Spend an Hour at Pinball Hall of Fame

Las Vegas is known for slot machines and table games. But, it is home to the Pinball Hall of Fame too. Here’s all you need to know to spend and hour (or two) at the Pinball Hall of Fame

Pinball Hall of Fame Details

The Pinball Hall of Fame is on Las Vegas Boulevard near Harry Reid International Airport. It is near the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign and across the street from the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

The museum is open from Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The 25,000 square foot museum displays hundreds of pinball machines from the 1950s to today.

It is free to enter the Pinball Hall of Fame. However, you also can bring coins, or use the coin machines on site to play many of the machines.

The museum is run entirely be volunteer staff. All money raised through machine play is donated to local charities.

Why Visit the Pinball Hall of Fame?

Why would you visit? To have fun, or course.

Our family visits Las Vegas regularly. Each visit, we look for something new and different to do.

On a recent visit, we drove by the Pinball Hall of Fame. My wife put it on the short list of places to see.

While we did not visit on that trip, we made it our first stop on our next trip to Vegas.

Honestly, our kids reluctantly went to the museum. But, their reluctance soon changed as they made their way throughout the site, dropping quarters into the machines. The museum also has Skee-ball machines (a family favorite) claw machines (our daughter’s favorite), and other fun activities.

We spent about an hour at the museum with our family of four and grandparents in tow.

But everyone left wanting a return visit. Although we did not go back during that trip, everyone has said they want to return on our next Vegas getaway.

The Pinball Machines

Once we got our quarters from the change machine, our family scattered to every corner of the facility.

That gave us a chance to see so many different pinball machines.

Some machines have index cards with handwritten histories of the machine, its manufacturer, and facts.

We all enjoyed playing some of the older machines from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

But we also enjoyed playing some newer games as well. Our son played a “Mandalorian” machine, earning what we thought an amazing high score. Who knows if it was a great score, but the number impressed us.

Is It a Museum?

The Pinball Hall of Fame is a museum. But unlike other museums where you can look but not touch, this museum demands that you touch (and maybe tilt) the museum pieces.

It’s more of a living, breathing, playground. But, yes, it’s a museum.

Walking through the facility, you can read about and learn some of the history of the pinball machine. You can play machines and see how the machines evolved through the years.

You can do all of this at the Pinball Hall of Fame.

Is it Just Pinball Machines?

There is more than pinball machines.

There is a Zoltar fortune teller.

You can drop a coin into the Love Tester meter to see how hot or cold your love is.

Of course, you can play Skee-Ball.

Or test your skill with a claw machine.

There also is a gift shop of sorts where you can purchase t-shirts and other accessories to remember your time at the museum.

Our Take

As I said, our kids rolled their eyes and protested going to the Pinball Hall of Fame. But, they left singing a different tune.

We all enjoyed the visit. We left with smiles on our faces and more joy in our voices.

It doesn’t take long to experience the museum. We spent about one hour on site. That seemed like enough time for us.

And we only spent $20 dollars, making it a cheap enjoyable stop on our Vegas getaway.

Every family member said we must go back next time we’re in Vegas. That’s saying something. It is rare that our family of four has aligning interests and likes. So when the stars align in such a perfect way, you know you’ve found something special.

That means we’ll return to the Pinball Hall of Fame. We likely will make a pit stop each time we’re in Vegas.

Watch Our Video

Check out our video featuring highlights of our visit to the Pinball Hall of Fame.

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