game of skill | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘game of skill’

Coney Island High Striker Queen Is Back in New Location

Posted in Amusement Game, tagged Bowery, carnival game, Fishbowl Game, game of skill, High Striker on May 20, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Coney Island’s High Striker Queen. Photo © Tricia Vita

“I’m happy to be back,” says Monica, Coney Island’s High Striker Queen, who has a new spot on the Bowery under the famed Wonder Wheel’s Thrills sign. And we’re happy to be reporting the good news. In photos taken earlier this week, Monica and her partner Jeff were overseeing construction of their new Fishbowl Game. It will officially open this weekend along with a Kiddie High Striker and Basketball Game.

As ATZ reported in March, three weeks before Coney’s March 26th Opening Day, Monica was told by a rep of 12th Street Amusements that she could not set up this year. “I’m heartbroken,” she had told us. “If I can’t find another place, I’m going to leave Coney Island for the last time.” The space on the Bowery became available for lease after longtime indie operator Jimmy Carchiolo aka Jimmy Balloons, passed away in April.

New indie games under construction on Coney Island’s Bowery. Photo © Tricia Vita

Coney Island’s High Striker Queen was the first victim of the City’s scheme to use eminent domain to acquire six privately owned lots for “the revitalization of Coney Island.” One of the lots is the location where Monica and her partner Jeff ran their popular Mom & Pop “hit the hammer, ring the bell” game for the past four seasons.

A few weeks ago, 12th Street Amusements set up their own game in Monica’s former location, which means that when the lot is finally acquired by the City to make way for Wonder Wheel Way, they would be the ones entitled to compensation.

Help Wanted: Skin the Wire & Feed the Clown Game Operator in Coney Island

Posted in jobs, tagged carnival game, Coney Island, game of skill, job, job opening, Skin the Wire, summer job on March 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Feed the Clown Game, West 12th Street in Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita

Skin the Wire, Feed the Clown, Roll-A-Coaster! Game of skill operators are needed for the 2016 season at these independent games on West 12th Street off the Coney Island Boardwalk. As a former carny kid who grew up working games on the midway, ATZ highly recommends this unique and formative job experience. And next time they call you in to play the games at San Gennaro or the state fair, you’ll be a full-fledged carny and can reply “I’m with it!”

Qualification::
–Games require manual dexterity
–Proficiency in addition. One game requires adding numbers
–Personable, outgoing and good with people
–Ability to describe and explain the games and merchandise to customers

The games open ~~March 20~~ March 25 and are open weekends and school holidays in the spring and fall, as well as some evenings in May. The daily schedule kicks in Memorial Day Weekend and runs through Labor Day Weekend. Hours and scheduling are flexible. The rate of pay starts at $10 per hour and goes up as the operator masters each of the three games.

Apply in person or leave a reply below and ATZ will forward it to the game’s owner.

skin the wire and Feed the Clown Games on West 12th Street, Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

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Photo Album: Coney Island’s Indie Game Operators

Posted in Amusement Game, Photo Album, Photography, tagged Ball Toss, balloon dart, carnival game, Coney Island, game agent, game of skill, game operator, High Striker on June 3, 2013| 3 Comments »

Jerry, Ball Toss Game, Jones Walk. May 29, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita

Having grown up working behind the counter of Mom’s Balloon Dart and Dad’s Spot Game, I feel a special kinship with game operators. It’s not an easy job, especially when there’s no awning and the sun is setting in your face. If nobody plays your game, you don’t get paid. The Coney Island indie game agents whose portraits are in this photo album are survivors and jacks and jills of all trades. Jerry was a crew member on the Zipper until the ride lost its lease and was shipped to Honduras. Now he runs a ball toss game on Jones Walk and is one of the stars of Zipper, Amy Nicholson’s documentary about the rezoning and redevelopment of Coney Island.

Monica, the High Striker Queen of Coney, has been on the road with traveling carnivals. In Coney Island, she was displaced several times due to changes in land ownership, yet she always manages to come back. When I worked a game on Jones Walk, Monica was a few doors down. Since then she’s been on the Bowery and is now located on West 12th Street. This is the spunky gal who told a Voice of America reporter last year that independent attractions like hers give Coney Island its soul. “Our spirit will live on long after we’re dead, honey. We are the blood, sweat and tears on the block,” said Monica in a feature about Coney’s amusement parks.

What’s the difference between an agent and a clerk? Agents work their own game or for a percentage of the profits rather than an hourly wage. They don’t wear company shirts and hats. They know how to call people in to play and are adept at getting you to play some more. The key to their longevity is making sure everybody walks away happy. One of my favorite signs in Coney Island–now long demolished, but its operator is back– is WIN BIG! BIG! PRIZES FOR THE FAMILY!!!

Janice and Carolyn work the games of skill on West 12th Street next to the mechanical wonders Miss Coney Island and Coney Island Always and the Coney Island History Project. Roll-A-Coaster and other ingenious games are the creation of Benny Harrison, who should be designated the Wizard of West 12th Street.

Target the Coney Island Cat and his human, Manny Cohen of Coney Island Arcade and Games, recently left Coney’s Bowery forever. Evicted by the landlord, they moved to Las Vegas. Jimmy Balloons, who operated his Balloon Dart on the Bowery was also displaced and has since reopened on Jones Walk under the Wonder Wheel’s big neon sign.