Bing, bing, bing. . . the bells, whistles, and bumpers of pinballs fill the air at the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, while on display is the world’s largest pinball collection.

Established as a non-for-profit corporation, the museum showcases games from the 60’s to the present.  It’s pure pinball, so deposit your coin and see if you can play well enough to rack up those additional games.  The museum is family-friendly (no violent games allowed), and prices for the games are 25 cents for the classic games  and 50 cents for the post-1990 games.

The Hall of Fame has 4,500 square feet of wall to wall pinball machines that, unlike many slot machines, will have cheering and laughing.  Here you can have fun — whether you win or lose. 

In fact, there is no focus on making a profit here.  No high brow decorations, uniforms, marketing plan, or art to convince you to spend even more and more money.  No comped dinners or drinks.  Most everything you’ll see is recycled from some where else.  Here, it’s all about the game.  Playing pinball.  All profits from the Pinball Hall of Fame go to support the Las Vegas Branch of the Salvation Army.  It’s not a big money maker — and it’s not designed to be — but their website shows the checks issued every month.

The Pinball Hall of Fame is located at 3330 East Tropicana (northwest corner of Tropicana and Pecos), about three miles away from the strip.  That’s about a $20+ cab ride, or take the bus from the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard & Tropicana.  The bus drops you off right in front of the Pinball Hall of Fame, takes about 20-30 minutes, and costs only $1.25 each way.

Hours are 11 am – 11 pm, Sunday – Thursday, and 11 am – Midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Games are 25 and 50 cents.  Restored pinball machines are available for purchase.  The trip down memory lane is FREE.

Photo credit:  flickr

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