Hello Fellow Restorationists From Daytona Beach :)

VoicesInTheWind

Member

Donor 2012
Joined
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Location
HOLLY HILL, Florida
Hello Fellow Game owners and restorists ;)

My Name is Daniel Watkins,

i'm a retired Amusement Tech Formally With Mardi Gras Fun Center In Daytona Beach -circa 81-96.

i currently own and repairing a ATARI STUN RUNNER & Bally Flash Gordon Pinball ( pinball repair is my love)

i Currently migrated from amusement machines to computers so i mostly do computer salvage and repair and i have all the tools for the field i'm in :)

i look forward to learning anything i can from everyone that i havn't learned while in the industry (sp) so feel free to yell at me if ya got a question...if i can answer it i will..if i can't i'll just stand there and smile and look dumb if i don't know :D

(wait....i do that now...oivay ! )

anyhow...HELLO EVERYONE ! :)


Daniel Watkins
VoicesInTheWind.
 
nice welcome around here..

what a way to welcome new people around here...

i have this uncanny feeling people around here don't like retired arcade techs...

or people from daytona...


guess i'll sit here and be quiet.


Daniel.
 
guess i'll sit here and be quiet.

I'm sorry, did you say something?

eeba2f849d.jpg
 
I think he did say something.......

And welcome to the loony bin Daniel!

We are all very crazy here. You'd have to be to collect 30+ year old electronics and expect it to keep working.

If you find yourself talking to yourself, about yourself, then you're going to fit right in. :)
 
I think he did say something.......

And welcome to the loony bin Daniel!

We are all very crazy here. You'd have to be to collect 30+ year old electronics and expect it to keep working.

If you find yourself talking to yourself, about yourself, then you're going to fit right in. :)


Thanks....i wasn't sure if anyone cared i was here...and i always talk to myself....i have to cause my wife thinks i'm beyond nuts buying Arcade games... LOL

Daniel.
 
Welcome Daniel.

Its not that anyone was ignoring you, we have Wives for that, its just that we get too lazy to post ! LOL

Yes, with your years of knowledge, you will be a VERY welcome addition !

Jim

Smartarse Too
 
Welcome Daniel.

Its not that anyone was ignoring you, we have Wives for that, its just that we get too lazy to post ! LOL

Yes, with your years of knowledge, you will be a VERY welcome addition !

Jim

Smartarse Too

LOL Jim...

I'm Married to a Scotish Woman..she don't ignore me..she yells at me then goes back to watching her tv....so i come here to get a Break..LOL :D

i wish We Had a Chat Room Here So We All Could Chat...all this typing is killing me...lol.


Daniel.
 
Hello Fellow Game owners and restorists ;)

My Name is Daniel Watkins,

i'm a retired Amusement Tech Formally With Mardi Gras Fun Center In Daytona Beach -circa 81-96.

i currently own and repairing a ATARI STUN RUNNER & Bally Flash Gordon Pinball ( pinball repair is my love)

i Currently migrated from amusement machines to computers so i mostly do computer salvage and repair and i have all the tools for the field i'm in :)

......

Didn't see your intro until today, but a sincere welcome to the boards here and esp. from a fellow Villager here in FL. Really cool to hear you worked at Mardi Gras from 1981-1996. Was it always called that or did it have another name? My connection to Daytona is that I was going to school up there then and visited the Arcades on the boardwalk many of times. The stuff you must of seen walk by and into the arcade: for you fellow KLOVers, this guy worked by the beach when Daytona Beach was THE place to be.

A lot of classics back in the day. What was the name of the arcade that was right beside you, Dan?

Bet those were fun to work on especially with the sweat, saltwater, and humidity in that location..

Again welcome aboard from a fellow vid collector in FL(Xevious, Rally-X, and Star Castle). Feel free to get in touch anytime Dan.
 
Didn't see your intro until today, but a sincere welcome to the boards here and esp. from a fellow Villager here in FL. Really cool to hear you worked at Mardi Gras from 1981-1996. Was it always called that or did it have another name? My connection to Daytona is that I was going to school up there then and visited the Arcades on the boardwalk many of times. The stuff you must of seen walk by and into the arcade: for you fellow KLOVers, this guy worked by the beach when Daytona Beach was THE place to be.

A lot of classics back in the day. What was the name of the arcade that was right beside you, Dan?

Bet those were fun to work on especially with the sweat, saltwater, and humidity in that location..

Again welcome aboard from a fellow vid collector in FL(Xevious, Rally-X, and Star Castle). Feel free to get in touch anytime Dan.

MY GOD! you have a good memory:D LOL

Thank You for the Welcome..no matter how late it may be..i like nice welcomes :)

ok for starters...when yer standing on the boardwalk here in daytona when i was working you would have had 4 arcades..starting from your left would have been " Walkin'Charlies " then mine " Mardi Gras Fun Center " then there was a lil' bar called " Capt' Darrels " (had the Gocart track up top) then there was " Midway Arcade " then after that one there was the open space where they had some rides...then the last arcade is " Joyland "... now for the update to present day . Today there are only 2 arcades left...yeah...life changes on the boardwalk BUT ... Mardi Gras Fun Center Is STILL standing :D and JOYLAND is still standing.... and the reason for that is..the owners of my arcade are greek..and you know most greeks are a closenit group....well...DINO who owns JOYLAND was getting married and the story goes my owners were ready to retire..so they gave him Mardi Gras As a Wedding Gift !..lol wild around there...so now Dino owns Both My arcade and his original Joyland..... as for Walkin Charlies and Midway they both closed and the only Walkin' Charlies left in the US is in Nashville TN...thats the Original WC..as Daytona was a Copy Of That One...go figure..and Midway Closed Because the Owners bickered too much ..since they were also a traveling Amusement company that used to go up into canada all the time..so i guess it was too costly to do both....as they say...Shiot Happens ..lol

anyway when i was there you seen everything..dressed or NOT ! so it was interesting....i met my first wife in my arcade...(i should have Left Her There ) :D but all in all it was fun i eventually became the Senior Tech there for 15 yrs and my arcade had some of the FIRST machines made by Williams in my arcade before anyone else...example..we were the first ones to Own Star trek TNG pinball..because i picked it before anyone else know it was available..same with Terminator 2 and the video game.. we were the first omes to own STARBLADE..and we were the first one's to own Star Wars Pinball and Jurrasic Park Pinball..... so all in all we were pretty progressive at trying to keep up with what the crowds wanted ;)

