From Alpha to Omega€¦ · Institute. After graduating and taking an engineering job in Newark, N.J., Frank expanded to some 30 col-lege game rooms with Alpha-Omega – the busi-

R ePlay is always gladto share industry suc-cess stories, especial-

ly upon the celebration of amajor milestone, and evenmore so when the honoreerepresents the best of ourindustry: leaders withintegrity, passion and vision. These are just a few of

the words used by people inthe industry to describeAlpha-Omega Amuse -

ments’ founder FrankSeninsky, as well as otherson his team, led by JoeCamarota and Jerry Merola.Frank reached his 50th yearin business in 2019 and isnow boldly taking his groupof companies into its secondhalf century.

How It BeganFrank Seninsky started

out in coin-op by placing a

Gottlieb North Star pinballin his college fraternityhouse, Beta Theta Pi, atNew Jersey’s StevensInstitute of Technology. Theyear was 1969 and the 19-year-old sophomore boughtthat first machine for $25. Ittook in $150 in dimes dur-ing the first week. “Within days, that game

was put on two plays for aquarter, which cut down on

the service calls,” Frankwrote in 1989. “Return oninvestment was averagingabout three days! I knew thiswas the business for me.” With his younger brother

Richard, a high school stu-dent at the start, helping atnight, the Seninsky boysbegan growing that singlemachine into a route. By thetime Frank was a senior incollege, they ran about 50

From Alpha to OmegaHow a Single Pinball Machine Created One of the Biggest Names in Coin-Op

Alpha-OmegaAmusementsAlpha-OmegaAmusements

Celebrating 50 Years!Celebrating 50 Years!

February 2020 | RePlay Magazine | 49

Institute. After graduatingand taking an engineeringjob in Newark, N.J., Frankexpanded to some 30 col-

lege game rooms withAlpha-Omega – the busi-ness name taken in homageto the Greek fraternitieswhere it all started.From there, it was Jersey

Shore arcades, then dozensmore at locations throughoutNew Jersey, then at majoramusement parks and familyentertainment centers acrossthe nation – and today, at alltypes of venues globally.For 50 years now, the

company has been all aboutchanging with the times. Oneof their biggest was theirearly foray into redemption. In the early days operat-

ing on the Jersey Shore,Frank learned a lot aboutredemption – practically assoon as he started there. Sodid Joe Camarota, whojoined the company in 1973,

himself a college student atthe time at Upsala College.Needless to say, the two hitit off and Joe became a part-ner when brother Richardleft the company back in1984. He’s now COO.“I think we really did

become the redemptionexperts,” Frank said. “I don’tthink there was anyone whocould touch us. That’ll prob-ably tick off some people,but I learned the businessfrom the gurus – my mentors– on the Jersey Shore. Theytaught me everything. Thenthey got irritated when Istarted sharing that knowl-edge around the world. Iguess they really wanted tokeep it a secret. But onething that’s been a constantwith me is that I’m alwaystrying to raise the bar for the

pins – mainly in frat housesat Rutgers University,Newark College of Engin -eering and at the Stevens

Throughout the years, Frank has never shied away from new waysof doing things. Here he is with Gold Standard Games’ Mark Robbins atthe Amusement Expo working on a clip of Expo highlights for theYouTube channel he and marketing director Yaroslav Sobko startedback in 2016. (Yaro mans the camera while Frank, digital recorder ormicrophone in hand, does the Q&A.)

50 | RePlay Magazine | February 2020

industry globally.” AddedJoe: “What draws people outof their homes is the out-of-home experience of winning

tickets and prizes.” In 1995, Jerry Merola

joined the company, bring-ing a banking background

Henry Stoop, who grew uparound the amusement busi-ness on the Jersey Shore andworked in one of Frank’sarcades while still in highschool. He’s been aroundlong enough to see multipleiterations of the most popu-lar machines.“When pinball started

fading a bit, we went tovideos,” Henry noted. “Andnow, of course, most of ourbusiness is redemptiongames. It’s been aboutadapting to the changes inour culture.”A more recent addition to

the executive team isYaroslav Sobko. Beforecoming on full time asAlpha-Omega’s director ofmarketing, Yaroslav was theCEO of a distribution com-

Always learning & teaching: Jerry and Frank are seen at aFoundations Entertainment University program. It’s woven into the fabricof the Alpha-Omega companies that you give back to the industry andone key area of focus is education, whether it’s seminars, articles, theFoundations program or involvement.


and expertise with financinglarge projects. The threestarted a consulting business,Amusement Entertain mentManagement, which markedanother pivot towards oppor-tunity upon the leading edgeof what has become a siz-able boom in FECs andother large out-of-homeentertainment facilities.

All in the A-O FamilyAside from the “big

three” of Frank, Joe andJerry, the company has beenfortunate to have many oth-ers who share their desire toadapt and face challengeshead on, a good number ofwhom have been withAlpha-Omega for decades.One such person is GM

1969 Frank Seninsky, a sophomore at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., along withhis high school sophomore brother Rich, form a partnership and place a North Star pinball machine in Frank’s fraternity house, Beta Theta Pi.

1970 The duo begins operating their first college game room, located at Stevens Institute.1972 Wizard’s World in Long Branch, N.J., opens; it’s their first on the Jersey Shore.1973 Joe Camarota starts working with Frank Seninsky at Upsala College, where he is a student.1975 Alpha-Omega, Inc., is formed.1978 The company opens its first arcade in Wildwood, N.J., inside Lucky Casino.1979 Frank is elected president of AMOANJ.1983 Alpha-Omega Sales is formed.1984 Richard Seninsky leaves the company and Joe Camarota assumes Rich’s secretary/treasurer

position.1994 Alpha-Omega purchases its present site, an 18,600-sq.-ft. facility at 12 Elkins Road in

East Brunswick, N.J.1994 Alpha-Bet Entertainment is formed.1995 Jerry Merola starts as the company’s chief financial officer.1998 Amusement Entertainment Management is created.1998 AEM’s first consulting job was for Hamstead Group to build three Malibu Grand Prix pocket

parks in Texas, California and Georgia.1999 Alpha-Omega becomes one of the 11 founding members of IALEI.1999 Frank is elected president of AMOA.2002 Frank is elected to the IALEI board of directors and serves eight years.2005 Frank is elected president of IALEI.2011 The Redemption & FEC Report is created.2015 Frank the Crank blog is created with Yaroslav Sobko (who joins the company as director of

marketing in 2017). 2015 Joe and Joseph become active members of AAMA.2015 Successful installation of 150-plus pieces in Vietnam.2016 Yaroslav and Frank begin industry video highlights from trade shows and seminars.2016 Joe is elected to the AAMA board of directors.2017 First international revenue share in Singapore.2017 Alpha-Omega celebrates general manager Henry Stoop’s 40-year anniversary.2018 Joe is selected to serve on the AAMA executive board of directors.2018 Yaroslav is elected to the AMOA board.2019 Joseph gets his master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology. 2019 Joe is elected as the AAMA board of directors’ president.2019 Joseph becomes co-chair of AAMA’s FEC committee.

The Alpha-Omega Trajectory (so far)


pany that was sellingamusement equipment inUkraine and Russia. Hebegan searching for expertsin redemption games, whichweren’t yet popular in hisregion. Naturally, he came

across Frank Seninsky, whohe dubbed “Mr. Redemp -tion.” Yaroslav said,“Frankhad an enormous amount ofinformation and he didn’tmind sharing it.”That’s another key to the

Alpha-Omega puzzle:Rising tides lift all boats. It’sbeen part of the company’smission, especially over thepast couple of decades, togrow the entire industry.Joseph Camarota, Joe’s

son and the company’sdirector of operations andsales, said Frank and Joetaught him that: “You’vegot to help others in theindustry because if they’renot successful, we’re notsuccessful.”Their success has been

spurred by their involvementin the industry, one of theways Seninsky and othershave given back. Frank waselected president ofAMOANJ in 1979, and 20years later, his companybecame a founding memberof the IALEI national arcadeoperator association (Frankhaving served on its boardand as president of that now-defunct group). Frank wasalso elected AMOA’s presi-dent in 1999. The two Camarotas have

been active with AAMAsince 2015 (Joe was electedlast year to a two-year termas president while Josephbecame the co-chair of its

FEC committee). Mean -while, Yaroslav is servingon AMOA’s board of direc-tors. These are busy people!

New HorizonsEveryone who’s been

with the company for a longtime has seen it firsthand…changing with the times andsometimes being the instiga-tor for that change is a hall-mark of Alpha-Omega. Theinability to adapt is a busi-ness’s downfall, but in con-trast, the ability to see com-ing challenges and opportu-nities –– and pivot accord-ingly –– is its way to grow.And that’s exactly whatAlpha-Omega has done overthe course of five decades. From frat house college

game rooms; from JerseyShore arcades like its first inWildwood in 1978, insideLucky Casino; from a smalloperation to a nationwide(and later worldwide) jug-gernaut, with their own18,600-sq.-ft. facility in EastBrunswick, completed in1994; and from traditionalFECs to bigger and moreelaborate game room setupsat amusement parks and thelike…the building blocks of

Now fellow Floridians, Al Kress, Yaroslav Sobko and FrankSeninsky check in at the Benchmark factory back before the gamemaker became part of the Elaut Group. Frank and “Kressy” go way back.

