5/16/2005
Pinball Games Light Him Up
Foothills man turns childhood pastime into hobby, business
Sondra BarrThe Arizona RepublicMay. 16, 2005 12:00 AM
Gary Marks' face lights up with childish glee when he stands in front of a pinball machine. But the Ahwatukee Foothills resident is no child.At 52, he's amassed some of the most sought-after pinball games while becoming a self-taught restoration guru in the process."I've been fascinated by pinball machines ever since I could stand on a box and look through the glass," Marks said.
The perfect opportunity to fulfill his pastime arose in the form of a 2002 home addition. "I looked around and immediately thought 'pinball room,' " he recalled. Marks had no idea that a run-down Fun House pinball machine that he had bought for the addition would develop into a full-fledged hobby and a part-time business. He later sold the machine for triple what he paid for it after putting in more then 90 hours learning how to restore it and $200 in parts."At one point I had six pinball machines in the addition, but my wife made me move many to the garage and a few to my mother-in-law's house," Marks said. "She thinks they're big, noisy, ugly things."
Sondra BarrThe Arizona RepublicMay. 16, 2005 12:00 AM
Gary Marks' face lights up with childish glee when he stands in front of a pinball machine. But the Ahwatukee Foothills resident is no child.At 52, he's amassed some of the most sought-after pinball games while becoming a self-taught restoration guru in the process."I've been fascinated by pinball machines ever since I could stand on a box and look through the glass," Marks said.
The perfect opportunity to fulfill his pastime arose in the form of a 2002 home addition. "I looked around and immediately thought 'pinball room,' " he recalled. Marks had no idea that a run-down Fun House pinball machine that he had bought for the addition would develop into a full-fledged hobby and a part-time business. He later sold the machine for triple what he paid for it after putting in more then 90 hours learning how to restore it and $200 in parts."At one point I had six pinball machines in the addition, but my wife made me move many to the garage and a few to my mother-in-law's house," Marks said. "She thinks they're big, noisy, ugly things."
