Local collector brings back arcade classic by restoring pinball machines

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- In this digital age, many kids and adults will want the latest and greatest video game under the tree this holiday season. But a local collector is working to bring back an arcade classic.

When you walk into Mike McGough's Troy apartment, his home sounds more like an arcade than a living space. It's packed with pinball machines from wall-to-wall.

McGough explained, "I love that these games always play differently. Every time you play, it's something different. It's never the same game twice."

His collection was slowly acquired through many hours of trial and error and fixing up the once unplayable machine. He's also turned his apartment full of classic arcade games into an Airbnb for people to rent out.

"I found an ad on Craigslist for a broken pinball machine," he said. "I thought it would be kind of fun to get it back up and running. I just loved being able to fix things. Especially something that's not something digital. It's a real mechanical thing."

He worked on his first machines seven years ago and has been making sense of the maze of cords and switchers ever since. "First thing you want to do is look at the boards," McGough said as he showed what's on the other side. "Sometimes, you have no idea what the issue is, and you have to consult the internet or just shotgun things."

Jesse Ryan, who is a collector and tournament director at Mean Max in Troy, is a returning customer. He's purchased three of McGough's refurbished machines over the years.

"I love being able to focus in on one thing. You only have control over the flippers; everything else is chaos," he said. "There is something about physically hitting the button, the ball can do all kind of unpredictable things. When it's physical, there is something magical about that."

Each machine can take anywhere from five to 20 hours of troubleshooting and fixing. Since he started fixing them, McGough has restored around 100 machines. The end result is hours of enjoyment and a rare opportunity to be immersed in a more analog world

If you'd like more information on McGough's Airbnb listing or one of his refurbished machines, you can contact him via email at McGough.Mike@gmail.com.