPAA Past-Presidentand Florida proprietor, will present his view and
plan for the future of our industry. The last webinar gave Kristen Bair of Hanover Bowling Center a Baltimore Ravensjersey! This time, learn how you can grow with the times and possibly win a $75American Express gift card! Sounds like a no-brainer to us.Thanks to our sponsors, New Center Consulting and TrainerTainment. Without theirsupport, we could not offer IBI’s Webinar series for free.
�THIS MONTH AT www.BowlingIndustry.com
8 IBI January 2011
SHORTS
Set for a December opening, Latitude 30 in Jacksonville, Florida will be a destinationfor the entire family. The 50,000 square foot complex will house a movie theater, arcadegames, restaurant, sports bar and boutique bowling. The parent company, BrownstoneGroup, is the developer, contractor and owner. According to the Jacksonville BusinessJournal, Brent Brown, managing partner, states that a similar project is in the works inNashville, TN and talks are under way for future locations in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.Each will bear the name Latitude followed by the number of the city’s respectivegeographical latitude.
Canada is increasing its tenpin bowling establishments. Inspired by several high-end boutique centers in Los Angeles, a group of five entrepreneurs will open the firstnew tenpin bowling center in Toronto’s downtown district since 1980. The Ballroom,encompassing two floors, will cater to young professionals. The $4 million project houses10 lanes of bowling, 50 HD televisions, ping-pong tables and a dining area specializingin local fare such as poutine and pogos. The Globe and Mail in Toronto quoted MattyTsoumaris, one of the owners, “We saw a big void in the market, of a completeentertainment complex where someone could enjoy food, music, entertainment,activities, all under one roof.”
Langford, Victoria will welcome Canada City Centre Park Sportsplex, a 20-lanetenpin bowling center and a NHL-size skating rink with seating for 600. The $14.3million sportsplex will get all of its heating and cooling needs from an ice plant inthe new arena.
Philadelphia introduces the Depot Bowling at the Depot Marketplace. MikePrice, the owner, stated that he just wanted something safe and secure for families todo without having to travel. The Depot has 20 lanes of bowling, pool tables, virtual golf,a diner and an ice cream parlor.
Rick Barbera, a long time veteran of BrunswickCorporation having served in a variety of positions ofincreasing responsibility since 1973, has beenpromoted to Director of Business Development forBowling Products. Immediately prior to joiningBrunswick Bowling Products, Barbera held theposition of Director of Operations for Brunswick RetailCenters (BRC), with direct operational responsibilitiesfor nine (9) bowling centers in the Chicago market.
In this new role, Barbera will work with various customers and appropriate internalBrunswick colleagues to improve capital equipment sales throughout the NorthAmerican market. He will focus on continued improvement of the Brunswick Build-to-Bowl Program as well as focus on sales, marketing and development of electronicbusiness products.
In the Build-to-Bowl role, Barbera reports to Hank Harris, Vice President of Designand Construction. In the electronic business products role, Barbera reports to KurtHarz, Vice President of Sales, North America.
RICK BARBERA PROMOTEDTO BRUNSWICK DIRECTOROF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Media watchBowling is everywhere. Within a
three-week period from Mid-Novemberto early December, the national airwaysand other mass media like the WallStreet Journal were buzzing withbowling:
On November 14th, CBS’s popularprogram “Undercover Boss” starredSteven Foster, president of theinnovative Lucky Strike chain ofboutique centers. We followed himhumanizing the trials and tribulationsnot as a creator and developer of high-end entertainment and bowling venuesbut as an anonymous employeestruggling as a waiter, mechanic andfront desk attendant. The ever-humbling lessons were again madeparamount—it all boils down to people.
The following week there were twosightings. On November 21st, TheCooking Channel’s “Unique Eats”went to Brooklyn Bowl to show off thecenter’s own special Blue Ribbonmenu. The Discovery Channel’s “DirtyJobs” on November 23rd spotlightedDoug Glover of Cloverleaf FamilyBowl in Fremont, California and thesaga of being a pinspotter mechanic.He put the host, Mike Rowe throughhis paces. One forgets or doesn’teven know what goes into keeping acenter up and running well…it’s themechanic behind the scene that makesthe magic happen.
And finally, the edition of the WallStreet Journal brought attention to theboom in kids’ bowling. “Bowling Alleys:the New Chuck E. Cheese.” The articlepointed out that the BPAA’s recordsshow a 17% increase in kids underfourteen years of age bowling throughprograms in 15,000 schools andbirthday parties are more and morefound in “alleys”. It is fun with safetythat makes parents embrace bowling.BPAA’s executive director StevenJohnson was quoted, “You can’t havekids go right out and play tacklefootball.” Bowling works!
N E W B E G I N N I N G S
10 IBI January 2011
SHORTS
Steltronic, one of the world’s leading independent automatic scoringmanufacturers, is announcing the expansion of its North American operationto the Midwest. As of December 1, Steltronic opened an office and warehousein the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.
Roberto Simeone, founder, owner and CEO of Steltronic, says the secondfacility is necessary to insure service and support. By expanding, “we now canoffer the service and support our customers and future customers expect anddeserve from Steltronic.” Simeone went on to point out that Steltronic will stillcontinue to have its office and warehouse in Southern California to maintain theWest Coast presence they have enjoyed since Steltronic came to the UnitedStates in the mid 90s.
The driving force for the expansion is the exponential growth the companyhas experienced the past few years due to the introduction of Vision andFocus scoring and business systems. “Vision and Focus sales have met andexceeded our expectations so we decided that it is the perfect time to expandour operation,” says Simeone.
The sales and marketing teams are also moving to the Midwest office. Withsales and marketing managed out of the Midwest plus the current distributorsthe company has in place throughout North America, Canada and Mexico,Simeone is confident Steltronic has in place a full service company that thebowling industry can rely on for many years to come.
To contact Steltronic, please call (262) 754-2300 or toll free (800) 236-2559. Steltronic is the official scoring system for the USBC Open and Women’s
Tournament of Events.
Water is the stuff of life. Just ask 1.1 billionpeople who do not have access to clean water. Thatis one out of every six people in the world.
Katie Spotz, the youngest person to row soloacross the Atlantic, has championed this cause,and through her efforts along with the Rotary Cluband Freeway Lanes of Solon, Ohio, raised $6,000in an event called “Bowl for Water” to benefit BluePlanet Network, an organization committed tobringing sustainable, safe drinking water to peoplethroughout the world.
This is not the first event of this kind for Katie.Born in 1987, Katie has taken on other physicallychallenging goals. She was the first person toswim the entire length of the 325-mile AlleghenyRiver, averaging 12-15 miles per day, with one daya swim of 22 miles. She cycled 3,300 miles
across the U.S. from Seattle to Washington, D.C. and ran 150 miles acrossthe Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert, solo and self-supported. The BluePlanet Network could not ask for a more stalwart advocate.
The goal for next year is $10,000. “Because $10,000 buys a villageof 110 families a complete water system,” said Rob Previte, Presidentof Solon Rotary. Blue Planet Network can be reached through theirwebsite: http://blueplanet network.org.