Joe Camarota, pictured with AAMA’s Tina Schwartz at the associa-tion’s 2018 annual meeting and gala, now serves as AAMA president.His son, Joseph, is co-chair of the group’s FEC committee.

1969 was a momentous year. Man first set foot on the moon ...

and Frank Seninsky foundedAlpha-Omega Amusements.

Frank, we’re happy to be with you on this journey through our industry’sspace and time, and wish you and your

team a very happy birthday.

Your friends at


Semnox Solutions congratulates

Alpha-Omega and Frank Seninsky

for 50 Years of helping our Amusement Industry

by sharing knowledge & expertise.

We enjoy working with you!

this organization havebeen impressive. Obviously, not

every idea pans out andnot every employeewill stay for decades,but overall, the leader-ship at Alpha-Omegahas been successful atfinding people with dif-ferent skill sets to com-plement each other,charting a steadycourse forward. It’sunclear what changeswill present themselvesin 10 or 20 years, but restassured, the folks at Alpha-Omega will certainly be act-ing, not reacting, to whateverthey are.On the occasion of the

company’s 25th anniver-sary, Seninsky wrote in1995, “My partner JoeCamarota and I will neverforget our simple mission:Provide the best possiblegames and service and tryhard to solve your cus-tomer’s problems. The resttakes care of itself.” We encourage you to

read more in an insightful

Q&A with the “sage of EastBrunswick,” as RePlay’spublisher Eddie Adlum callsFrank, along with profiles ofother key individuals whoare all part of the successstory that is Alpha-Omega.(In other words, grab a freshcup of joe…Joe?...and turnthe page!)We join with many other

friends in the industry insaying: “Congratulations,Frank, Joe, Jerry and every-one at Alpha-Omega!”Visit them at www.alpha

omegasales.com.

Frank was also not one to take himself too seriously if it could benefitthe industry. Above, he’s seen with Brad Brown and RePlay’s then editorMarcus Webb as refereed in a Battle of the Titans. Below, it was dunktank time with Russ Mawdsley.


I f anyone had asked a 10-year-old Frank Seninskywhat he thought he might

do when he “grew up,”coin-op may not have beenin the mix. But one thing’scertain, the entrepreneurialbug bit him early, and thosewho knew him were prettycertain he’d be a leader inwhatever field he chose.

Frank’s very first forayinto the business world wasselling candy to friends andcounselors at summer camp.

With a $7.20 investmentand sound business coach-ing from his dad, youngFrank peddled Lik-m-aidcandy, making a profit of$200 in eight days. In anarticle Frank penned in 2016for his blog at frank-the-crank.com, he said itoccurred to him years laterthat he’d gotten somethingfar more valuable thanmoney from the experiencein summer camp: he got ahands-on, crash course in

entrepreneurial success. “The lessons I learned

that week have lasted a life-time,” he wrote. “In fact,they provided the founda-tion for every business mar-keting decision I’ve madesince, and these basics con-tinue to guide me throughcomplex multi-million-dol-lar enterprises even today.”(The piece is an enjoyableread and can be found athttps://frank-thecrank.com/how-10-year-old-kid-start-

ed-business-learned-capitalism.)

Frank’s start in coin-op isequally interesting andinsightful as he took aGottlieb North Star pinballgame he bought for $25from Newark, N.J., iconIrving Morris and placed itin his Beta Theta Pi fraterni-ty house at Stevens Instituteof Technology. That usedpingame collected $150 on10-cent play (three for aquarter). When asked when

Budding entrepreneur: 10-year-old Frank, second from left, sells Lik-m-aid candy to his camp group. Younger brother Richard got involved early on, too; he’s seen seated helping keep track of sales.

Lasting LessonsInspiration Strikes Early as a Young Man’s Candy

Sales Ignites Lifelong Passion for Business


somewhere between twoand three days!”

Frank’s amusementindustry career is marked byopportunity, adaptation andgrowth. From one pingameto many in operations cover-

ing over 50 fraternities andsororities, from operatingalong the Jersey Shore toamusement parks, fromroute stops to the FECboom, Frank and his teamhave pivoted to keep upwith the changing industryand consumer tastes, all thewhile growing like an oak.

To talk about FrankSeninsky’s accomplish-ments in the amusementindustry, you might havebetter luck focusing on theshort list of what he hasn’tdone. Throughout the half-century we’re celebrating,Frank has been an operator,distributor, consultant, asso-ciation president, columnist,speaker and more.

He founded FoundationsEntertainment Universitywith Randy White andFrank Price, a programSeninsky himself ownstoday. He’s traveled theworld to study what amuse-ment trends are entertainingpeople across the globe,more recently focusing onthe various virtual realityplatforms on location and indevelopment.

He’s long believed inhelping improve the indus-try he loves by pushing forbetter-made equipment andparts standardization, shar-ing tips at over 450 seminarpresentations, more than2,000 articles in industrypublications, The Redemp -tion & FEC Report emailnewsletter and a YouTubechannel (you’ve no doubtseen Frank and his market-ing ace Yaroslav Sobkotouring convention floorsshooting video interviews).

He’s been active inindustry associations, serv-ing as president of AMOAfrom 1999-2000 and as a

board member for over 20years. Frank was a foundingmember of the now-defunctIALEI (International Assn.for the Leisure & Enter -tainment Industry) servingon its board for 11 years andas president from 2005-2006.

Today, the business hefounded 50 years ago is partof a family of companiesthat includes AmusementEntertainment Management(the consulting arm of thebusiness), operations underAlpha-Omega Amusementsand Alpha-BET Entertain -ment (the latter co-ownedwith Betson), Alpha-OmegaSales (distributorship), plusthe blog and YouTube chan-nel.

He’s had a knack forbringing the right peopleaboard. He said, “I’vealways had the philosophythat I got to surround myselfwith individuals that havecertain talents that I don’t.That’s not hard to do,because a lot of people havespecial talents. I looked forpeople who want to workhard and are interested inlearning.”

On the occasion of the50th anniversary of his com-pany’s founding, Frankshared reflections andinsights:

RePlay: We’ve writtenabout how you got startedin the industry, placing aNorth Star pinball in yourfraternity house, buthaven’t directly asked howyou came up with yourcompany name.

Frank: That was prettysimple. I knew I wanted tobe something like “A to ZAmusements” in order tocover anything and every-

he realized that this wouldbe his life’s work, he said,“When they asked for thesecond machine and I calcu-lated that my ROI on my$15 investment for a usedKing of Diamonds could be

Frank at age 4 seems to be telescoping a life with a passion for learn-ing with this book in his lap.


Congratulationsto Frank and Joe and Jerry

for 50 Years ofFriendship and Fun!

from Steve and Sondy Epstein

thing. One of my bosses atPublic Service Electric &Gas heard me discussingthat and mentioned thatalpha and omega is thebeginning and the end of theGreek alphabet.

When I applied for aname, I knew that “Alpha-Omega” was the same as “Ato Z” and it was even betterbecause it had religious con-notations and also let ushonor our college fraternityroots, which really was howthis “hobby” started. Ofcourse, I always knew thatno matter what name Ipicked I wanted it to startwith an “A” so it would beat the top of an alphabeticallisting.

What were the earlydays like when it was just

you and your brotherRichard running the com-pany?

What people might notknow is that when it started,I was a sophomore in col-lege, at Stevens, and mybrother was a sophomore inhigh school! I was all overthe place and there he was,helping me and working atnight while he’s in highschool. When he graduated,he also went to StevensInstitute of Technology forfour years.

Back then, there weren’tany game circuit boards, soI was busy fixing all the

electro-mechanical stuff bymyself and I had to be very,very fast. Richie was great.He’d help me with thethings I couldn’t fix.

We grew the businessthat way, eventually hiringsome people from the col-leges to help. One of themwas probably the most fan-tastic person I ever found inmy life, Joe Camarota. Wehired him back in 1973when he was going toUpsala College and he wenton to become Secretary/Treasurer of Alpha-Omegawhen my brother left in1984. It’s hard not to get

emotional thinking back onall we’ve done together andwhat Joe means to me.Today, he’s our chief opera-tions officer.

Tell us a bit more aboutthose early days.

Colleges are “seasonal”locations. Earnings fell offthe cliff when the schoolswent on summer break. Wehad no cashflow and didn’tknow what to do. I’vealways been one to look foropportunity, and it dawnedon me that the summer sea-son of the Jersey shorearcades was a perfect fitfor our current businessmodel.

So, we found opportunityall up and down the NewJersey shore and probablynearly 1,000 pinball and

An early company logo.


other machines when thecolleges closed and theShore opened. That was –and is – the philosophy:Cashflow is king. You can’tjust let games sit idle.

Everything was rosyuntil things changed and theShore locations wanted tostay open past Labor Dayon into October. Then, col-leges started going back toschool in the middle ofAugust.

So, we had big problems.Everybody wanted all themachines on location theminute they opened. To out-fit the colleges, we had tostart removing games fromthe Shore locations earlier,in the middle of August. Tomake this work for every-one, I insisted on payingthose arcades the commis-

sions the machines wouldhave earned through LaborDay, or after depending, andthe same thing vice versawith the colleges. In mostcases, everyone understoodthe cashflow situation.

