Three years ago this month we opened with twelve machines, a borrowed espresso machine, and a theory that Adelaide would show up for pachinko. Some numbers and a few stories about how the theory went.

Year one: the shopfront

The original room on a side street off North Terrace held twelve machines and sixty people. We opened expecting curious students and got, in the first month, a queue. The night the fire inspector counted sixty-seven people in a sixty-person room is still a staff legend.

The move to SkyCity

SkyCity offered the level-one space in year two — three times the floor, a real kitchen, proper licensing. The relocation took eleven weeks and two container loads of machines from Osaka. The Vault floor opened the same month: fourteen vintage machines that had been in storage waiting for a proper room.

Numbers that matter to us

  • 26,000+ ball cards played per year
  • 480 active members, up from 40 on the first membership drive
  • 180 corporate nights hosted, with a 92% rebooking rate
  • 1,900 players taught through the lesson program
  • $14,800 — the biggest Friday jackpot pool paid out

The staff who built it

Yuki joined from a Nagoya parlour in year two and rebuilt the host program. Grace took events from 'we can fit your group' to a proper bookings operation. Dom's bar and kitchen turned a snack counter into a destination. The floor runs because of them, not because of the machines.

What is next

More machines, more Vault open nights, and a second floor under discussion for when the current one hits capacity — which, at the current rate, is sooner than we planned. The plan for year four is the same as it was on day one: run the best pachinko floor in the country and let the numbers take care of themselves.

We opened with twelve machines and a theory. Three years later the theory has 480 members and a waiting list for Thursday nights.

Key takeaways

  • Opened 2022 with twelve machines; now eighty-four across two floors.
  • SkyCity move and Vault opening happened in year two.
  • 480 members, 180 corporate nights, 1,900 lessons taught.
  • Year four: more machines, more open nights, maybe a second floor.