Freeway LanesBowls for Water
We Bowl hits the App store.First there was Wii Sports
and bowling. Now, FreeverseSoftware has developed an
iPhone and iPod Touch gameWe Bowl (Free) for the App
Store. We Bowl is a touch takeon the sport of bowling
requiring little more than afinger swipe to send a three-
holed ball down a virtual alley.Amping it up a bit, there is anavatar system flexible and funenough to create all kinds of
different looking characters topersonalize your game.
� � �
GDL Multimedia hasdeveloped a computer game
available throughAmazon.com called Cosmo
Alley Bowling. Sit right at yourdesk and bowl away. However,
it might possibly be a betterchoice at home than the office.
GAMESSteltronic Announces Expansion
Mayor Susan Drucker, Salon, OH, Rob Previte, President of Solon Rotary,Glen Gable, President Freeway Lanes, Katy Spotz, Adventurer, Row for Water
IBI January 201112
CENTER STAGE
The people behind itdecided to raise the roofwhen they built Big Al’s
number two in Beaverton,OR. They went two storiestall, and put in a U-shaped
mezzanine (with 180games) that overlooks the
42 lanes, the receptiondesk and the sports bar.
Daniel Kirkwood, vicepresident of Kirkwood &Kirkwood, the family firm
that built it, likes the layoutespecially because it
CENTERSTAGE
Continued on page 14
13IBI January 2011
CENTER STAGE
14 IBI January 2011
CENTER STAGE
allowed the bar to be constructedlike a stadium, complete with asky box suite. Murals on twosides depict the teams at two
nearby colleges and extend into asky painted on the ceiling.
Parents can sit at tables anddivide their attention between
their kids in the arcade above andsports action on the 14x55-footvideo screen along the backbar.
After a $15 million built andoutfitting, Big Al’s number two
opened in August. Publicresponse has been clamorous.
Number one, opened inSeptember 2006, is in
Vancouver, WA, still doing landoffice business. Kirkwood said
he is shopping for a site fornumber three. ❖
Continued from page 12
16 IBI January 2011
OPERATIONS
When you leavethe government
to run abusiness, what doyou find?
The real deal. Robin Douglas behind the counter.
hy a bowling business? For RobinDouglas, because it was more “real”
than what he did for 15 years. He studied financials every day and they
were real. So were the men and women whosat on the other side of his desk, but they werein the thick of things and he wasn’t. Workingin government-sponsored offices can removeyou from the scene of action.
First it was a job with the Small BusinessDevelopment Center in Cumberland, MD,an organization sponsored by the federalSmall Business Administration. It was Douglas’maiden voyage into the world of jobs after an
W
IN THE THICK OF ITIN THE THICK OF IT
17IBI January 2011
OPERATIONS
MBA from Frostburg State U (Frostburg, MD).As an economic development professional, he was counselor,
consultant, trainer and financial modeler for people who wantedto start small businesses. With a budget of $200,000 and hisstaff of six, he was handling such demand for the services that hestopped marketing the new office after six months. Word-of-mouth gave him all the clients he needed after that.
Five years later, in 1995, he moved to the State of Maryland asan economic development regional manager. His staff was five thistime but his budget was almost $300,000.
“We were a government service to provide the financial andmarketing expertise to help [businesses] expand and hire morepeople. Basically, we were providing the knowledge,” Douglassays. “For instance, a business knows where they want to go butthey don’t know how best to get there. Our expertise was inknowing what banks will do, what federal, state and localgovernment loan programs can do, and [in putting] them alltogether.”
Douglas never intended to move on. But, he says, his “tasteschanged.” His kids graduated and left home and he had more time.
He had caught the whiff of his clients’ tales. “I almost alwaysthought to myself, ‘If I were in his/her shoes, I’d do this’ [or] ‘thiswould be a no-brainer’ [or] ‘boy! I could really be making a killingon this.’”
And business had been on the table from the beginning. Hegot into economic development, “I think, because I love business.I love the free enterprise system, and [economic development]gave me the most opportunity to get intimate looks at differenttypes of businesses.” He was also good at analyzing and advising,“so it was a natural.”
And at last he had the time to venture into the “real” world.“I guess I have more of a love for the private sector.” He says itagain: “Just more real to me – the whole thing about meeting apayroll and etc. If I make a decision and it’s a bad decision in theprivate sector, then I pay for it. In the public sector, all I can dois my best and what happens, happens.”
He decided on bowling because his family had owned TheBowler in LaVale, MD for 50 years. His uncle, who started it, wasabout to retire. So was the manager. “And I decided it’s a fun,challenging, real business, so here I am.”
�•�Douglas says two things hit him right away when he took over
The Bowler in 2004: the responsibility and the time commitment.Like other proprietors who run the shop themselves, a “good” weekturned out to be 60 hours; tougher weeks, 70 and more. He sayshe had to shed some of his hobbies.
He had the right mindset immediately, learned from hisclients. In 15 years he had come to appreciate how a retailer’schallenges and environment are different from a manufacturer’s,which are different from those of a high-tech company or aservice business.
Douglas had been able “to get into the psyche of all these
RETURN OF THECOUNSELOR
All told, what would Robin Douglas, formereconomic development professional and now five-year bowling proprietor, advise a bowling center ifhe were back on the other side of the desk?
As to business in the ordinary course of things:“Debt level is certainly [a potential pitfall]. If
somebody is going to go deeply in debt to build orpurchase a center, let’s run the numbers and putthe debt service in there and if at the end of the dayyou have realistic sales figures and have a positivebank balance, then maybe it’s a good idea.
“But the keys there are an accurate marketanalysis. Just because you think you’re going to do$500,000 in a 12-lane center doesn’t mean you’regoing to do it.
“And I would certainly use the BPAA data[Benchmarking Studies]. I’ve worked with a lot ofdifferent business, and types of businesses, and theBPAA Benchmark Studies are probably one of themost comprehensive data sets of any type of smallbusiness that’s available.”
The studies are sometimes criticized on thebasis that while bowling is a neighborhood business,the BPAA data give national figures. Says Douglas,“I absolutely agree. I don’t believe I could sell onegame of bowling for $9.50, but in New York City theydo it all the time. So you definitely have to take that[data] with a grain of salt.
“They have different percentiles, so one of theeasiest ways is to try to identify what your percentileis. We for instance are in a cheap area. People arevery price-sensitive. So I don’t compare my data withthe folks that are in metropolitan areas in upscaleboutique centers. But it does give me [at mypercentile] for instance a national average ofpercentage of utilities to sales, or percentage ofpayroll to sales.”
As to the recession, Douglas offers this point ofcounseling:
“Monitor your cash flow like there [is] notomorrow – specifically, timing payments [or]withholding payments to selected vendors at times,in order to keep money in the bank. I keep dailywatch on it online so I know when checks comethrough and when deposits go in – sometimes acouple of times a day.”
18 IBI January 2011
OPERATIONS
different business owners to really find out what made themtick.” And what makes bowling tick is that it is “just about aperfect model for the American mom-and-pop entrepreneurialsituation. There are more true entrepreneurs in the bowlingbusiness than in most other businesses I saw. That,” Douglasknew, “puts a lot of pressure on a bowling proprietor tomake the right decisions, to work hard, and work smart.”
