Vintage pinball games get a second life for all to play at this Long Island mall
BAY SHORE, New York -- Do you think you are the next pinball wizard?
Well, at the High Score Pinball Arcade, you can make your pinball dreams come true with over 50 games to choose from.
Owner Melissa Cerquin and her boyfriend, Mike Burd both share a love for pinball and game collecting.
Cerquin was inspired when one of their pinball machines almost was severely damaged from a leaking pipe in storage.
She came up with the idea to take their collection and rejuvenate the pinball culture on Long Island with a new hang-out spot for people to bring these games back to life.
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"I want to bring it back to playing for the fun of it," said Cerquin. "Arcades use to be about getting that high score, getting that top of the iceberg type thing where you have your initials or say your high score immortalized somewhere."
Cerquin hopes that the beauty of the games can speak for itself and that through the large windows from the inside of the Westfield South Shore mall, more mall-goers will venture inside.
"Just to have pinball back on Long Island, in the middle of Long Island is fantastic," said Chris Destefano. "Is there a technique? Basically, just to have fun, and you are trying to score the most points, but everybody goes about it differently."
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Even though most pinball games are vintage, some dating back to the 1970s, coins are not required to play.
All games are set to 'free play', so the only thing that you pay for is the time you want to spend in the arcade.
"If you wanted to come in for like half an hour, it's 10 bucks of unlimited free play no quarters," said Cerquin. "You can play as much as you want and just have a great time."
Cerquin loves when new customers come into her woman-run business.
"I am a minority, daughter of immigrants and very proud of that fact," said Cerquin. "I really want everyone to come and enjoy something that really comes from my heart.
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Contact Community Journalist Alex Ciccarone