Then, you start to seetrends. We realized we were

better off switching from theNew Jersey Shore to amuse-ment parks. The timingworked out a little better;the parks didn’t mind thatwe took a third or half theequipment out two weeksbefore Labor Day. We couldmake everybody happy.

Frank, Joe, Jerry & everyone at the Alpha-Omega group of companies,

your friends at

Congratulations on five incredible decades!

We think YOU’RETHE CAT’S MEOW!

A more recent photo of the Seninsky boys: Brothers Richard(center) and Frank with his son David.

Then things just progressedfrom there.

Do you still operate inGreek houses on campustoday?

No, we got out of thatpretty fast. But what wasreally important was thatoperating in fraternities wasa way for us to get into thebusiness without steppingon any other operator’stoes. It was wide open, andof course, I’ve never want-ed to hurt anybody or takethings away from other peo-ple. So, that’s how it reallystarted, one opportunityleads you to another. Thefraternities started introduc-ing us to the college centerdirectors, and that led to ussetting up college centergame rooms. You just


progress wherever there isan opportunity.

What does your brotherdo now?

He’s a multi-purposetechnical guy for CoastalAmusements today, workingfor Sal Mirando and LennyDean as their technical sup-port technician. He’s had along career. He’s worked forChuck E. Cheese, Elaut untilthey moved, and ran arcadeson the Jersey Shore. He’sstill entrenched in the indus-try and he’s probably thebest technician the industryhas ever seen.

Looking back on yourearly life, what do youthink led you into business?

A lot of it comes frommy father. He worked long

hours running a recordstore in New YorkCity. I’d say heworked seven days aweek. Early on, Iknew what running abusiness was like.

When I was about10 years old, he helpedme start my first busi-ness with that $7.20investment selling Lik-m-aid candy. That’sthe candy where you’dlick your finger anddip it into coloredsugar. Anyway, my fatherbrought out this accountingsheet that had sevencolumns on it, took me to acandy wholesaler, andtaught me all about business,profit, and this and that. Ilearned all this as a 10-year-old. Talk about a great back-

ground in business.The funniest part is he

showed me how to fill outthe first four columns of thatledger with inventory, whatyou sold, what your profitwas, and cost of sales… allthat stuff. But, there were acouple of columns left over

that he didn’t label. I askeda stupid question, “What arethese two columns for?” Hesaid, “I’ll explain that to youwhen you’re 13.”

I remember that I had noidea what they could be for,but when I turned 13, Iremembered to ask him. Hetold me, “Those are for fed-eral and state income tax.”Obviously, everything I didin the early part of my careerwhen I was 10 was cash.

So, I knew what businesswas and there were a lot ofpeople in my family thatwere in business. I guess itrubbed off on me. I went tocollege, and then went towork as an engineer at PublicService Electric & Gas. Eventhough I was a cadet in justmy first year, the presidentpulled me out as his assistant

Lik-m-aid candy from the 1950s, thekind Frank sold, is actually for sale oneBay today. If only young Frank hadknown about that! Let’s just say it sells fora lot more than 10 cents a packet.


to help write the SalemNuclear Generating Stationlicense application because Icould write, do math andwhatever. I worked there foralmost two years, repairinggames at night.

I guess it’s lucky for theamusement industry that

the utilities business didn’twin you over.

I’ve got to tell you, it washorrible working for a pub-lic corporation, or at leastone in that type of industry.I learned firsthand it wasn’tfor me. Maybe the bestexample of why was whenthe boss came in and told us,

“When you go to bid, wedon’t want you to take thebest bid or even the second-best bid. We want you totake the third best becausewe want to increase expens-es as fast as possible sincewe’re going before thePublic Utility RateCommission in a fewmonths. We want to showthat we need to raise ourelectrical rates.”

That went completelyagainst who I am and howyou should want to be thebest at what you do.

What do you think hascontributed the most toyour ongoing success?

As we grew the compa-ny, Joe and I, we werealways looking for opportu-nity. We were always ask-ing ourselves, “Where is anopportunity? Where do wesee it?” It seems as we haveprepared for something new,tried to get in a new sector,began to reinvent our com-pany, or go in a differentway, we found we were usu-ally five years ahead of theindustry.

Even though we triedwhatever it was, it was veryslow going. There was a lotof that in our 50 years. Ofcourse, today, the rate ofchange is much faster.Opportunities come and goquickly.

We’ve reinvented our-selves several times. A keyarea where this happenedwas when we brought JerryMerola aboard in 1995 andstarted AmusementEntertainment Managementin 1998. Those moveshelped us secure strongfooting in the FEC consult-ing, construction and devel-opment business.

Let me be honest,though. Sometimes whenwe saw an opportunity itlooked good initially butdidn’t pan out. We wouldalways test things andlearned pretty quickly that ifit doesn’t work in somefashion you have to quit.Yaroslav Sobko, our direc-tor of marketing, told methat today they call it “failfast.” Don’t keep investingmoney because of your ego,thinking you can make it asuccess. You have to knowwhen to just give it up andmove on.

You’ve been very focusedon growing your own busi-ness, but you’ve also beendedicated to improving andgiving back to the industryat large. You’ve been espe-cially active within the asso-ciations.

There are a few thingsthat happened with associa-tions in my career, that allseem to play a role in mydestiny. Bear with a bit of astory… I was asked by oneof the manufacturers to finda way to get countertopsinto street locations as aconsulting job. I came upwith this idea of going to allthe Anheuser-Busch distrib-utors in New Jersey – therewere five or six. I went tovisit them all and got theirpermission to get theirdelivery people to hand outgame flyers to every loca-tion in the state!

Let’s just say “some-thing” hit the fan because atthat time I didn’t know whatstreet operations were allabout. I didn’t realize theyall had contracts, and thelast thing a street operatorwanted was for locations todemand that they buy spe-

Congratulations to Frank, Joe and the staff

at Alpha-Omega on 50 great years!

Your friends,Glen and Christine Kramer

It has been a great pleasureknowing you for the FULL50 years. It is a special relationship and I’m veryproud to say I rememberyou from the beginning.

Al Kress A Game Connection LLC561-331-1000

To my dear friends atAlpha-Omega Companies –


cific games for their loca-tions.

Stay with me… the asso-ciation part is coming.

So, I got invited to thismeeting at a Holiday Inn, andwhen I walked in, there was asingle chair in front of a dais.I thought I was in the middleof an inquisition or some-thing! Anyway, this organi-zation was the operators’association of New Jersey(called AMOA New Jersey).They read me the riot act andasked if I knew what I haddone and the chaos it created.Once they explained it to me,I understood. Then, eitherbecause they were impressedwith my creativity andmoxie, or more likely, just tokeep an eye on me, theyinvited me to join their boardof directors.

That was my firstinvolvement with anindustry associationand it stuck. Iworked my way upin AMOANJ andwas eventually presi-dent for eight years.We organized thisnortheast region fortrade shows, andthen they made methe Man of the Year.

It was through allthis that I met oneof my first mentors,John Estridge fromTennessee, who atthe time was AMOA presi-dent. He spoke at one of ourstate or regional meetingsand I made a point of goingup to talk with him and gotto know him a little bit. Heasked me if I’d be willing

for him to nominate me forthe AMOA board. I said,“sure,” and that’s basicallyhow I got even moreinvolved.

I got into lobbying withvideo lottery in New Jersey,

going to the statehouse,meeting the governor … allthat kind of stuff and all thechicanery that went on. As itturned out, we didn’t get it,but I found that I have aknack for networking andgetting to know people. It’sthrough asking questions,and just getting to know asmuch information as possi-ble about this, that andeverything. It seems thatwhatever I did, I overdid(laughing).

That seems to be atheme with you.

Yes, maybe so. Thisbrings back memories ofWashington, D.C., the con-gressional pinball tourna-ments, and things that Iwanted to do to help theindustry. I had the idea to

Mondial’s Tony Yula “Sr.” presentsFrank with the 1991 Man of the Year Awardfrom the Northeast operator associations(New York, New Jersey and Connecticut).


have a congressional pinballtournament but people toldme I could only do it if Iraised the money for it. WellI did and as usual got car-ried away with it.

Before you knew it, Ihad the home phone num-

bers of hundreds of con-gressmen, senators, WhiteHouse staffers…you nameit…even the vice president.And this is because I set itup so that the winner wouldchoose a charity to which todonate. That was the key.I knew then that I wouldget to call the wives, hus-bands and family members,and get to know them byname.

Things just happen to meonce I go overboard onsomething and let it grow.Little did I know that thesehome phone numbers wouldlater become cellphonenumbers when that technol-ogy came around and, alongwith it, text messaging. It

unless you know the subjectwell. Something alwaysseems to have pushed me tolearn everything about a sub-ject that I could. And whenit came to writing articles,having a deadline wasalmost a way to force me tolearn it. I would never wantto write something that was-n’t good so I had to do a lotof research.