As an economic development professional, he had todose out a little reality once in a while. He even had scriptsto use with clients. Most restaurants, for instance, don’t makeit and just because the client could bake a delicious pan ofcookies did not mean she was going to be the next Mrs.Fields. “‘Your friends and family are going to say it’s a greatidea because they like you, but if you get beyond that anddo a real accurate market analysis, you might find that thereality is a little bit different.’”
Now, his own thinking had to change. “As you learn more about business, you tend to get the
analysis paralysis. At some point you have to take chances,you have to gamble a little bit. The more willing somebodyis to take an educated gamble, the more successful they’regoing to be,” he learned. “If they’re constantly analyzingopportunities then they’re not going to have the time orambition to actually take advantage of [an opportunity].”
Sometimes, he says, you need the Nike philosophy: Justdo it.
The recession has upstaged Douglas’ operation, as it has foreverybody else. Like others, he has “right-sized” his staff,joining his managers in taking some turns at the receptioncounter and cutting man-hours about 10%. Operating hoursremain the same, so the net effect is a 10% staff reduction atany given time.
He is also coasting on a major renovation in 2006 thatconsumed his $40-50,000 annual budget for upgrades to 2010and is “briskly” marketing his product, mainly selling discountsin casual play business. The pitch: bowling is a high-valuerecreation alternative.
The results as he entered the current league season weregratifying, Douglas reported. With leagues up 4-5% he was“cautiously optimistic” about the season, even though he’djust been hit by a “real plunge” in open play. “We’re convincedit’s because it’s discretionary spending for our customer andthey’re spending it on the non-discretionary things.”
But Douglas is not looking back. “It’s an all-encompassing,engrossing business,” he still finds. Although his family mightqualify that just a little.
“My wife and family aren’t involved, but they are, if thatmakes sense. They have to work within my hours, within thedemands this business makes of me.
“It’s a family business, whether it is or not,” Douglas says,and laughs. ❖
20 IBI January 2011
OPERATIONS
GIVING AFIG FORBOWLINGIn which two brothers
prove that people willhead to a bowling centerfor haute yum-yum.
he brothers Uyeda – Glenn and Gregg – just heardaround that Aiea Bowl in Honolulu was closing. Sureenough, the owner’s numbers were pretty bad. At
least, as far as the rent raise the landlord wanted. “There was no way [the owner] would make it, for sure,”
Glenn says. “We just took it out of the box and changed thatgear to try and make it. It’s worked for us.”
This talk of gears, boxes and numbers isn’t where theUyeda heart lies, though. Part of it is in bowling, yes. “Bothof us were bowling rats,” says Glenn about growing up. Hestarted bowling about age five, slightly ahead of brotherGregg, who is a year and a half younger.
They were a determined little pair. Around age eight, theywrote in a book that someday they were going to own abowling alley and, come 2005, they did.
But the restaurant – called The Alley, for obvious reasons– is the meat and potatoes of this brotherly enterprise. Ormaybe we should say it’s the French-Asian-Hawaiian fusionfood of the enterprise, since that’s what chef Glennspecializes in.
He studied at the reputed Harvard of culinary institutions,Le Cordon Bleu, and worked in top New York eateries likeLe Bernadin.
“Actually, I was going to build fine dining here,” Glennsays about home base Honolulu, but “the competition isreally tough.” The bowling center might backstop anadventure in gastronomic entrepreneurship, though,especially since the brothers both liked bowling. They couldeasily see it as a backdrop for the with-it younger crowd.Gregg could be the decision-maker for the business andGlenn could handle the F&B.
They were right. On “Her Way Thursday” every week, thegirls bowl free and the guys come to see the girls and thewaitresses dress up. In fact, bowling biz is booming all week,which Glenn attributes to the former owner, whom thebrothers put on the payroll after they bought the center.
But the moral of this particular story is that a bowlingcenter restaurant can indeed be a destination. Eighty percentof customers come to eat and don’t get around to bowling,Glenn reports.
Small wonder, to judge from Honolulu Weekly reporterShantel Grace, who sampled Tasty Tuesday, a prix fixe ($39),five-course adventure on the aforesaid day each week.
Miss Grace started with cheesy buttermilk biscuits,then ahi and hamachi with Japanese cucumber andjalapeño ponzu, accompanied by a red wine sampler toclear the palate.
Next, chinois chicken salad with Oriental veg and Asian
T
Gregg and Glenn Uyeda. Dining upscale at the bowling center.
21IBI January 2011
OPERATIONS
mustard dressing. Linguini and Parmesan cooked tableside in a cheese wheel,served with fresh basil and prociutto. Beef Wellington, which Miss Grace cut with abutter knife. And to finish, strawberry panna cotta – lemon cake and honey tuile cookiewith haupia sorbet and wild berry coulis.
No figs on the menu that night, but a prociutto-fig wrap was a feature sometime ago.
Also, every night, linen tablecloths, wrapped silverware, three-course wine tasting,and superb waiter service.
Miss Grace was ecstatic.Glenn says the restaurant serves about 750 a day. Breakfast is 10% of the
business, lunch another 25% or 30%, and the other 60-65% is dinner and the late-night menu.
Tasty Tuesday is a test-bed for the regular menu, although a little more upscale,he says. His most popular item: Tasty Chicken #1, in which the bird is battered witha garlic/chili pepper/soy-vinegar sauce. “We do 2,800 pounds of chicken per week.$9.95.” Oxtail soup comes in second with patrons and Korean kalbi short ribs third.The Tasty Tuesday menu changes monthly.
Lest you go away thinking of Aiea Bowl as a laid-back operation, note that Glennworks from 8 in the morning to 3 the following morning, with Wednesdays off. Thatgives him a little time to breathe – and maybe jot down an idea for his nextinstallment of Hawaii’s Kitchen, a cooking show he does on a local TV station. ❖
The Alley by day.
illions of people have gone to Las Vegas hoping to hit thejackpot, but most have left empty-handed.Not so Fran and Dave Deken, who came up aces when they met
in the pro shop at the Showboat Bowling Center in 1991.“It was kind of love at first sight,” said Dave, who was running the shop atthe time. The 73-year-old former weapons service officer landed at the ’Boatin 1987 after retiring from the U.S. Air Force four years earlier. Beforemoving to Vegas, Dave ran his own pro shop in Plattsburgh, NY, worked forball designer Mo Pinel for a year or two, and drilled at the ABC nationalsin Tulsa (1985) and Niagara Falls (1987).
“After Niagara Falls I swore I’d never work in a pro shop again,” Dave said.“Then I get to Las Vegas. I’m in the Showboat center, and Pat Holseth [hisboss at nationals] is there. He tells me they need a ball driller in the pro shop.I started work there the next day and stayed 10 years.”
Dave was in the right place at the right time four years later, when FranWolf wanted to get a new ball drilled. She had just signed on as Showboat’sgroup and tournament coordinator following a 10-year stint astournament/executive director for the Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour. Fran’s sonPaul, who was working in the ’Boat’s pro shop, suggested she see Dave.
“My son told me, ‘Watch out for the Colonel, he’s kind of a grump,’” Fransaid. “But that’s how we met.
“Jeanette Robinson [resident teaching pro at the Showboat at the time]was the real matchmaker between the two of us,” Fran continued. “Shepushed us together as often as she could.”
