End of the Silver Ball: Museum of Pinball Auction Follows Closure

Last Updated on August 1, 2021

Sad news for fans of pinball. Based in Banning, California, the Museum of Pinball is set to close, with an auction to clear its vast collection.

Registered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest pinball collection in the world, The Museum of Pinball consists of over 1,100 machines (829 pinball, plus some arcade) from across the years.

For $150 a day adults could enjoy the stunning collection, with a few special events requiring higher ticket prices. But the non-profit project has now come to the end of the road, sadly. There is no replay. Location and the measures imposed in response to the pandemic no doubt played their part too.

A planned move to Palm Springs fell through, with transport and renovations for the intended property providing too expensive.

“We didn’t have the money to sustain the holding period while the building was remodeled… My architect said it’s going to take four months just to get the (printing) press out of there, and it’s going to take time to get plans approved by the city and then construction time.”
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This left the vast collection essentially homeless. The only solution? To auction the collection.

While there are plenty of other pinball museums and specialist gaming centres across the USA and Europe, the Museum of Pinball’s upcoming auction looks like a smart opportunity to grab a machine. And as this is a closure, there could be a few surprise low prices. Details of the Museum of Pinball auction are under wraps for the time being, but it is likely to be an online, closed auction, so keep your eye out for details.