My first column wasFrank’s Cranks for PlayMeter magazine. I reallywrote it because I wantedmanufacturers to improvethe way they built machines.In those days, it seemed thatthey were all falling apart. Itdidn’t seem like there was amechanical engineer in theindustry, and I thoughtmaybe I was the first one.

There were lots of elec-trical engineers and yet theyput cabinets and all sorts ofmechanical things togetherthat always broke. I wouldeven go so far as to say inthe beginning some of themanufacturers, or most ofthem, didn’t even know howto load a spring or put aspring onto a machine.

In my articles, my goalwasn’t to criticize, but toimprove. Not everyone tookit that way.

But overall, I found away to do it in a way thatdidn’t upset too many peo-ple. In the early years, theydidn’t like the ranking ofmachines and things likethat. Then I think they allcaught on and realized I wasdoing this for the good oftheir companies and theindustry.

That led me to writingthe IALEI manuals on thedifferent committees andrealizing that there was aneed for education about the

Meet the Veep: At one of the Congressional Pinball / GamesTournaments, Frank shares some tips with former U.S. Vice PresidentDan Quayle. Over four years, the events raised $95,000 for charities cho-sen by the winning lawmakers.

Well connected: The RePlay archives are full of pictures of Frank withgovernment leaders, and celebrities, too. Above, Frank with Bill Clintonand below with former Alaska Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin.

really was unbelievable howpeople would call me andask if I could find a way topoll the Supreme Court tosee how they would feel ona certain subject.

And believe me, I founda way. I had hundreds ofcontacts.

It seems involvement inthe association is part of abigger narrative of yourcareer, one that is high-lighted by giving back tothe industry at large.

I’ve spent my whole lifebeing on different boardsand doing whatever I couldto help the industry. And itwas really was all for thegood of the industry, not formy own ego. I’d do whatev-er would help the big pic-ture. I’ve always believed inthat. As an example, I spentover a year lobbying withAMOA to keep cigarettemachines when I only hadone machine myself!

I think we’ve all seenpeople who only do what’sgood for them or their com-panies, but I’ve alwaysbelieved that you’ve got togive back to the industryand do what’s best at thetime for it, even if it hurtsyour own company.

One way you’ve helpedothers is through the count-less tips you’ve shared inyour columns in this maga-zine and others.

I think I’ve written over2,000 articles at this point.The reason I was so passion-ate about writing and contin-ued with it was because ofhow much I learned in theprocess. I didn’t think I evencould learn that much! Idon’t believe you can write agood nuts-and-bolts article


industry, and that we shouldtake it around to differentparts of the country. That’s

actually how Foundationsgot formed, because at thetime we couldn’t get IALEI

to do it. There wasn’t anybudget and nobody wasinterested in a roadshow.

Randy White, FrankPrice and I were all on theIALEI education committeeand we finally got fed upthat we couldn’t get them tosign on to this idea. We said,“We’ll do it on our own!”

What do you think hasbeen the most transforma-tional thing your companyhas done?

There have been so manydifferent transformations.Going from fraternity houseswith pinball machines towhen we came across thisthing called a “kit.” We triedit and it worked. Mr. Do!from Universal was one ofthe first ones. We were oneof the first companies to putit on our route and believe itor not, we got awards forbeing among the top kitsalesmen in the country.

Back then, distributorsdidn’t believe in kits so thismore than ruffled a fewfeathers. Over my years inbusiness, there were timeswhen I was close with dis-tributors and there weretimes when they were prettyangry with me.

We essentially trans-formed from pinballs tooperating all types of equip-ment –– which includedfoosballs and video games.Of course, we ran video for-

ever. Because I wasinvolved in the JerseyShore, I learned early onabout redemption, wellbefore we started setting upgame rooms. Shore arcadeowners taught us everythingyou could ever want toknow about redemption.

We also went from nick-els – I ran a nickel arcade onthe Shore – to quarters. Nowpeople use dollars and cash-less systems. Imagine thattransformation! When wesaw an opportunity, wewere proactive.

Service is a prime exam-ple. When we got into thegame room business, welearned quickly that wecould never count on any ofour locations to tell us whenthings were broken. Thesame holds true for routestops as well, by the way.We decided we would coverit all and put a lot of moneyinto service, get thingsworking, rotate machinesand really be on top of thebusiness.

I also think we really didbecome the redemptionexperts. I don’t think therewas anyone who couldtouch us. That’ll probablytick off some people, but Ilearned the business fromthe gurus –– my mentors ––on the Jersey Shore. Theytaught me everything. Thenthey got irritated with mewhen I started sharing that

Then and now, Frank sees tremendous value in educating people inthe industry. Above Frank makes a presentation about video kit systems(Alpha-Omega was an early adopter of those) and below, the group ofFoundations participants in their session that preceded the AmusementExpo last spring.

Frank was AMOA President for the 1999-2000 term. Also, seen inthis photo from an association event are past presidents Mike Leonardand Don Hesch (along with Don’s wife Sue).


knowledge around theworld. I guess they reallywanted to keep it a secret,but one thing that’s been aconstant with me is that I’malways trying to raise thebar for the industry globally.Sharing information is veryimportant.

There’s a saying that “arising tide lifts all boats,”and you hope that’s true.Still, it doesn’t make every-body love you. The otherquote that always took methrough was, “No matterwhat you do, if you can get47 percent of the people toback you that’s all you needto be president.” (laughs)That’s all they ever get to

win the office. Really what I’m trying to

say is that there are alwayspeople who will disagreeand have it out for you. I’vealways been able to acceptthat. I don’t know if that’sone of my strengths orweaknesses.

What’s your biggest con-tribution to the industry?

I would have to say it hasto be standardization. I thinkthat helped everybody,myself included.

The truth of why I was soinvolved in it it’s probablybecause I’m one of the lazi-est people in the world…and I don’t mean that as a

joke. I used to go around tothree, four states and drivelike crazy, servicing col-leges and different accountsbefore I went into top man-agement. I did everythingthat I ever asked any of myemployees to do, and theycould watch me do it. I hada van packed with parts,because I’d know that if Iwas out in the middle ofLong Island and my nextservice call was inPennsylvania, I had to makesure I had everything withme I needed to get it allfixed.

I got so lazy that I hadthis big toolbox, well, twoor three toolboxes actually,

and I put as many parts inthem as I could. I wouldwheel them in on a dollyand keep them in the gameroom. I didn’t want to goback and forth to the van toget a part or God forbid, nothave the part or be able tobuild the part.

Standardization helpedme get all the parts to fit inmy car, so that one coinswitch worked for mostgames and you only neededa couple of different typesof light bulbs. You didn’tneed all the different joy-sticks. Whatever we weredoing, it went from havingtoo many parts to so fewthat you really could fix

IALEI days: Frank with Tracy Sarris and the association’s 2005 board of directors (right). The group was eventually absorbed by IAAPA.

Frank’s cut a few ribbons his time working for the associations. Herehe and others open up the 2005 combined Fun Expo and AMOA Expo.

Pinball promoters! Joe and Frank at a Professional Amateur PinballAssociation championship with the leaderboards of division players.


most games with what youhad. That’s what standard-ization meant to me.

I have been blessed tohave many mentors, but Ihave to single out Bob Fayas my hero for standard-ization. He got all thekey manufacturersto come to theAMOA/AAMA stan-dardization committee meet-ings. We had everybodyconvinced that if they didn’tshow up and participate thatthey’d have to worry thatwe’d pass a standard thatcould actually end up hurt-ing their business. Theymight as well be there to tellus what’s the best way to dothis and improve that.

It didn’t always work andI don’t know how manystandards we got through –maybe 40 – but I neverwould have been able to doit without Bob Fay’s coop-eration.

What’s the best part ofyour job?

I’ve always greatlyenjoyed supporting, trainingand guiding my employees.It’s always been rewarding.Part of standardizing my

company, and making it soeverybody could understandit, has been teaching every-one as much as possible. Iwas probably one of thefirst to show all my employ-ees the financials for eachof the routes and everythingthey ran. This way, every-one understood our expens-es and costs of doing busi-ness, as well as the rev-enues. This is how they

could make the biggest con-tribution to helping us.

A lot of operators didn’tbelieve in doing this, but itseemed to work for me. Iguess teaching has always

been a big, bigpart of my job andone that I enjoy. Iknow when I givea good teaching

performance and Iknow when I don’t, just byasking people what theyunderstood. It took me awhile to realize that whatpeople remember the mostare stories or examples.They kind of get whatyou’re talking about then.

Of course, I alwaysenjoyed inventing and coin-ing words for the industry.Some of them were prettyfunny, but some reallycaught on like “rubber bandratio,” “3/4-cent ticketvalue,” “videmption” and“flex up-flex down.”

Being a cartoon charac-ter –– Frank the Crank ––helped a lot. I never expect-ed anyone to know my lastname. I have gotten greatsatisfaction from teachingnewcomers, as well as help-ing everyone improve all

types of operations. I’venever cared what it was…Iwanted to become an experton what works, what’sproven and why you shouldconsider it.

One of the things Ibelieve I came up with is athree-quarter-cent ticketvalue formula for the indus-try. That has really caughton big with thousands of ourclients for redemption.

What’s next for you andAlpha-Omega?