One thing led to another for the pin-loving couple. Fran had bowled onthe women’s tour before becoming tournament director. Dave had won theall-Air Force singles and all-events titles in 1970 and the Hoinke Classicdoubles in 1976. He started working on her game and turned her from a full-roller into a semi-roller. They bowled leagues and tournaments together. Theyliked each other’s company.
“We enjoy laughing about things together,” said Fran, who is sevenyears Dave’s junior.
“One day I just out of the blue said to her, ‘Why don’t we get married?’And she said, ‘Okay,’” Dave said. “And that was it.”
The Dekens tied the knot July 14, 1995 – Bastille Day. Prisoners of love andbowling, they spent their first evening as man and wife at two bowling centers.
“We got dressed up, went to dinner at Sam’s Town and then went to the’Boat to watch a sweeper,” Fran said.
“And that’s when I started telling people that I sleep with the guy whodrills my bowling balls.”
Dave followed Fran to Reno in 1997 when she became director ofoperations at the National Bowling Stadium. She left the job after a year butthe couple stayed in Reno until 2002, when they moved to Coweta, OK.
Fifteen miles outside of Tulsa, the self-proclaimed oil capital of the world,Coweta is cattle and horse country and a town of around 9,000. Home forthe Dekens is four acres, a field currently rented to two horses, and a barnthat is storing lane resurfacing equipment and a miscellany of machinery inparts and pieces. By the time they set up household there, the Dekens had
also established a business called D&F Servicesthat leased and serviced ball polishing machines.
“It got started in 2001, when the nationalswere in Reno,” Dave recalled. “ZOT Pinsetterhad put three ball polishers in at the stadium, andtwo at the Reno Hilton. When the tournamentended, they didn’t want to haul them back toDenver, so I bought them and started from there.”
Now Dave’s ownership responsibilities takehim to 101 bowling centers in nine states duringthe bowling season to service, clean and vend 93ball polishers and several bowling retail vendingmachines. While Dave’s on the road, Fran stayshome and takes care of the books.
When Dave gets back to Coweta, Fran is oftenon her way to any of a number of bowling projectsshe’s involved with. If she’s not competing in theGolden Ladies Classic or an Oklahoma women’stournament, she’s probably running onesomewhere in the state.
And if she’s not attending a USBC Hall of Fameboard meeting or Bowling Writers Association ofAmerica convention, she’s likely to be coordinatingpublicity for her local bowling association orrecruiting women bowlers to compete in theJewish Maccabiah Games – something she did in2001 and 2003. Or bowling in leagues. Orcoaching the local high school bowling team.Or...you get the picture.
But then, an overflowing plate is old hat forFran, who was inducted into the USBC Hall formeritorious service in 2006. During the 1970sand ’80s, she used to write, publish and distributeThe MoKan Bowler in Kansas City, MO, whileworking at a center, raising two sons alone afterlosing her first husband to cancer in 1972, andcompeting part-time on the Professional WomenBowlers Association tour.
“My mother, who used to work for the Hollisternewspapers in Chicago, had already retired toKansas City, so we had a lot of fun with [thatbowling paper],” Fran said. “I had 37 centers tocover in greater Kansas City at that time. It was a300-mile trip every week just to deliver the papers!”
Fran is also a two-time cancer survivor, havingbeaten colon cancer in 1988 and lung cancer in2004. She was still LPBT tournament directorwhen the first cancer was diagnosed. True toform, Fran matter-of-factly arranged for hersurgery to take place during the tour’s downtime
22 IBI January 2011
COVER STORY
Cover photograph and story photography by Michael Cooper.
MBy Lydia Rypcinski
23IBI January 2011
COVER STORY
24 IBI January 2011
COVER STORY
between the fall 1988 and spring 1989 swings.“The bowlers were [hilarious],” Fran recalled. “I would walk
around on the concourse after getting the squad started, andthey’d all tell me to go eat, go sit down – they wouldn’t evenlet me take my luggage into the hotels. They’d find someoneto carry it for me.
“It was like having a hundred daughters,” she said witha chuckle.
Now Fran is involved with a project to honor many of those“daughters.” Along with former LPBT chairman John Sommer,publicist Joan Romeo, and Stars & Strikes editor Jim Goodwin,Fran is charged with creating an exhibit at the InternationalBowling Museum and Hall of Fame that will pay tribute to allwho made women’s professional bowling a reality.
“We’re a pretty fussy, pushy committee; we’re very protectiveof women’s professional bowling,” said Fran, who serves ashistorian. “It has all this great history and I want to see theseladies, and everyone else who made a huge effort [to advancewomen’s pro bowling], get their due.”
All of Fran’s rushing around is no problem for Dave, whomshe describes as a “quiet, don’t-rock-the-boat kind of guy.”
“I’m pretty well tied up with what I’ve got going here,” Davesaid. “We go our separate ways. If I’m not on the road, she is.”
“Because we were grown up when we got married, wedon’t feel like we have to be together 24 hours a day,” Fran
said. “I don’t worry about going to Vegas for a weekend tobowl. All he asks is that I call him and tell him how I bowled.”
Dave retired from bowling a couple years ago due toinjuries. Prior to that, he ran the gamut in bowling action.Stationed in Guam and Thailand as a B-52 navigator during theVietnam War, his bowling ball accompanied him on everyflight. In the West Coast Senior Tour during the 1990s, hewon four Super Senior titles.
His biggest payday came in 2002, when he won the SeniorEaster Classic High Roller and $25,000 first prize. Yet Dave thinkshis toughest competitor has been Fran, with whom he won the1998 Nevada Senior Bowlers Tour doubles title.
“It was a lot of fun bowling with Fran,” Dave said. “Sheenjoyed kicking my butt. She hates to practice, really doesn’tlike it, but she still kicked my butt.”
“I figure if my body doesn’t know what to do after 60 yearsof bowling, well…” Fran responded.
What’s obvious is that, practice or no, both Dekens know howto celebrate life together fully, on the lanes and off. ❖
A frequent contributor to IBI, Lydia Rypcinski has been writing for andabout bowling for more than 30 years. She has won writing andphotography awards in and outside the sport for her coverage,which has taken her to six continents and more than 20 countries.She co-authored Revolutions: The Changing Game with Chip Zielkein 1998 and Sports Traveler Chicago with Anbritt Stengele in 2009.
A BILLIONAIRE’S HOUSE
26 IBI January 2011
handeliers, champagne, grand pianos and martinis –these are not the typical images evoked by the thoughtof bowling. At the newly unveiled, 35,000-square-foot
High Rollers Luxury Lanes in the Foxwoods Resort Casino,Mashantucket, CT, these images combine with tradition tocreate high-end bowling reality. High Rollers opened to fanfarein October with Kim Kardashian as celebrity host.
Foxwoods Resort Casino together with the MGM Grand atFoxwoods is North America’s largest resort casino property, withover 4,700,000 square feet of space. Owned by theMashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, it opened in 1986 as theoriginal high-stakes bingo hall. It is located approximately 50 milesfrom Hartford and less than two hours driving time from Boston.
