tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post819927879319212975..comments2024-03-24T17:41:28.172-05:00Comments on The Golden Age Arcade Historian: Arcade OriginsKeith Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08421308095592306594noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-41457876190051508712019-12-31T22:22:20.369-06:002019-12-31T22:22:20.369-06:00Thanks for the history. I was an area supervisor o...Thanks for the history. I was an area supervisor over 6 Aladdin's Castles in the Chicago home office area, circa, 1982. I was fired around 1984 after deciding to open my own arcade in Greenville,SC.I doubled my income from $17,000 to $34,000 that year. Nice memories.Pastor_Chickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11875852694799636395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-13007639872293495762019-11-10T21:10:55.278-06:002019-11-10T21:10:55.278-06:00I lived in Almaden starting in the early 70's ...I lived in Almaden starting in the early 70's was time zone located at Oakridge mall?Big Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11509627582641929373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-52772508278912401882019-11-07T12:17:22.648-06:002019-11-07T12:17:22.648-06:00I still have a Alladins Castle token!I still have a Alladins Castle token!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-38871800295448376122019-10-30T00:30:33.867-05:002019-10-30T00:30:33.867-05:00i remember a time zone arcade in the mid 70s on th...i remember a time zone arcade in the mid 70s on the san jose cupertino border.It was the 1st arcade in the area.Before that we would play pinball at the bowling alleyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00763337205171198226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-40256585690434195792019-09-10T03:59:24.325-05:002019-09-10T03:59:24.325-05:00I went to Alladin's Castle quite a few times. ...I went to Alladin's Castle quite a few times. It was the most awsome place as a pre-teen and teen. I loved video games and Alladin's Castle was just awesome. I had no clue that they had 450 locations, I thought it was just a local arcade. My first visit was when I was in middle school with my older brother, my last visit was my senior year of high school when I had a drivers license and took a group of friends. Lot of good memories made at that place, sad that it's closed down. Now is the time to open it up again, retro gaming is hot and people want to play the real game, not an emulation of it.<br />Perkoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14029755158693176915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-83289050156280412692019-07-02T11:20:12.399-05:002019-07-02T11:20:12.399-05:00Former Central Illinois resident here. My childhoo...Former Central Illinois resident here. My childhood Aladdin's Castle was across the river in the Pekin Mall. I remember birthday parties there and the freedom of being allowed to go in there by myself while my mom shopped. So many great games. I could still tell you where many of them were physically located within the arcade all these years later. Definitely made a few trips to the Aladdin's Castle at Northwoods too. Was so sad to see them close down.Lukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09876086428996421528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-73295972804826947972016-08-20T19:58:18.911-05:002016-08-20T19:58:18.911-05:00Aladdin's Castle was a fun experience for me a...Aladdin's Castle was a fun experience for me as a kid then later a teen..in 74 i first went to the northwoods mall in peoria il...and played a red baron photo slide game shooting down ww1 planes. the machine even spat out a token that ranked you as an ace as i recall if you were good. later in 78 as a teen i enjoyed space war there was an attendant there named jeff who was pretty good..but roger was luckier..hitting hyperspace...anyway great fun and fond memories..ronald if your out there dont trip in the aisle like raiders of the lost arkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-65524788804470854442015-12-16T16:19:04.950-06:002015-12-16T16:19:04.950-06:00Thanks for the comment. I have been very confused ...Thanks for the comment. I have been very confused by the relationship between American Amusements and Carousel Time and the trade magazines weren't very clear about it. Now it makes more sense to me. I tried to track down Jules Millman or Tom Nieman but was unable to. So was the name of Jules's arcade chain Aladdin's Castle from the beginning? If you other info you want to share, drop me an e-mail or post here. I'd love to get some more background info.Keith Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08421308095592306594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-85799009766907227212015-12-16T15:49:03.382-06:002015-12-16T15:49:03.382-06:00This history is a bit confused, I worked for Aladd...This history is a bit confused, I worked for Aladdin's Castle in the Seventies. Jules Millman started American Amusements to operate the Aladdin's Castle game rooms. Bally wanted to buy the operation and Millman refused so Bally started their own, rather sleazy in comparison, game rooms called Carousel Time to compete. Millman finally gave in and all the combined game rooms ended up being called Aladdin's Castle. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-58912657572496404352015-11-19T04:05:25.132-06:002015-11-19T04:05:25.132-06:00Wow, what a story! Riding in a limo with Nolan Bus...Wow, what a story! Riding in a limo with Nolan Bushnell himself! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-9276450616067269242013-09-30T04:56:10.850-05:002013-09-30T04:56:10.850-05:00I worked at the first Time Zone in San Jose-near A...I worked at the first Time Zone in San Jose-near Almaden Valley. It was small as they say, and we had troubles from a small group of guys-possibly gang related, who came into the store one night looking for the manager. He was not working that night, it was just me and another girl-both about 18. They walked in with baseball bats and other things I assume were weapons, but left after we assured them he wasn't there. Scary encounter. Before working there. My boyfriend was hired by Noland Bushnell, and he took my boyfriend and me in a limo to the time Zone location in Fremont where they were just setting up. That's where my boyfriend worked. Back then I didn't realize how significant Nolan would be to the arcade business. It was first all about pinball games, but soon Pong and PAC-MAN were on the floors entertaining everyone. Those were the days. And I lived 2.6 miles from Steve Jobs home for 12 years. Two amazing pioneers of our time!Jems by Judihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03075634243991583388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-2517193910347989202013-04-17T13:21:40.658-05:002013-04-17T13:21:40.658-05:00What's odd is my Aladdin's Castle had no s...What's odd is my Aladdin's Castle had no such ban of food, drinks, or smoking. I remember entering the smoke filled Aladdin's Castle with all the cigarette burns on the machines and the carpet.justjeepinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02050110584643985525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8167179463808604240.post-17806641135596258252013-03-23T18:18:52.696-05:002013-03-23T18:18:52.696-05:00Nice to see who started the "Time-Out Tunnels...Nice to see who started the "Time-Out Tunnels". The original Bonomo's Turkish Taffy is still around, though owned and manufactured by an independent company these days (Tootsie Roll saw no potential there).<br />http://www.bonomoturkishtaffy.com/<br /><br />I recall going to an Aladdin's Castle in my childhood, though from a mall some 20-30 miles north of me in Monroe, MI (in the food court of Frenchtown Square, now called The Mall of Monroe. Aladdin's Castle would end up in Namco's hands sooner or later and is still an intellectual property to them despite the name having fallen out of favor.Chris Sobieniakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09838106041175506925noreply@blogger.com