We’re going to continuelooking at opportunities andnew forms of out-of-homeentertainment. Joe and I weretalking the other day aboutlooking for attractions andgames that can work withoutattendants. Costs are so high,its hard to afford labor thesedays. Then, making sure wehave something that youcan’t do at home. I don’tknow if we’ll ever findsomething that directly tiesinto the home, but that wouldbe a tremendous opportunity.

Regardless, I’m certainthat there will always be aplace for street operatorswith certain types of equip-ment and that there will

Fred Schaff, master technician at Alpha-Omega, (above) and Johnny Pokrajac, production manager, are just two of the people who help keep thingshumming along. (Photos of Fred and Johnny, along with other present-day images of the team by Beckner Photography.)


always be entertainmentcenters of some sort. Withwhat’s out there right now, Ithink we’re all going to betalking about augmentedreality. I think everyone canagree that has a place andmaybe we’ll be a part of it.

We’re testing everything.We have test locationsgoing on in Ukraine, Russiaand other parts of the world.We try to learn from every-thing everywhere, notalways the United States.You’ve really got to look ateverything globally. Forexample, I took trips withYaroslav through China andreally had my eyes openedof what can work there andwhat the future is there,.

It’s good to have a handleon everything. I’ve trackedprobably more than 800

attractions, ones I’ve seenmyself. Obviously, I can’tkeep that up, but that’s theeffort and awareness I’mtalking about. I’ve wanted tosee it all and learn about thevarious opportunities for dif-ferent types of locations andcome up with the best mixesfor unique situations. I’veput a lot of time into learningthat.

Do you have any otherreflections on the past fivedecades you’d like to sharewith our readers?

The thing that’s most onmy mind are the many peo-ple who have helped me. Imust have 50 mentors; itseemed like everybody waswilling to help me. I can’tgo through all of them butnumber one in my book is

Betson’s Bob Geschine. He taught me so much

about finances … I neverwent to school for that sothat was all stuff I needed tolearn. I’d always been inter-ested in accounting, but Ineeded to learn how to findthe loopholes and under-stand everything you needto do and how to stay on topof it. Beyond that, I neededto be able to teach it.

Others, and again thereare so many: MalcolmSteinberg, Al Kress, Eddie

Adlum – he did somethingvery special for me, KeySnodgress, and MarcusWebb who I’ve alwaysbelieved had one of themost brilliant minds of any-one who’s ever been in theindustry. Bob Fay and hishelp with standardization,Allen Weisberg who I grewup with, and of course, Ihave to list Joe Camarota.

Over at AMOA, therehave been so many, but onewho made the biggest

impression on me wasMinnesota operator DickHawkins. I traveled with himwhen he was AMOA presi-dent. Of course, also many atAAMA, Frank DeSocio atBPAA and I have to mentionEduardo Antoja who waspresident of Euromat foreverit seemed. Also, I’ve got tomention one of RePlay’scompetitors, Scott Borowsky,and almost everybody on theJersey shore.

There were also many dis-tributors who helped me. I

used to go to differ-ent distributorshipsand teach technicalclasses on week-ends. And I can’toverstate the impor-tance of my brotherRichard from dayone. He taught mehow to repair pin-balls and videogames and how toread schematics. Hewas an electricalengineer and I wasmechanical…whata great combination.

Even with all thedrive, passion andenergy I’ve had tofind new opportuni-ties, to grow andadapt, to teach andgive back, I’ve

never done any of it alone. Inthe earliest days, my brotherwas by my side, then Joe andso many others along theway. This is a great industryand I’m looking forward toseeing what we do next. Andsomething else I’m proud ofis that I’ve assembled a teamto take this to the next level –and the one after that. What agreat half century it’s been!

Here’s to the next 50years, Frank!

Frank hardly ever misses a beat and is at as many trade events as pos-sible. Here he stops by the Betson booth at the 2017 Bowl Expo inNashville to visit with Rick Kirby and Bob Geschine.

Darin H. VanTassell, Owner,The Clubhouse

We couldn’t havestarted our businesswithout the guidancefrom Frank and theAlpha-Omega team.Joseph Camarota andthe entire team havebeen pros from day one.

Reflections:

Darin H. Van Tassell

A half century and counting: It wasachievement enough in 1999 to have marked30 years in the industry (the photo is from ourOctober cover that year), but here we are cel-ebrating their 50th. From the many membersof the Alpha-Omega family to the countlesssuppliers and customers over the years, build-ing the company’s success has been a groupproject, one that continues as they set moveon to the next 50.


Pete Gustafson,Executive DirectorAAMA

My first interaction with Frankoccurred in the early ‘80s at BallyPinball. Frank and Bally Pinball col-laborated to create, “The Care andFeeding of Your Pinball Machine,” aguide to basic maintenance and ser-vice for the then new, digital pinballmachines.

Pat McMahon, (a graphic artist atBally Pinball) created the now iconiccaricature of “Frank the Crank.” Thatimage still graces his informativeRedemption and FEC Report.

At that time, I was leading BallyPinball service schools around thecountry and included a copy of “TheCare and Feeding of Your PinballMachine” with the handouts I gaveto attendees. I’ve still got a copy of itin my desk and it still brings a nostal-gic smile to my face every time I lookat it. I’m certain there are hun-dreds of other “industry lifers”out there that occasionally dothe same.

Since then, I’ve had the plea-sure of interacting with Frank atnumerous industry events andhave found him to be anunapologetic advocate for theamusement industry he so obvi-ously loves. I’ve even been inter-viewed on camera by him on morethan one occasion and have tosay, he’s really good at that.

I met Joe many years ago but Ireally got to “know him” after hebecame more deeply involved withAAMA. Like me, Joe’s an early riser–– we like to get our workouts donebefore we start the rest of our day.Unlike me, he immerses himself ininformation downloads during hisworkout, strengthening both bodyand mind. Me? I’m usually catchingup on the latest Amazon Prime,HBO or Netflix series…

If integrity had a physical shape, itwould look like Joe. Joe’s rapidimmersion into AAMA speaks to his

character: when he com-mits himself, he’s all in.And while many of usknow Joe for his count-less contributions to theindustry, his involvement inhis community is equallyimpressive where he’s anintegral part of local gov-ernment, youth sports and charitableactivities.

As AAMA President, Joe has avision to lead us toward opportuni-ties that will greatly benefit our mem-bers and industry. I for one, feelextremely fortunate Joe is at thehead of AAMA at this particular timeof explosive industry expansion andgrowth. His vast experience acrosssuch a wide cross section of theindustry makes him the right man, inthe right place, at the right time.With Joe at the helm, you should allbe excited for “what’s next” fromAAMA.

•As to the impact they’ve had

upon me personally, they exemplifyexcellence and an unselfish willing-ness to give back to their industryand community. The success

they’ve been able toachieve over the yearsis not the result of luckor fate, rather it’s adirect byproduct of theirwork ethic and humbleintegrity. They demon-strate each and everyday how doing the right

thing for your family, business,industry and community really doesreap benefits.

Regarding the industry at large,they’ve raised the perceived level ofwhat an amusement industry profes-sional is. The way they comportthemselves makes us all look good.They’re the model we all could useas our “Exhibit A" on how to be anindustry professional. I for one am abetter person for having had thehonor and pleasure of my associa-tions with them.

•50 years in business is no mis-

take. It happened because theymade it happen. It’s the byproduct ofhard work, determination and perse-verance –– of exceeding expecta-tions and approaching each day witha “can-do” attitude and ego-free con-fidence that comes through experi-ence.

The leadership team at Alpha-Omega created a business with ten-tacles that reach well beyond justgames. They’ve made a positive dif-ference in the lives of others by cre-ating jobs so families can buy ahome, take vacations, send theirkids to college. They’ve given backselflessly to the industry and theircommunities and keep doing sowithout looking for fanfare oracknowledgement. They do it simplybecause it’s the right thing to do.

Let us all acknowledge them forthe positive difference they’ve madein each of our lives. Well done, gen-tlemen. Here’s to the start of Alpha-Omega’s second half of your firstcentury.

Cheers,Pete

Reflections:

Pete Gustafson


In 1973, Joe Camarota gota work-study job in agame room at New

Jersey’s Upsala College,where he ended up gettinghis undergraduate degrees inpsychology and political sci-ence. He wasn’t terribly intogame playing, but took thejob because it allowed himto do his schoolwork on theclock.

As fate would have it, aman by the name of FrankSeninsky serviced the half-dozen games in that miniarcade. The pair hit it offand Joe joined forces withFrank and his relatively newAlpha-Omega operatingbusiness. He managedFrank’s arcade at the LuckyCasino located on the JerseyShore during his first sevensummers with the companywhile also working withtheir booming college gameroute for the other ninemonths of the year.

By 1983, Joe hadacquired an interest inAlpha-Omega, whose routehad grown to nearly 150 col-lege stops. Of course, at thattime, the video game bubblewas ready to pop. “We start-ed to see the writing on thewall with the introduction ofhome console systems,” hesaid. “We realized that wehad to find other venues inorder to survive.”