High Rollers is the innovation of Boston’s Big NightEntertainment Partners – Ed Kane, Joe Kane and RandyGreenstein. The three have proven their talent for out-of-the-box entertainment concepts with two other Foxwood venues,The Scorpion Bar and Shrine at MGM Grand. Their newestrestaurant concept, Red Lantern, opens in Boston next year.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
C
A BILLIONAIRE’S HOUSEThat was the idea behind the bowling at North America’s biggest resort casino.
According to Ed Kane, the partners’ decision to create abowling center was influenced by a lot of things. “We’ve beentrying to do bowling for years. We started the Josh BeckettFoundation with Josh Beckett, who is a star pitcher for theBoston Red Sox, and when we did it, we learned a lot aboutwhat we liked about bowling alleys: format, how the lanes areset up, and what the viewing areas are like for big parties.”
The Foundation hosts an annual celebrity bowling tournamentcalled Beckett Bowl, which raises money for community-basedprograms that strive to improve the health and well-being ofchildren, especially children that are severely ill, disabled, poor
The VIP suite.
By Robin Breuner
27IBI January 2011
or otherwise disadvantaged.“We just love design,” Kane said, “so
when we got an opportunity to do it, thecasino said, ‘Yes, go ahead.’ We madeour rounds [of] bowling alleys in thecountry and picked up a lot of ideas. Thereare certain technical requirements thatyou have to try to adhere to, whether it’slighting, measurements or length of theapproach, all those things. We wanted toincorporate those [requirements] into avery beautiful, high-end look, like if youwent into your billionaire friend’s house,and he had a bowling alley there. That waskind of our look – 1920s meets Bellagio.”
The concept of bowling in a resortcasino is not a new one, but at HighRollers, bowlers feel as if they are still a part of the glamorousnightlife in the casino rather than in a separate venue. This$6 million bowling center cum elegant lounge sports 14beautifully appointed lanes plus six separate VIP lanes. Theclassic decor features rich, dark woods, plush carpeting,flocked wallpaper, oversized leather banquettes, and wallslined with retro-chic, black–and–white photography offeathered showgirls and Rat Pack look-alikes.
Kane said that every decision the partners made, whetherthey were picking out mosaic tiles, hardwood floors orcurtains, was influenced by the idea of what Steve Wynnwould choose.
“If Steve Wynn built a bowling alley, what would it looklike? We thought that High Rollers would be it,” he said.
Touted as a “state-of-the-art adult destination,” the centerprovides more than bowling. A two-level piano loungefeaturing a 50-seat custom marble bar and a 103” plasmatelevision complements the cutting-edge sound system and60 high-definition televisions that span the lanes, flashingmusic videos and sporting events.
Lane-side food and beverage service includes inventiveselections from Executive Chef Kevin Long such as hotlobster dip, Philly spring rolls, Narragansett clam chowder,and brick oven pizzas. The drink menu features specialtymartinis with names like “Lexus” and “Indulgence” and anoversized cocktail called “The High Roller Experience”described as a “giant classic French martini topped withchampagne from your personal Dom Perignon bottle for youto drink after your champagne toast.”
Beyond the six VIP bowling lanes, High Rollers has threeprivate rooms that can accommodate 30-100 guests. Theentire facility is available to rent for up to 800 people.
Specialty theme and customizable menus are available. HighRollers also offers four professional Brunswick Gold Crown billiardtables, shuffleboard and a video gaming area.
Lanes are available on a first come, first served basis and canhold eight people. There is a two-hour limit when there is await. Day rates are $5 during the week and $6 on weekends; nightgames cost $6 and $9, respectively.
Age groups are diverse, according to Jason Nichols, Directorof Operations for Big Night Entertainment Group. “We’ve hadyoung children in here but late at night, after 7 p.m., we turn to21 and older only. Children are coming in with families for the mostpart. We do have a lot of groups coming in, older folks comingin early as well to have lunch and basically to enjoy the ambienceof the lounge.”
What would SteveWynn build?
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
28 IBI January 2011
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
“We have a dress code at night,” Kanesaid, “and it does skew ‘higher end’ in thesense that I think it’s great for dates, Ithink it’s great for bachelorette parties,it’s great for a group of girls who are goingout on a Friday or Saturday night becauseit’s kind of glamorous-looking. But anybodycan come out and bowl. It’s not like youhave to have a tuxedo to come out.
“The music is all over the board – tophits from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s,and our age demographic after 7 at nightis basically 21-80.
“We like to call it ‘the Four Seasons ofbowling’.”
Lane reservations are available with the purchase ofpackages, which start at $35 per person for 8-24 guestsduring the daytime. This includes two hours of bowling,shoe rental, homemade Yukon potato chips and brickoven pizza. The most expensive evening package is $90per person for 8-24 guests. This package includes twohours of bowling with shoe rental, two hours of premiumbar service, teriyaki chicken skewers, Philly spring rolls,crabbie melts, “oversized” grilled cheese, and classicshrimp cocktail. Luxury VIP packages are also availableafter 10 p.m.
“Our feeling is let’s give people a reservation option,”Kane said, “let’s give them a package option and sell
the lanes, because we’ve got alimited amount. Twenty lanes is nota lot of lanes to sell out. On a busyday there, they have 45,000 peoplethrough the doors.”
Luxury decor elements includechandeliers that parade above thelanes, hanging from cofferedceilings and surrounded by classicdentelle work. The coffered ceilingswere cleverly designed to helpdeaden the noise of the actualbowling in order to facilitateconversation and the sound of themusic. Each section has three setsof coffers. Kane said that the ceilingheight is intentionally lower thanmost bowling centers for the samereason – to create a boutique-scale
The 14 open lanes ina wide-angle view.
30 IBI January 2011
Robin Breuner is a freelance writer who lives on Mt. Tamalpaisin Marin County, California with her husband, two kids andtwo dogs.
feeling. The ceilings are 13.5 feet in thebowling area and nine feet in thebilliards area.
In the settee area, soft seating isarranged for privacy. “It’s like going inyour living room to watch television andbowl and hang out with your friends, ”said Kane.
According to Nichols, the partners haveno current plans to accommodate leaguesbut hope eventually to host sweepers orcharity events. Local bowlers are mostlyFoxwoods employees coming in afterwork or on their days off with their families.
“We operate independent of thecasino, so our economic structure isindependent of theirs. They like usbecause we bring in national, regional
and local people. We run it as a private business. Our goal isto tap into the 45,000 people who might want somethingelse to do other than gamble, eat and shop,” said Kane.
“It’s unbelievable, it really is,” Nichols said. “When you firstwalk in, it’s so grand you don’t even feel like it’s a bowling alley.With everything set up and the multi-level lounge, it’sunbelievable. And then you look left and right and see thelanes, that’s when you actually realize that you are in abowling alley.” ❖
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
31IBI January 2011
aybe we should have slugged this piece “New Light on OldDevelopments” because the two bowling lanes at Great
Camp Sagamore in the Adirondacks were put down in 1914 andhaven’t been renewed since. What we glimpsed in the Oct. 12-14 catalog for kids’ apparel from Lands’ End was just about whatworkers laid down in those pre-World War I days.
They dug down six feet to get below the frost level, thenpoured concrete. Brunswick-Balke-Collender completed the job.
The lanes lie in a pavilionopen to the summer airwhen Sagamore is receivingguests, Memorial Day tomid-October. Tent canvasrolls down to batten thehatches when the weathercools and Sagamore isclosed.
