In the 1960s, pinball machines were such a major force in consumer culture that one of the era’s most popular songs was The Who’s 1969 hit Pinball Wizard. For one Lexington, Kentucky, homeowner, that era lives on in his own professional-level home arcade with more than 50 classic and antique pinball and arcade games that all come to life at the push of a button through the ELAN g! System.
To complete his ultimate game room, the owner installed a full bar, two duckpin bowling lanes, more than 20 TVs ranging from 32” to 55” and 20 speakers.
After a few years spent dealing with an older RTI system that wasn’t up to the task, the homeowner experienced the ELAN g! system at a friend’s house and was blown away at how much more powerful and easier to use it was. The friend introduced him to Bob Wolf, owner of Winchester, Kentucky-based American Residential Technologies. After discussing a bit of nostalgia, the owner and Wolf had decided that the home desperately needed an upgrade. Now more than 30 TVs, 23 zones of audio and all of the arcade games are connected to the ELAN g! system, and can be turned on and off right from the owner’s iPad.
“This project is a very unique combination of new technology and old technology,” Wolf said. “I imagine that it’s more advanced than any commercial arcade was when many of these games were new. One of the issues we were able to solve was how to turn on more than 50 games at once, because it creates a huge power draw to start them all at once and could easily trip the circuit breakers. We programmed a custom ‘Entertain’ button in the ELAN interface that turns the entire basement on gradually, so that within 3-4 minutes all the games, TVs, amplifiers and speakers are on and the whole area becomes an incredible game room, like none I’ve ever seen in a home.”
To complete his ultimate game room, the owner installed a full bar, two duckpin bowling lanes, more than 20 TVs ranging from 32” to 55” and 20 speakers. With the TVs and speakers connected to the ELAN g! system, it’s easy to set each TV to a different channel and set the speakers in separate zones to play distinct music or TV audio. All of this is accessed and controlled through a simple iPad app, so there’s never a moment when control is out of reach.
The TVs and speakers throughout the rest of the house are also connected with the ELAN g! system, including the home theater and the outdoor projector that makes summer a great time to enjoy a movie or sporting event in the back yard. There is even more entertainment outside, where the owner has a turf cricket field and a large bocce court that he and guests love to use when he throws parties.
“This home is definitely unique, and we were excited to make our client’s dreams come true with modern home technologies that turn complicated ideas into easy-to-operate systems,” Wolf continued. “It used to be quite a hassle to prepare for guests with all of the game room’s moving parts, but now an iPhone can operate every party essential and also make shutting down at the end of the night just as easy.”
The owner was so impressed with the ELAN system that he intends to expand it to integrate with the home’s lighting and HVAC systems in the near future.