So, they started to focuson finding year-round loca-tions that needed 25-plusmachines, where they couldmaintain a service scheduleinstead of waiting to be

called. The effort furthershifted to these fairly newlocations called “familyentertainment centers” thatneeded such an amount ofequipment. Where theycould place more than 50games, they started hiringlabor exclusive to thoselocations.

“The whole industrybecame somewhat appre-hensive when the videoboom came to an end,” Joerecalls. “Besides the largergame rooms, and based onour positive experience atthe Jersey shore, we beganto invest heavily in redemp-tion games. We learned veryquickly that what drew peo-ple out of their homes wasthe allure of an experiencethat they couldn’t replicatein their home. Winning tick-ets and prizes from redemp-tion games became our‘ticket’ to success.”

The mid-’80s was alsothe time they got into distri-bution with Alpha-OmegaSales. “Constantly being inexpansion mode, we werelooking for ways to basical-ly sell off our equipment tobuy new games for ourexisting and new clients,” headded.

When Joe bought into thecompany, he did so with thethought that if the companyfailed, that would mean thathe had failed. He saw whathad happened to his fatherwho suffered a heart attackand was abruptly fired fromhis job. Joe Camarota didn’twant the same fate. “I adopt-

Joe CamarotaChief Operating Officer

Troy Dunkley,CEO,Kids QuestI have worked with

Frank, Joe and Jerry fornearly 25 years and havenothing but good thingsto say about all three ofthem. From the moment we

met Frank, we could tellhe was a visionary whobelieved in giving thecustomer a reason tocome back to our facili-ties. He helped us seethat cutting costs throughticket prices and smallrotation schedules wasnot the correct long-termstrategy for building cus-tomer loyalty. Frank, Joeand Jerry have all provid-ed our company invalu-able insight for the last

quarter century. Theyhave a passion for thewell-being of this industryand their contributions toit are innumerable. When entering a new

market with regulatoryissues, our first phonecall was always to Frankor Joe. Nobody in theindustry is more knowl-edgeable about howdevelop a plan that satis-fies all interested parties.Congratulations, gen-

tlemen, on 50 years ofexcellence.

Reflections:

Troy Dunkley


bad, well almost,” he saidwith a chuckle, “has madehim a much better employ-ee. Now he’s taking more ofa leadership role in the com-pany and our industry,” saysthe proud pop.

Reflecting more on whatmade Alpha-Omega suc-cessful, Joe said: “Besides alot of praying, it required anan understanding of theindustry and being proactiveby being on the cusp of itschanges. Having the rightteam that responds to thosechanges was key. It’s soimportant to maintain a posi-tive environment and haveeveryone working towards acompany-wide goal that theyall understand and believein. Equally important isbringing on people whohave different ideas abouthow to set and approachthose goals, as well as beingsmarter than you.”

Another critical factor isthe long-term relationshipbetween Frank and Joe,which is approaching 47years.

“We’ve been togetherlonger than most marriages.God was looking down onme the day we met. Thoughwe may have occasionallydisagreed over the years asto the ‘means to the end,’we kept our eye on the ulti-mate goal and alwayswalked away amicably. Tome, Frank has always been abrother first, friend second,and partner third.”

Joe brought up the bigcompany shift of going fromcollege game rooms toFECs. At one point, he said,90 percent of business camefrom their video game routeat colleges. While the routeremains number one, it’snow heavily redemption-

based, while other sectors ofthe business, such as con-sulting, became the genesisof a lot of their work.

“We’re constantly look-ing at new forms of enter-tainment, as we have for 50years,” he said. “You lookfor out-of-home experienceareas where people want toentertain themselves. People

can watch a movie or playgames on their wristwatchesnowadays, but they stillwant the experience wegive –– a social experience.”

As for the future of thebusiness, Joe believes thatredemption still has a goodshelf life and that he thinksaugmented reality will out-pace VR. Whatever the

ed my father’s strong workethic, but I wanted to havemore control of my own des-tiny then he did. I felt as acompany principal, I couldachieve that,” he advised.

And he did. So did thecompany. It grew and grew,and changed with the times.Camarota loved every sec-ond of it. “This industry isvery infectious,” he said. “Itgets into you.”

What’s important to noteabout the company’s manyyears of success, he said, isthat there is no individualsuccess – they’re all compa-ny-wide awards or accom-plishments. That carriesover into how the employ-ees are treated. When it’syour kid’s first day ofschool tomorrow, of courseyou can take the day off.There needs to be a level offlexibility to get the best outof people and achieve thatcompany success.

“My most important jobis keeping that family feel-ing and encouraging peopleto reach for the stars – to tryto maximize their potential,”Joe continued. That familyatmosphere is even moreentrenched as a coupleemployees are relatives,including his son, Joseph,who is now the director ofoperations and sales.

“Joseph always said hewanted to get involved inthe business,” the seniorCamarota detailed. “He wasfar from being the bestemployee in the world (at17), but he learned.” Josephgot serious about it, wentonto college to earn anMBA and continued learn-ing from his dad and Frank.

“His ability to learn thebest of what Frank and I hadto offer, and none of the

Friends meet up at Amusement Expo 2017: Joe, Frank and Betson’sBob Geschine, one of Frank’s key mentors throughout his career.

WOO-HOO!Congratulations to Frank, Joe, Jerryand everyone at Alpha-Omega!

Thanks for your many contributions to the this great industry.

Your friends at


future holds for Alpha-Omega, one thing is for cer-tain – it’s not going awayanytime soon.

“You’re bringing enjoy-ment and fun into people’s

lives,” he said.“That’s why it’s soinfectious. Youwant to go to work.It’s a passion. Frankand I talk about thisa lot … we have alot of people work-ing for us. Severalof them are marriedand have children.We have a largeextended familyand we all workwith and for eachother. We’ve beenable to bring emo-

tional and financial satisfac-tion to a lot of people, and itdoesn’t get much better thanthat in life. It’s been veryrewarding and a true bless-ing to be able to do so.”

Rich DelVecchio, VP,Kids QuestFrank and Joe have

been incredible leadersand mentors to everyonethey have worked with inthe industry.When I first began

working with them, I wasjust a kid in college stilltrying to set high scoreson the games they wereinstalling in our locations.Over the years, I havegained layers and layersof knowledge that havehelped our organizationsee continuous growth.They pioneered theindustry standard matrixlinking guest experience,the latest and greatestequipment and technolo-gy and quality merchan-dising. This has been thefoundation for nearlyevery successful FEC.

In our long-time rela-tionship together, theirintelligence and passionfor bettering the business(and industry) hashelped us solve smalland big challenges,helped maintain clarity tothe technology andtrends shaping thefuture, and taught usvaluable lessons in pay-ing attention to the dailydetails that can be easilyoverlooked. It has been aprivilege to work withindividuals so committedto doing what’s best forthe greater good.Congratulations on

many years of success!

Reflections:

Rich Del Vecchio

Frank and Joe in an undated photo from“back in the day.” Of their relationship, Joesays, “Frank has always been a brother first,friend second and partner third.”


A former commercialbanker, Jerry Merolajoined Frank and Joe

as a partner in 1995, whilealso becoming Alpha-Omega’s chief financial offi-cer. By 1997, the three hadformed their consultinggroup, Amusement Enter -tain ment Management, and awhole new future startedbrewing for the company.

Jerry first met Frank in1992 when the two crossedpaths on a significant casinoproject Frank had been con-sulting on. Jerry was work-ing on the lending side ofthings, and he came to spe-cialize in the leisure sector.The pair stayed in commu-nication and often discussedthe lack of standards, met-rics and evaluation tools onthe financial side of theindustry.

“The amusement sectorwas starting to grow, but itwas growing without a setof rules,” Jerry explained.So, when he came aboardwith Alpha-Omega, heworked on developingfinancial models and indus-try benchmarks. “In manyways, we pioneered that onseveral levels.”

They created a databasetracking a substantial num-ber of locations every weekfrom a performance perspec-tive. “We started to track theperformance of literallyevery client in every facilitywe were associated with,” hesaid. That allowed them togather information that wasn’t previously recorded.

Jerry continues to spear-head the consulting grouptoday, focusing efforts ondeveloping entertainmentproperties all over theworld. He spends most ofhis time as CFO evaluatingmarkets for FEC develop-ment.

“We work with ourclients from beginning toend,” he said. From devel-oping the business case,establishing the project’sparameters, and sourcingequity and financing for theprojects themselves.Amusement EntertainmentManagement coordinatesand manages those parts ofthe projects through theirhighly trusted vendor base.

While a whole lot haschanged since Jerry cameaboard in the mid-90s, thecore of what they do is stillthe same – taking the clientfrom concept to the openingof a facility. The size andscope of those, along withwhat goes inside, is whathas changed.

“We’ve expanded fromtraditional FECs to themeparks, stadium venues andother large-scale leisure des-tinations,” he said. “We’rereally walking the entiregamut of entertainment atthis point.”

“Beginning in the 2000s,we started to see a little bitof a shift,” Merola contin-ued, citing more adult-focused entertainmentvenues popping up asopposed to traditional fami-ly entertainment centers.

when it was just Frank andJoe working college gamerooms and small arcadesalong the Jersey Shore.