Originally 1,526 acres atRacquette Lake, NY, thecamp was developed byarchitect William WestDurant. He lived there until1901 when he sold theproperty to Alfred GwynneVanderbilt, son of railroad
M
PROFILE
BOWLING AT LANDS’ ENDPhoto by Dave Scranton
32 IBI January 2011
PROFILE
and shipping pioneer Cornelius Vanderbilt. From the Vanderbilts, thecamp passed to a private conservatory group, Sagamore Institute ofthe Adirondacks, which manages its 18 acres and 27 buildings today.Tours that include the lanes are twice daily in the summer and dailyin the autumn.
We understand from Executive Director Beverly Bridger thatSagamore Institute is trying to raise funds to restore the lanes andto establish an internship program with a local school for historicpreservation to do the work. For more information on the camp, visitwww.GreatCampSagamore.org. ❖
Photos by Dave Scranton
33IBI January 2011
ason Mileo Hall is at rest now in acorner of his father’s field, where
the woods begin.His grandfather Wally drives the hour
and a half from Arlington NationalCemetery on most Veterans Day to visitthe grave. A director of the Bowlers toVeterans Link for seven years, Wally hastaken part each of those years in layinga wreath at the Tomb of the Unknownson Veterans Day, which he usually callsArmistice Day because that was its namewhen he was a young man. ThePresident lays the first wreath; after thespeeches, invited organizations,including BVL, each lay a wreath. Theday is usually overcast and cold even inthe afternoon when the ceremoniesare finished.
The Marines wanted to bury Jason atArlington but his mother and fatherwanted him at home with them. Thegrave is in 200 acres where his father runsa construction company and the familyfarms the land. It is in Centreville, acrossChesapeake Bay from Pasadena, MD,where Wally lives and Jason grew up,about 34 miles from Baltimore. Wallyowns and operates three bowlingcenters in the area. He was BPAApresident in 1990-92.
Jason went straight from high schoolgraduation into the Marines when hewas 17. He planned to go to collegebut thought a hitch in the Marineswould be great experience first, and itwas. He was stationed around the
JWith brother Zachary, then about four, and dad Phillip in Colorado, fall 2002.
INCENTREVILLE
FIELD
world for the next couple of years until he was deployed for the war in Iraq in thespring of 2003.
Wally has a letter from Jason written on the eve of going into battle. The letter
United States being so far removed from othercountries, with the exception of Mexico and Canada,most Americans have not felt first-hand the horrors ofwar except for 9/11.
“I don’t think you can really do enough for thesemen and women.”
Jason Hall did well in the Marines, having alreadybeen recommended for a promotion from corporal tosergeant when he died. He was 20 years old.
He was elevated posthumously. ❖
For more information on BVL, visit www.BowlForVeterans.org.
March 2003 in Kuwait. The next month he was in Baghdad.
says, “I hope we will not go to war, but if we do I am ready to defendthe nation.”
“In his mind, [he] also saw them going to relieve the citizens of Iraqfrom the despot Saddam Hussein, as liberating the people and bringingfreedom to them. That’s how he saw his mission and his purpose. It’sso naive in a way but so good in a way.” Wally is among those whobelieve the war came to be about oil.
It was the last letter Jason wrote him.The next day, Jason’s unit swept across the Kuwait border and raced
for Baghdad. Jason was in the leading group.The city was taken on a Thursday and one of the embedded TV
reporters lent Jason his satellite phone to call home. His father andmother were out. He left a message on the voice mail. “He was so happyin that message. So upbeat. He said ‘They’re all cheering us. It’s so great.We’ve got Baghdad. We’ve won the war.’”
In the next few days, Marine units were assigned to secure the cityand went out on night patrols looking for guerillas. Jason’s unit wasresting but they were asked for volunteers and he offered to go. Animpromptu group was put together to stake out a mosque whereguerilla activity had been rumored.
The group took positions on the roof of the mosque so as to monitorthe streets below. They didn’t know that a group of Marine snipers thathad left the bivouac about the same time on the same mission had settledinto a high-rise building not far away. They did not know this becausetheir leaders had not kept in touch. The snipers were high enough intheir building to look down on the roof of the mosque. When one ofthem picked up the movement of a figure in the dark on the mosqueroof, he fired. The bullet hit Jason in the back.
“We tend to be complacent about these things. We see it on themovies and it’s all heroics. The goodies always win, the cavalry alwaysarrives. That’s not the way it is in real life.”
Wally’s work for BVL, which began at his centers five years beforeJason’s death, is “a very personal thing now.
“There’s a whole difference between peacetime and wartime. We havethis wonderful life in America here and because of the nature of the
35IBI January 2011
WHAT BOWLING MEANS TO ME
ables at bowling alleys are places, like bus stop benches and public waterfountains, where you can almost feel the germs crawling into your body.
The sense is not unfounded. Watch a pair of grimy little hands grip aslice of greasy pizza, reach up to a snotty nose for a quick wipe, then smear theooze all over the edge of the table before dashing back to the bowling lane foran attempt at a strike or a spare, and you’ll see the table in front of you in adifferent light.
But not all bowling alleys employ Arthur Fortaliza. His thrice-weekly cleaningeffort is the kind of painstaking scrub-down you hope happens – but assumedoesn’t – when the last person has gone home from places like this.
One recent weekday morning, Fortaliza barely looks up as I walk up to thetable he’s spraying with a bottle of green cleaning solution. He takes one whitetowel from a stack and folds it, matching corner to corner before mopping upthe puddle of cleaner.
Fortaliza is 43 years old and has Downs syndrome. He works here threemornings a week, from 9 to 11, before heading out for life-skills training with an
T
Mr. CleanFew employees can match thededication of Arthur Fortaliza.
aide. He utters a few words of hello to me,answers a couple of questions, but is clearlynot in the business of speaking to somereporter when there is work to do. For twohours, he’ll barely acknowledge my presence.His dedication is captivating.
“He doesn’t stop for anything – he justkeeps going and going,” says BarbaraRaeburn, the manager behind the counter atthe bowling alley this morning. “We haveto make him stop working.”
The job is tedious, the type someonemight take with hopes of leaving forsomething better in a month or two. AsFortaliza executes it, it means spraying andscrubbing and wiping every inch of the hardsurfaces at the end of the lanes: the tabletop,the table legs, the under part of the table, thechair backs, the chair legs, the chair seats, theunderneath of the counters, the trash can lid,the plastic holders advertising special eventsand pizza specials.
Fortaliza has worked here for a decade. Hehas an employment coach who sits withinsight while he works. But paychecks for $8.50per hour are paid directly to Fortaliza. He’sone of about 400 people in San DiegoCounty [CA] placed in jobs like this by a localnonprofit, Employment and Community
By Kelly Bennett
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Options, which got started 25 years ago.Fortaliza’s outfit – gray shorts, red-and-black Nikes, and a
T-shirt from his friends at N.F.L. Alumni Association – enablesthe gymnastics of his work. He crouches and rolls to scrubinvisible dirt and dust, cramming his head into crannies andlying, limbs outstretched, on the carpet to reach thatone...last...spot. Then he moves on to the next table, pullingthree chairs into a straight line before spraying the greensolution.
