Play Meter Magazine - December 2006 Issue
 

Cover Story (December 2006)

PrimeTime: first-rate by any definition

You've seen the name, played the games, talked to the staff at trade shows, and as Paul Harvey would say, now you're going to hear the rest of the story.

The foundation for PrimeTime Amusements was laid when David Goldfarb was in college in Orlando, Fla. Most college students take jobs to supplement their income and David was no exception. He was just 19 and a sophomore at the university when he became an operator, placing three pool tables, a jukebox, and a video game in a sub shop.

He slowly added more games and placed them in other locations and by the time he graduated he had about 60 machines on location and was the only employee. In 1995 he convinced his dad, who was retired from the garment business in New York, to come to work. His father got involved in the financial end and the business aspect.

A major milestone was getting a contract from Universal Studios to place 40 games in its NASCAR Cafe. That was followed by another Universal property: the Portofino Bay in the Loews Hotel.

In 1997, the name of the company became PrimeTime Amusements, an apt name. If you look up the word prime you'll find synonyms like leading, major, superior, first-rate, zenith, peak, and pinnacle to name a few. You talk about prime property and prime interest rate and now PrimeTime can be added to your vocabulary of company names to watch.

David didn't get the Universal contracts with pure luck. He explained, "We heard that they were going up. We wrote a proposal that we hoped they couldn't refuse. You can't sit back and hope something lucrative comes your way; it takes effort. I'm proud to say that we now have the exclusive contract for Universal and we've placed about 400 machines."

Xtreme Indoor Karting

PrimeTime opened new offices in Miami 10 years ago, put about 300 machines on location, and worked as a successful street operator. But the best was yet to come. David met Bill Mulder, who had an extensive background in go-karting, was a professional driver, and had set up numerous tracks across the United States. With Mulder and PrimeTime as partners in a new project, they set up the Xtreme Indoor Karting facility.

In reality it's much, much more. It's a game room and a distribution center in 100,000-square-feet of space. It holds seven conference rooms, a full-service bar, pool tables, food concessions, and the longest and one of the fastest go-kart tracks in the United States. There are also two arcades for adults and kids. It was a $5 million investment in the industry.

David added, "We are doing four things under one operation. We started as a street operator and have slowly moved into opening family entertainment centers (FECs). We sell equipment and we rent to corporations. We have the exclusive contract agreement from a company in Europe to sell PrimeTime Knock-Out! Boxer, Crazy Squash, PrimeTime Kicker, and a new interactive baseball game."

The Xtreme Indoor Karting facility is located in a prime (there's that word again!) location on I-95 and Commercial Blvd. where 300,000 cars pass every day. David explained that there have been numerous requests for team building activities. David said they are leasing and renting for a myriad of occasions such as Bar Mitzvahs, corporate groups, weddings, and more. There is also a strong need from large companies that use machines to generate excitement at corporate events. "We've rented many machines to Fortune 500 companies," said David.

The games

We asked David how he discovered these remarkable games. David said, "I spent quite a bit of time in Europe and was impressed with the product I saw. I contacted the company and went from there. I went back to Europe and negotiated a contract. I thought the equipment was unique enough to do well over here. It's interactive, fun, and you won't find it at home."

He continued, "This is a tough business. You can see the companies that have dropped out. There are fewer people involved. Everything manufacturers introduce winds up being available for the home. What has kept our business strong are the four things we do from our facility and distribution center. We sell lots of used equipment overseas. When we are looking to replenish the equipment in our facilities and locations, we have quite a bit of used equipment to sell. We must have an outlet for it and it's usually overseas. I just got back from Brazil last week."

PrimeTime Knock-Out! is the ultimate test of your boxing speed and strength. Insert quarters or tokens (a bill acceptor is optional) and give it your best punch. Competition is encouraged as gamers vie for the highest score.

PrimeTime Kicker offers realistic World Cup soccer. You can test your skills and compete amongst friends, rivals, or countries by kicking a soccer ball that measures speed and power.

Classic air hockey has always been a crowd favorite and PrimeTime Crazy Squash is just waiting to continue the tradition. Two players compete side-by-side in the unique U-shaped table to score a goal. It was designed to fit in even smaller spaces.

Also available is PrimeTime Goalie, a conventional air hockey that will forever be a crowd pleaser. With a stainless-steel top that ensures a superb level of play and available in six and eight foot lengths there's one for all types of locations and players.

Industry's future

How does David view the future of the coin-op entertainment industry? "The industry as a whole is not good and it's going to get worse. I think you'll find distributors that are going to become large operators and operators will become distributors. The other option is to mimic what we are doing. We have our facility and distribution center under one roof. We have absolutely every single brand-new piece of equipment in our game rooms and everything is for sale."

What's David's take on the new equipment being introduced? "I'm not impressed. However, I am impressed with games coming from Europe and that's precisely why I signed an agreement to sell it in the United States. The main difference is that Europe is making interactive games while over here we see games being repeated over and over. You get a glorified title and use it up. I don't see anything that exciting. Even companies like Incredible Technologies haven't stepped up to the plate."

He continued, "If these U.S. manufacturers don't come up with something unique, something interactive, something you can't find at home, they'll be closing up shop."

People

Is there a company that David looks up to to model his after? "The one I've been mimicking is Len Keywood's Starburst in Canada. He's the largest distributor in Canada and has a huge operation, probably 8,000 games. He came from humble beginnings and is by far one of the leaders in the industry.

"And, of course, I admire my partner Bill Mulder. He's an icon in the industry of indoor karting; his background in karting runs the gamut from A to Z. With our expertise in games and his in karting, we formed a partnership for the Xtreme Indoor Karting name."

David said, "Another person I respect is Rick Dee, who now runs all of our operations in Orlando and he's involved in the distribution end with PrimeTime Amusements. He was with Cleveland Coin for many years and when that distributorship was sold to Shaffer, Dee was planning to retire. I've known him for many years and knew he was originally from Orlando. I contacted him and asked if he'd like to get involved. He said yes and explained that he was planning to move to Florida anyway. He has experience in distribution and I'm very happy he's with us."

A person in the company that David brags about is Lainie Solomon and she had an interesting story. She told us that she was a school teacher but needed some time away from the stress. While on hiatus she worked as a bartender using her dynamic people skills.

In the meantime, while David was flying to Spain he realized he needed someone to answer the phone while he was gone. He picks up the story: "I contacted a friend, who was a bar owner and his bar was one of our locations. I told him what I was looking for and he recommended Lainie. He told me about her hiatus, her bartending skills, and what a reliable person she was. The rest, so they say, is history.

"I'm very impressed with Lainie's people skills. She runs our internal operations and literally has her hands in everything. I actually try to find new projects for her because she makes everything look so easy!" David said.

There are 25 employees at PrimeTime Amusements and an additional 40 at Xtreme Indoor Karting. The people, the partner, the games, the ideas, the experience, and more come together nicely at PrimeTime Amusements and Xtreme Indoor Karting.