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To Businessman Success Is A Game

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By LAURA FRAZIER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2007

Updated: 09/17/2007 09:44 pm

BRANDON - John Russo cuts business deals in a dimly lit warehouse behind a pawn shop on Brandon Boulevard. His customers, many of them regulars, park in an alley outside the shop and enter the building through doors covered with elaborate graffiti.

Russo owns Apollo Amusements, at 1809 1/2 Brandon Blvd., billed as a game room superstore. He stocks more than 1,500 games at three stores; in Brandon, Bradenton and Fort Lauderdale.

The Brandon warehouse is jam-packed with pinball machines, jukeboxes, pool tables and gaming consoles. Neon signs for sale light the walls.

A filmy curtain of plastic strips separates the showroom from a workshop.

On Thursday, workers dissected two defunct arcade machines, harvesting parts to make a new one. About 85 percent of Russo's stock is reconditioned.

The Bradenton resident's gaming fascination began several decades ago.

'My mom was dating this fella who had his basement full of arcade games,' he said. 'I thought, 'I want to have a game room in my house someday.' It really etched itself in my mind.'

Fast-forward to one of his first jobs as an adult - delivering waterbeds.

'I was delivering a bed to this guy, and he had two pinball machines for sale,' he said. 'I bought them and fixed them up, and eventually they found new homes.'

Hungry for another pinball fix, Russo combed garage sales and classified ads for machines to tinker with and resell.

'I would make a circuit of calls every day, literally badgering the operators who service game rooms, asking if anyone had machines they were ready to get rid of,' he said.

These days, the games come to Russo. He fields calls daily from people who want to unload a game or two and business liquidators with larger quantities to sell. A good portion of his business comes from regular customers looking to swap games they originally bought at one of his stores. He cheerfully takes trade-ins.

'One of the first questions customers ask before they buy a game is 'What happens when I get tired of it?' I give them back half their money on trades,' he said.

The home poker-room fad has died down, Russo said. An arcade console loaded with up to 48 games is hot now. The units, available with classic arcade games such as Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Pac Man, have been available for about five years. Until recently, though, Russo said they had some troublesome bugs.

'The early ones really had some issues,' he said. 'But now, they're right on the money, right in time for Christmas.'

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Apollo Amusements, game room store

WHERE: 1809 1/2 Brandon Blvd.

WHEN: Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week

INFO: (813) 643-6228 or go to www.apolloamusements.com

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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