“We have a cleaning crew that comes in and cleans up theplace every night, but really, Arthur does a better job than thecleaning crew does,” Raeburn says.
He’s a mainstay at Mira Mesa Lanes. In the few moments hediverts his gaze from his duties, he shakes his head to joke withco-workers, his eyes sparkling under a flop of gray-and-white hair.
Fortaliza was one of the first people in the program whenit started in 1985. He moved to Minnesota for a while withhis parents, but they’ve passed away. Now Fortaliza liveswith his brother.
He takes the bus alone every morning, stopping first atWinchell’s for coffee. After work, Fortaliza and another co-worker with disabilities will head out with their coach to practice
things like crossing the street safely, depositing their checks atthe bank, and grocery shopping.
At about 10 a.m., an hour into Fortaliza’s shift, a few busespull up into the parking lot, and dozens of summer camp kidsstream through the door. Fortaliza is unfazed. He’s on hisfourth table. At one point, all I can see of him is a few fingers,resting on top of a counter while he reaches down to clean thebottom of the other side.
Near the end of Fortaliza’s shift, he’s beginning to show thefirst slight signs of fatigue. On his seventh and eighth tables,he stops between swipes of the towel to put his hands on hiships and take deep breaths. He exhales upward, blowing thewhite flop of hair on his forehead into the air.
Finally, Fortaliza’s job coach comes over to him to tell him,it’s time to wrap up. He nods, gathers up his towels, takes themto a back room and comes to sit down while he waits for hisco-worker.
He fills a small cup of water, plunks his 4-foot-10-inch frameinto a chair, swings his legs out in front of him, and yawns. He’llpick up where he left off in a couple of days. ❖
Reprinted from voiceofsandiego.org.
WHAT BOWLING MEANS TO ME
IBI January 201136
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SHOWCASE
37IBI January 2011
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SHOWCASE
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38 IBI January 2011
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MUST SELL. 20 lanes Qubica scoringequipment. Purchased new in 2007. Monitors,VDBs, Keyboards, Scoring Pedestals, POS +.By piece or make offer on entire lot. Picturesavailable @ www.bowljupiter.com/qubica.htm. (214) 431-7561; email:[email protected].
EQUIPMENT WANTED
LANE MACHINES WANTED. We willpurchase your KEGEL-built machine, anyage or condition. Phone (608) 764-1464.
40 IBI January 2011
CLASSIFIEDSCENTERS FOR SALE
16-lane center in Southern Coloradomountains. Great condition. 18,000s/f building w/ restaurant & lounge.Paved parking 100 + vehicles.Established leagues & tournaments.$950,000 or make offer. Kipp (719) 852-0155.
CENTRAL WISCONSIN: 12 lanes, autoscoring, Anvilane synthetics, 82-70s. Greatfood sales. Yearly tournament. Attached,large 3 bedroom apartment w/ fireplace.$550K. (715) 223-8230.
UPSTATE NEW YORK: 8-lane center/commercial building built in 1992.Synthetic lanes, new automatic scoring,kitchen and room to expand! Reduced tosell @ $375,000. Call (315) 376-3611.
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA: 6-laneBrunswick center, bar & grill, drive-thruliquor store in small college town. Also, 3apartment buildings with 40 units, goodrental history. Call (701) 330-7757 or (701)430-1490.
SOUTHWEST KANSAS: well-maintained8-lane center, A-2s, full-service restaurant.Includes business and real estate. Nice,smaller community. Owner retiring.$212,000. Leave message (620) 397-5828.
SOUTHERN INDIANA (close toIndianapolis): 18-lane Brunswick centerwith lounge, liquor license & movietheater on 4+ acres. Turnkey business.Owner retiring. Great investment! (765) 349-1312.
ARIZONA, PAYSON: 16 LANES. Assumemortgage. Details @ http://rimcountrylanes.com/4sale.pdf. Bob (602) 377-6657.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lanecenter w/ synthetic lanes, 82-70s, 19,000s/f building w/ lots of parking. Newlyremodeled bar & large kitchen. Ownerretiring. (530) 598-2133.
ForFLORIDA CENTERS
CallDAVID DRISCOLL& ASSOCIATES
1-800-444-BOWLP.O. Box 189
Howey-in-the-Hills, FL 34737AN AFFILIATE OF
SANDY HANSELL & ASSOCIATES
FAX YOUR ORDER TO US AT:530-432-2933
Orange County Security Consultants10285 Ironclad Road, Rough & Ready, CA 95975
•Keys & ComboLocks for allTypes ofLockers.
•One weekturnaroundon mostorders.
•New locks -All types•Used locks1/2 priceof new
All keysdone bycode #.
No keysnecessary.
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CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-700-4KEYINTʼL 530-432-1027
The leading source for real estate loans with low down payments
Ken Paton(503) 645-5630
I could not have gottenI could not have gottenmy loan without him.my loan without him.
Bill HansonBill HansonAll Star LanesAll Star Lanes
Fort Myers, FloridaFort Myers, Florida
41IBI January 2011
CLASSIFIEDS
CENTERS FOR SALE
NEW YORK STATE: Thousand Islandregion. 8-lane Brunswick center w/ cosmicbowling, auto scoring. Established leagues+ many improvements. $309,000. Call Jill@ Lori Gervera Real Estate (315) 771-9302.
NW KANSAS: 12-lane center, AS-80s,Lane Shield, snack bar, pro shop, game &pool rooms. See pics andinfo @ www.visitcolby.com or contactCharles (785) 443-3477.
NE MINNESOTA: Food, Liquor & Bowling.Established 8 lanes between Mpls & Duluthw/ large bar, dining room, banquet area. Twolarge State employment facilities nearby.High six figure gross. $1.2m. Call Bryan(2180 380-8089. www.majesticpine.com.
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: One ofthe top five places to move! Remodeled32-lane center. Good numbers. $3.1mgets it all. Fax qualified inquiries to (828)253-0362.
NE PENNSYLVANIA: 12-lane center, 10,500s/f with 82-70s, Twelve Strike scoring, a greatsports bar and game room. Large parking lot.Huge potential. Possible owner financing.$625,000. Call Mike (727) 858-3427.
42 IBI January 2011
CLASSIFIEDS
CENTERS FOR SALE
SOUTHERN NEVADA: 8-lane center.Only center in town of 15,000. 30minutes from Las Vegas. AMF 82-70s,newer Twelve Strike scoring. R/E leased.Will consider lease/option with qualifiedperson. REDUCED TO $175,000. CallSteve @ (702) 293-2368; [email protected].
CENTRAL IDAHO: 8-lane center andrestaurant in central Idaho mountains.Small town. Only center within 60-mileradius. Brunswick A-2 machines;Anvilane lane beds; automatic scoring.(208) 879-4448.
CENTERS FOR SALE
SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING: 12 lanes+ café & lounge, 2 acres w/ 5 bedroomhome. Full liquor & fireworks licenses.Outside Salt Lake City area. Dennis @Uinta Realty, Inc. (888) 804-4805 [email protected].
GEORGIA: busy 32-lane center, realestate included. Great location in one offastest growing counties in metro Atlanta.5 years new with all the amenities.Excellent numbers. Call (770) 356-8751.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lane centerREDUCED to $799,000 for quick sale.Synthetics, 82-70s, 19,000 s/f + parking.Newly remodeled bar, large kitchen. Ownerretiring. Will consider selling only equipmentor building. www.siskiyoulanes.com. (530)598-2133.