Now, they reportedlycomplete 30-40 projects a

“Suddenly the quality andsize of the facilities waschanging.” That has allowedthe company to expandworldwide into avenues thatcouldn’t have been foreseen

Jerry MerolaChief Financial Officer


year, many of which aremulti-year endeavors,depending on the size andtarget markets, and othervariables. “I like to think ofall of our clients as friends,”Merola said. “We have sev-eral decades of relationshipsthat just don’t end.”

He points to Alpha-Omega’s unique leadership– Frank, the engineer; Joe,the “psychologist of enter-tainment”; and Jerry him-self, the business metricsguy. “I think we offer aunique combination of tal-ent that has added to our

Barry Zelickson,The Big ThrillFactory

I had the privilege ofmeeting Frank and Jerryat their 20th Foundationsclass in Chicago in 2010.At that time, my idea ofopening up an FEC wasonly an idea on a napkin.Their partnership notonly brought my idea tolife, but created a lifelongfriendship in the process.

I use the word part-nership because throughall my interactions with

Jerry, Frank and Joetheir focus has alwaysbeen on getting the jobdone or adding value tomy project. They are truebrand ambassadors tothis industry and we arefortunate that they bringtheir passion and knowl-edge to so many people!

Reflections:

Barry Zelickson

Jerry Merola’s brought an extensive skillset to Alpha-Omega from hisfinancial background when he joined the company back in 1995. He’shelped pioneer financial models and industry benchmarks, as well as adatabase that tracked the weekly performance of their clients, giving theteam a wealth of operational insignts.


success. The whole goal ofus originally joining forceswas to bring those three coretalents together.”

And together, they’vecreated a sustainable busi-ness that had more than onefocus – from waterparks,FECs, food-and-beveragefocused venues and justabout any other type ofplace you could think of thathas an arcade.

Jerry gave a “state of theindustry” talk at IAAPA lastyear about where the con-sumer is going and “makingsure we stay two stepsahead of it.” That’s some-thing Alpha-Omega hasdone for 50 years now.

“Technology is going toplay an important part inwhere the consumer expectsto go,” he said. “We need tocontinue expanding connec-

tivity outside of actual visits– engaging the customerbefore they ever visit withus, and continue the experi-ence after they have.

“Our business has steadi-ly grown over the last 25years, largely because enter-tainment is very much infashion today,” he added.The sheer size of projects isincreasing, but so is thequantity. “We’ve been ableto introduce concepts morerecently that were foundedin North America and bringthem to other markets likeSoutheast Asia and the FarEast.”

The growth is great, butfor Jerry Merola, “Thegreatest excitement for meis being able to deliver on aclient’s dream and goal. It’ssomething that started astheir vision, something they

may have left a job to pur-sue. That’s the most power-ful feeling,” he said. Andit’s one that AmusementEntertainment Management

has provided hundreds oftimes, which must haveresulted in millions and mil-lions of smiles over the pasthalf-century in amusements.

Steve Schulman,HMS Monaco

I first met Frank in theearly 1970s at the begin-ning of our careers in theamusement game busi-ness. At the time, Alpha-Omega and my compa-ny, Jepco Amusements,were both pursuing thecollege market puttingamusement machinesinto Student Centers inNew York and NewJersey.

I first became awareof Frank when his com-pany and mine were bid-ding to win the gamescontract at a large uni-versity. I submitted what Ithought was an excellentoffer with a three-pagecontract. At the bid open-ing, I found out thatFrank had submitted a15-page offer with details

and sweeteners I hadnever even dreamed of.He won that contracthandily, and I realized if Iwas ever going to com-pete with someone assmart, articulate andshrewd as he was, Iwould have to up mygame enormously.

We subsequentlybecame good friends, andmy initial respect forFrank, and later Joe, whohas helped him run Alpha-Omega, has continued togrow over the years. Ioften tell Frank that he'sthe smartest guy I've evermet in this business.

Reflections:

Steve Schulman

Ira Erstling,HMS Monaco

I'll never forget thatwhen I first started to sellprize merchandise to theamusement industry inthe late 1970s, it wasboxed costume jewelryfor gravel cranes. As oneof the first prospectivecustomers I approached,Frank liked the idea and

agreed to test the con-cept. When costume jew-elry revenues took off inhis cranes, he coined aname for me: “Ira theShowcase Erstling.”

Reflections:

Ira Erstling

Data’s important, whether it’s understanding how clients’ business-es are performing or details within Alpha-Omega’s groups of companies.Part of the team tackling those details are Data Entry Manager BethPicon and Administrative Executive Susan Johnson.


Joseph Camarota startedwith Alpha-Omega inthe mid-1980s, testing

games. But that’s a toughgig for a 6-year-old, so hemostly stuck with elemen-tary school instead. Butwhen your father is JoeCamarota, Alpha-Omega’sCOO, you might just growup in the business.Joseph did. Mainly play-

ing Ms. Pac-Man (afavorite, one that he stillkeeps in his basementtoday), Mad Dog McCreeand Mortal Kombat, among

other classic games hewould try out as Alpha-Omega’s unofficial kidvideo game tester. He’d alsocome along to AMOAExpo, when they were heldin Chicago. “It was alwaysfun,” Joseph said. “I got toknow a lot of the people thatstill work here.”While Joe and Frank joke

about him starting in the’80s, he officially beganworking with the companyin 1997, cleaning and prep-ping games in the ware-house. Over the years, he

“We’ve seen that workswell,” he said. “It reallyhelps us get close to theclient. That’s a favorite partof mine – meeting the newpeople and really getting toknow them.”That relationship-build-

ing mentality really startedwith Frank and then Joeand Jerry, the youngerCamarota said. “It’s theirenthusiasm for the indus-try,” he said. “They’re justso involved. They’vegrown with the industryand helped the industry. Ilearned a ton from both ofthem,” he added.Joseph saw the evolution

of it as a kid, with the videogame boom well fizzled outbut still hanging on. Today,it’s all about the FEC, whereAlpha-Omega mainly doesmid- to large-scale projects– from about 30 games on

moved onto the route, dri-ving around doing collec-tions and repairing games,and then onto managementpositions in merchandise,then parts and service, andnow as director of opera-tions and sales.On the operations side,

Joseph oversees all of partsand service, and the entireAlpha-Omega route. Hegoes to every installation,and is there every day,whether it’s a 3-day job or10-day job.

Joseph CamarotaDirector of Operations and Sales

Long-time RePlay readers might remember this photo of then-18-year-old Joseph and his father Joe from our 1999 salute to FrankSeninsky and the company. Frank had just been named AMOA presidentand the company was celebrating its 30th anniversary. In those days,Joseph was assistant manager of merchandise. He actually got his startcleaning and prepping games in the warehouse and then over the yearshas tackled other roles such as route collections and game repairs.


the low end to 150 games,typically. They’re nation-wide and now worldwide,too.The future, Camarota

thinks, will be interesting.“Our industry is at a cross-roads and no one is reallycertain where it’s headed.VR is the hot topic, butwe’ve been looking at thisfor 20 years and I fear thatproduct may not have thelegs we all hope it does. Thetechnology at home is onlygetting better, and could betough competition.”He pointed to two recent

technological advancementsthat will help push theindustry into the future:Intercard accepting creditcards directly at their read-ers and Semnox with their

automated redemptionteller. No matter what advance-

ments are made, or what thefuture holds, 50 years ofchanges and accomplish-ments are behind Alpha-Omega, and Joseph and thecompany plan on doingwhat they’ve always done –something different. They’llcontinue to adapt, shareinformation and push theindustry forward.“Our company’s owners

instill the family nature intothis business,” he said. “Weall have a good time and Ithank them for providing alife for this company, formyself and my family. It’sall because of Frank, Joeand Jerry,” Joseph declared.

Joseph’s wife Jennifer is billing coordinator for Alpha-Omega.She’s pictured with Parts and Service Manager Mike Tadrousse.


A lpha-Omega’s directorof marketing sinceAugust 2017,

Yaroslav Sobko met FrankSeninsky some 10 years agoas the CEO of a distributioncompany that was sellingamusement equipment inUkraine and Russia. He hadbeen searching for expertsin the redemption sector andcame across Frank.

“We didn’t know any-thing about redemptiongames because they weren’tpopular back home,”Yaroslav said. “But Frank

had an enormous amount ofinformation and he didn’tmind sharing it.” He’d invit-ed Frank to speak at aRussian trade show and thepair met every year atIAAPA as Yaroslav’s busi-ness grew.

“When the entertainmentand amusement market inRussia declined, Frankinvited me to Alpha-Omegato use my expertise in digi-tal marketing to help himgrow the business and startengaging more digitally,” hesaid.

still managing a small, five-arcade route back inUkraine.

Yaroslav has beenthrilled to have the opportu-nity to work alongsideSeninsky with Alpha-Omega. “When I introducedFrank during seminars inRussia and Ukraine, I said,‘Let me introduce you toMr. Redemption,’” henoted. “Frank is one of thebiggest experts in arcadesand redemption. That’s oneof the key components tohis success in business.”

Now based in Florida, hehelped Frank create a blog(at www.frank-thecrank.com), which has dailyindustry news and hismonthly Redemption &FEC Report. They alsostarted a YouTube channeland began to do socialmedia marketing.