(and i used to bitch alot that the old games wern't gonna bring in the big bucks like new games would )

now that i've been away from amusements for this long..the burnout feeling has disapated...if i had to do it all over again..i would...but i'd make sure i stayed in Charge....and i'd STILL make my Customers enjoy themselves or i'd raise hell with my floor people !

so i'm now here..ready to allow anyone to Brain Pick me to Death :D

as long as i have my coffee i'm good....NEXT ! :D

so thank you for the welcome and GREETINGS PROGRAM!

Welcome yourself to the Craziest Place On Earth :D


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Daniel.
 
Ahhhh, the memories! You're so right there were more than 2 of them....I think I catered to your old establishment and the one other arcade that was the biggest and most games. Can't remember if it was Walkin Charlies or Midway? But I remember it was the biggest in the 80's..

Dan, I totally forgot that place with the go-carts on top...we were cruisin up and down that side street every weekend...and remember when the powers to be changed it to a one-way thoroughfare to stop that. Man, we were pissed off!

Anyways, for everyone here, other than maybe an arcade along the Jersey Shore or one on the West Coast(Cally). These joints were crazy at nighttime. Here is a short story:

On a weekend night in the mid 80's I playing some vids at one of these, when out of the corner of my eye I start seeing all these naked guys running through the arcade like follow-the-leader and yelling to everyone. At the end was a topless girl chasing them. Find out later it was a local Frat doing an initiation of that class of pledges. The funniest thing of it....? There was some real geeks that didn't even notice the sounds of them screaming and the sights and just kept playing their game at hand. Of course, I did notice and lost my game but what a memory of the 1980's. Now Daytona Beach is cleaned up and markets to families.

Ahh, the closest I get to that NOW is playing Star Castle while listing to Miami Vice episodes playing in the background on my laptop.

Strange Days.....thanks to Dan for the trip down memory lane....good times
 
Ahhhh, the memories! You're so right there were more than 2 of them....I think I catered to your old establishment and the one other arcade that was the biggest and most games. Can't remember if it was Walkin Charlies or Midway? But I remember it was the biggest in the 80's..

Dan, I totally forgot that place with the go-carts on top...we were cruisin up and down that side street every weekend...and remember when the powers to be changed it to a one-way thoroughfare to stop that. Man, we were pissed off!

Anyways, for everyone here, other than maybe an arcade along the Jersey Shore or one on the West Coast(Cally). These joints were crazy at nighttime. Here is a short story:

On a weekend night in the mid 80's I playing some vids at one of these, when out of the corner of my eye I start seeing all these naked guys running through the arcade like follow-the-leader and yelling to everyone. At the end was a topless girl chasing them. Find out later it was a local Frat doing an initiation of that class of pledges. The funniest thing of it....? There was some real geeks that didn't even notice the sounds of them screaming and the sights and just kept playing their game at hand. Of course, I did notice and lost my game but what a memory of the 1980's. Now Daytona Beach is cleaned up and markets to families.

Ahh, the closest I get to that NOW is playing Star Castle while listing to Miami Vice episodes playing in the background on my laptop.

Strange Days.....thanks to Dan for the trip down memory lane....good times

HEY...i got some more news to help ya with memory lane...i was a fellow MAME ROM uploader...so If ya Get Mame you'll never miss out on our arcade games :)

even tho most MAME roms are used for restoring some roms when need be for some members here...MAME is still a way to keep all games alive and enjoyable...so i still think it's a cool idea :) AND MIDWAY was the BIGEST :) they had the most Games...and JOHN was the Tech down there ;)

And I'll say this for Everyone who reads this...Being a Arcade tech had it's days...but i would Never Change What i learned from People and From the Machines.... and i'll STILL enjoy Amusement Machines Till I'm DEAD and Buried..preferably in a STAR TREK SIT DOWN :D

AND FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE MAME...YOU have REALLY MISSED THE CONCEPT Of WHY it Was Done :)
'
Rattle Me Anytime ;)

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Daniel.
 
Welcome aboard! I am in the Fort Myers area of Florida. It's nice to have another Floridian gamer around.

Let me know if you ever head this way, you're welcome to stop by and work on some I mean play some games. :)
 
Welcome aboard! I am in the Fort Myers area of Florida. It's nice to have another Floridian gamer around.

Let me know if you ever head this way, you're welcome to stop by and work on some I mean play some games. :)

HOLY HELL TODD...got enough games there bud..LOL :D

you got at least 6 of the one's i wish i owned...lordy :D


thanks for the welcome and welcome as well...i wish i could get down there..but i don't drive ...it's a medical thing :D

i usually have to deal with central florida area... BUT feel free to look me up if yer ever in daytona :)

i still gotta find another Star Trek cab for my Boards ;)


Feel Free To Add Me if ya like :)


Look Forward To Chattin With Ya Todd :)



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Daniel.
 
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