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA: 12-LANEBrunswick center. REDUCED TO SELLNOW! Includes auto scoring, glow bowling,pizza, large dining area & video poker. Goodincome. Long Lease. Great opportunity. CallMike (318) 578-0772.
CENTERS FOR SALE
NW INDIANA (Lake Michigan/NationalLake Shore area): Well-maintained 32-lane center, family owned & operatedsince 1997 with spacious nightclub loungeon 6.6 acres. Also billiards, arcade, proshop, full-service restaurant, establishedleagues, birthday party activity & MORE!Owner retiring. Reasonably priced. (219)921-4999.
CENTRAL ALABAMA: Recently remodeled,split house w/24 synthetic lanes (16 & 8) in28,000 s/f building in shopping center;Brunswick A2s & 2000 seating; AccuScorePlus; VIA returns & storage tables; systemsfor Cosmic; established leagues; snack bar,pro shop & game/pool table area. Nearestcompetition 28 miles w/ colleges & Hondafactory within minutes. Need to sell due tohealth. Reasonably priced. (435) 705-0420.
NORTHERN WISCONSIN: Turnkeybusiness. 12-lane center, Brunswick A-2s,Frameworx scoring, full bar and restaurant.Good league base with large tournament.Contact Bruce @ (715) 614-7779.
WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM
43IBI January 2011
CLASSIFIEDS
(818) 789-2695
Sell Your
Centeror Eqpt.
Fast!Fast!
CENTERS FOR SALE
NE NEVADA: New 2001. 16 lanes, 19,200square feet, 1.68 acres paved, sound &lighting, lounge w/ gaming, arcade, fullservice snack bar & pro shop. Call (775)934-1539.
CENTRAL ILLINOIS: PRICED TO SELL!!8-lane center with AMF 82-70s, full servicerestaurant, pro shop. Plus pool tables,Karaoke machine, DJ system. Includes RE.(217) 351-5152 or [email protected].
CENTERS FOR SALE
MISSOURI, St. Louis area: Two centersfor Sale or Lease in great bowling areas.1) 16-lane Brunswick recently remodeled.2) 24-lane Brunswick/Qubica Scoring, state-of-the-art with all the whistles and bells.MUST SEE! Contact Voss ManagementProperties (636) 458-9430 or [email protected].
MICHIGAN, Lake Odessa: 12-lane centerwith updated AMF scoring, 82-70 pinsettersand full-menu restaurant & bar. Indoor/patioseating across from public beach. R&E.Owner retiring. Call Patti @ FreshwaterProperties (616) 260-6500 or [email protected].
MINNESOTA—Brainerd Lakes area:Successful 8-lane AMF center with pizza,restaurant & bar. 7,952 s/f. In middle ofNature’s Paradise! Contact Chris @ Close-Converse (218) 828-3334.
TEXAS, SE Houston: 40-lane center inmid-sized market. Updated scoring, lanes,seating, masking units in 2007 plusremodeled bar. New roof. Includes RE.Bank owned. Ken Paton (503) 645-5630.
(570) 346-5559
AMF and some BRUNSWICK PC boardrepair/exchange. 6-month warranty, fastturnaround. Call or write: WB8YJF Service
5586 Babbitt Road, New Albany, Ohio 43054Toll Free: 888-902-BOWL (2695)
Ph./Fax: (614) 855-3022 (Jon)E-mail: [email protected]
Visit us on the WEB!http://home.earthlink.net/~wb8yjf/
PROPRIETORS WITH AMF 82-70S.S. & M.P. MACHINES
Save $$ on Chassis & P.C. BoardExchange & Repair!
A reasonable alternative forChassis and P.C. Board Exchanges
MIKE BARRETTCall for Price List
Tel: (714) 871-7843 • Fax: (714) 522-0576
44 IBI January 2011
CLASSIFIEDS
2021 Bridge StreetJessup, PA 18434570-489-8623www.minigolfinc.com
MINIATURE GOLF COURSESIndoor/Outdoor. ImmediateInstallation. $5,900.00 & up.
BUY SELL
AMF • BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENTCOMPLETE PACKAGES
WORLDʼS LARGEST NEW – USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY
Danny & Daryl TuckerDanny & Daryl TuckerTucker Bowling Equipment Co. Bowling Parts, Inc.609 N.E. 3rd St. P.O. Box 801Tulia, Texas 79088 Tulia, Texas 79088Call (806) 995-4018 Call (806) 995-3635Fax (806) 995-4767 Email - [email protected]
www.bowlingpartsandequipment.com
POSITION WANTED
Brunswick “A” mechanic, 12+ yearsexperience, AS-80/AS-90 scoring systemexpertise. Former owner/GM. Willing torelocate. Contact me at (308) 380-8594.
Wanted—-job as a manager for a Brunswickcenter. 30+ years experience in all phases ofrunning a center. Trustworthy with greatreferences. Seeing is believing! Call Owen(763) 497-3139. Please leave message.
SERVICES AVAILABLE
Drill Bit Sharpening and Measuring BallRepair. Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-255-6436 or Jayhawkbowling.com.
AMF 65-25 CHASSIS: Conversion, Repair,Replace & Exchange. Includes rewiring,requested repairs, conversion to MK 30 boardsystem and converting chassis to new PRsystem where applicable. TOTALSATISFACTION GUARANTEED. Referencesavailable. CHASSIS DOCTORS(330) 314-8951.
HELP WANTED
PROMOTIONS PERSON for multi-centersin Indiana/Kentucky area. Great opportunity!Dennis (502) 722-9314.
MANAGER WANTED
MANAGER WANTED for large Midwesterncenter in a GREAT city. For furtherinformation, please fax or email resume toBox 4005, (818) 789-2812 [email protected].
WWW.FACEBOOKBOWLING.COM
45IBI January 2011
CLASSIFIEDS
"Bowling Center Construction Specialists"
�New Center Construction �Family Entertainment Centers�Residential Bowling Lanes�Modernization�Mini Bowling Lanes�Automatic Scoring
Toll Free: (866) 961-7633Office: (734) 469-4293
Email: [email protected]
CONTACT BRIAN ESTES
Call(818) 789-2695
Fax(818) 789-2812
E-mailyour ad to:
3EASYWAYS
to place your
Classified Ad in
International
Bowling Industry
Magazine
t’s 1938, Look, a photojournalistic, popular magazine with a circulation of 2 million,is one year old, and Europe is immersed in the beginnings of war. However, it wasthe lull before the storm for Americans who were entranced by Jeanette MacDonald,
Ginger Rogers and Alice Faye. They followed the boxing victories of Henry Armstrongin the pages of their favorite magazine, and the indoor sport of choice was bowling with10 million men and women bowling regularly.
In this February 1938 Look photo spread, Joe Falcaro, Champion Match Bowler givestips on how to bowl a perfect strike. The pre-war years showed association membership onthe rise with ABC members at 446,000 whichwould not peak until 1964 when it reached4,575,000 members. ❖
46 IBI January 2011
REMEMBER WHEN
I1938
