Trouble With a Capital T, and That Rhymes With P, and That Stands for Pinball

Fred Bobrow's Retro Arcade Museum in Beacon, New York, featured his collection of 150 vintage arcade games, 50 of which were available for play at any given time for $10 an hour. New York Times columnist Peter Applebome reports that the place "drew private birthday and anniversary parties, random fans, and classes from New York University, Vassar, Marist and other colleges….Local inns and bed-and-breakfasts recommended it to customers. People came from around the country, Europe, Japan. He got rave reviews from customers, and growing online buzz." All of which was more than the city could tolerate. In June it shut down what I assume was Beacon's best-known tourist attraction, citing a municipal ban on amusement arcades. "It's unfortunate," the city's zoning administrator said, "but ignorance of the law is no excuse."