Since March 2018, atFrank’s suggestion,Yaroslav has been a mem-ber of AMOA’s board ofdirectors, staying involvedin the industry and learningas much as possible while

Yaroslav SobkoDirector of Marketing


Henry Stoop, Alpha-Omega’s general man-ager, grew up around

the amusements business,like a lot of other kids on theJersey Shore, back in the’70s. He’s been part of ithimself since 1973, not toolong after he started highschool. His mom had abusiness on theboardwalk atthe time, pret-ty near FrankSeninsky’sWizard’sWorldarcade.

“I was inthat kind ofatmosphere all thetime, and they needed some-body to give the employeesbreaks,” Stoop said. With alaugh, he added, “I wastrustworthy and knew how

to count.”And he wascertainly doing alot of counting at the time,when games were either 10cents a play or three for aquarter.

Henry officially startedwith Alpha-Omega after

completing highschool in 1976,

working as atechnicianand collectorat arcadesspottedalong theJersey Shore.

He alsoworked for a

long time on theroute as a tech, while alsospending years as produc-tion manager and merchan-dise manager (something hestill does in addition to his

GM duties), sellingto arcades.Today, he works with

the company’s techniciansall across the country, andsaid that’s the best part forhim – traveling, workingwith the service guys whilealso learning new trends onthe merchandise side ofthings from the youngerfolks.

Over the years, Henryhas seen the great breadth ofchange the industry hasweathered, and said Alpha-Omega’s success was due toacting on that shift and stay-ing ahead of the curve when

others were left in the dust.“When pinball started

fading a little bit, we went tovideos,” he explained. “Andnow, of course, most of ourbusiness is in redemptiongames. It’s been aboutadapting to the changes inour culture. We kind of hadto change on the fly a fewtimes.” Among the direc-tions he’s paying particularattention to today is virtualreality. “We went to IAAPAto see what they’re doingwith VR. Turned out they’redoing really great thingswith it,” he observed.

Working hard and having fun is what you hope for in any compa-ny. Here, Linda Barry, Alpha-Omega’s administrative executive andHenry Stoop laugh it up during the photo shoot for this special feature.At the end of his interview with RePlay, Henry, whose first days in theamusement business were back in high school, said, “Congratulations,Frank and Joe. I’m thankful for all the years here.”

Henry StoopGeneral Manager


With a background inaccounting, DonnaHotz came aboard

the Alpha-Omega team in

March 1998 to do a little bitof everything. She handlesaccounting and humanresources, and has a hand in

to CFO Jerry Merola for thefinancial analysis.

As Alpha-Omega hasgrown, so has her love ofthe company. “Besides thefact that there’s alwayssomething different to dohere,” Donna said, “it’s thepeople that make it great.You get to know them atheadquarters, as well as allaround the country. It’s agreat group to work with.”

She praised the compa-ny’s ability to morph overthe years. “This anniversaryyear really shows how well-run this company is, havingstood the test of time.Hopefully, there’s another50 years ahead,” she added.

the company’sconsulting branch, too.

“Considering the diversi-ty of what we do here ––while working with the dif-ferent parts of the company–– there’s not a lot ofchance to get bored,” shesaid. “Working with theclients and getting them tothe next level is the best partof my job, whether it’sopening up new, or revamp-ing existing, game rooms.It’s thrilling to actually seethem come to fruition.”

On the consulting side,she puts together the compa-ny’s feasibility reports,detailing demographics,competition and tourism inthe area. From there, it’s on

Donna HotzController / Director of Market Research

Congratulations to Alpha-Omegafrom your new/old neighbor

Gary BalabanPipeline GamesSayerville, N.J.www.pipelinegames.com

Controller/Director of Market Research Donna Hotz at work withResearch Assistant Allison Carestia in company headquarters.


Dave Lohr was hired inMarch 1990 as a routetech and serviceman,

back when Alpha-Omegawas still primarily operatingin college game rooms. Hedid his training with long-time employee Henry Stoopat the Rutgers Universitystop.

Over the years, this Jack-of-all-trades has bouncedaround in many differentroles within the company,beginning by handlingfacets of the route early on –servicing machines every-where from colleges to mili-tary bases to bowling alleysall throughout New Jersey

and New York. He handledthree to five stops a dayback then.

From there, Dave put infive years as the service dis-patcher, a desk job wherehe routed the service techsto where they needed to go.Then he transitioned backinto handling arcades alongthe Jersey Shore.

“That’s where I got thetaste of being back on theroad, which made me prettyhappy,” he said. (Mostrecently, Dave supervisedoperations at the world-famous Cedar Point amuse-ment park, where Alpha-Omega operates a 200-

game arcade.) In his managerial and

technician roles, there’s notelling where he might endup next. While he’s beenbased in the Midwest for awhile now, Dave movedback to the company’s NewJersey headquarters for thewinter to lend his expertiseto various projects there.

The success of the com-pany, he says, has been theforesight of management toshift to redemption, andfrom colleges to FECs,before most operators were

doing that. “Of course,another big reason the com-pany has succeeded hasbeen the working atmos-phere here,” Dave contin-ued. “I think it’s really sur-prising that a company thissize has people who’ve beenhere for these many years.We’re pretty much like afamily. And we’ve beenable to transition with andahead of the industry attimes, and I’m sure we’ll beable to adapt into thefuture.”

Dave LohrRegional Manager / Drafting Technician

Congratulations Alpha-Omega on

50 Years in the Biz!

From your friends at


S teve Camarota’s brotherJoe called him up oneday in 1976 and asked

if he wanted to work at anarcade in Wildwood, N.J.Fresh out of high school, hethought “Why not?” and gothis start in the amusementsbusiness. Two years later, hemoved to North Jersey towork with Frank Seninskyon his vending machineroute.

When Steve turned 20,he actually lived with Frankfor a short while up north toget acclimated and get someinvaluable training on theduties of a routeman.

“I didn’t know muchabout technician stuff, but Igradually learned andlearned and learned,” hesaid. “I kept with the timesand started learning on myown, while also gettingtaught by whomever. It wasa good alternative to themilitary,” he added, whichwas another path he wasconsidering at the time.

Steve eventually went onto set up locations, do thehiring and training of thelocal staff before moving onto the next project, which hesaid was the toughest part ofthat job. For the past 10

years,as a mastertechnician and regional man-ager for Alpha-Omega, healso has the “do whateverneeds to be done” title at theUltimate California PizzaGame Zone arcade in MyrtleBeach, S.C., which he nowmanages.

“Each year, we’re doingbetter and better here,” Stevesaid. He enjoys the more sta-tionary life, as the mainlysummer routes in amusementparks were grueling andinvolved a lot of traveling.“At this location, I get herein the morning, walk in, seewhat needs to be done, andmake sure the games are upand running,” he said, addingthat he usually works sevendays a week to ensure thingsare in tip-top shape.

“It’s all about customerrelationships and workingrelationships,” he explained.“It’s very important for us todo well with the locations.”

He attributes Alpha-Omega’s success to the dedi-cation and hard work ofFrank, Joe, Jerry and theentire team that makes ithappen. “I can see this indus-try going ahead and I don’tthink it’ll ever stop,” he said.“That’s true, as long as youkeep rotating games andkeeping up with the times.

“I’d like to thank Frank,Joe and Jerry for making mepart of this world. Throughall the hard times and goodtimes, we’ve stayed togetherfor this long and kept thecompany up and running forall these years. It’s been agreat ride,” he declared.

Steve CamarotaMaster Technician / Regional Manager


Alpha-Omega Route Personnel Across the Country


Thirty-year Alpha-Omega veteran TonyBari started with the

company in 1989, mainly

doing machine deliveriesand setups, something hestill does occasionallytoday. His principle role,

however, is as warehousemanager, a job that mostlyinvolves overseeing thewarehouse, transportation,logistics and the like for anarcade setup. That meansprepping equipment, settingup the many Alpha-Omegadeliveries and physicallyputting together the arcade.“Getting out on setups

and meeting differentclients, and traveling to dif-ferent locations across thecountry, is my favorite partof the job,” Tony said. Andthat job has changedimmensely over the years asthe industry has shifted. Asmany others in the companysay, learning to adapt withthe times is a key part ofAlpha-Omega’s success.“We’ve been able to

somehow find a way to keepmoving forward with all the

changes in the industry,” hesaid. “Frank and the brassare always moving forwardand finding different thingsto do. For example, buildingup a sales clientele allaround the country andmoving into bigger FECshas been a big part of thefocus lately.”From start to finish,

Tony ships the equipmentfrom New Jersey, has itdelivered to a client’s loca-tion, offloads it, unpacks itand starts building out thearcade according to a pre-designed layout. Anotherpart of the job, however, ismaking people happy.That’s the net result of thewhole process of setting upan arcade, and one thatAlpha-Omega has continuedto do in different ways for ahalf-century.

Tony BariWarehouse Manager

to Alpha-Omega!What a fine group of people and

what a fine accomplishment!

Well done!

Sureshot Redemption | www.sureshot-redemption.com


Documents

From Alpha to Omega€¦ · Institute. After graduating and taking an engineering job in Newark, N.J., Frank expanded to some 30 col-lege game rooms with Alpha-Omega – the busi-