Pinball Players Rejoice! RadioShack and Stern Pinball Hail the End of Oakland's Pinball Prohibition by Hosting Tournament

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For 80 long years, residents of Oakland were banned from playing pinball because the game was viewed as illegal gambling. All that changed last month when the city's long prohibition on pinball was finally lifted. To celebrate this momentous occasion, RadioShack and Stern Pinball are teaming up to host a month-long pinball tournament inside RadioShack's new Interactive Remodeled store in Oakland. 

Kicking off on August 20, RadioShack will place a brand new Iron Man Pro Vault Edition machine in its Fruitvale Station store location, with help from Stern Pinball and the International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA). Participants are welcome to play for free and test their skills, no quarters required and no purchase necessary. More than mere bragging rights are on the line; whoever wins the tournament, wins the machine as a grand prize.  Here's how the tournament will work:

• Tournament begins on August 20, 2014 and ends on September 19^th at 9:30 p.m. PT
• Players (must be 18 years or older) have 30 days to qualify for the finals and can visit the store Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. as many times as they like to try to set the highest score, at no charge and no purchase necessary
• To qualify, players must score 50,000,000 points or more
• 16 top-scoring qualifiers are invited back for the finals on September 20, 2014
• Finalists will enter a bracket tournament until one winner emerges

"Friends in the Maker community and other loyal customers inspired us to celebrate the return of pinball in Oakland. The pinball resurgence is a perfect combination of the best of retro and future technology. We thought this tournament would be a fun way to help celebrate our opening of 21 interactive remodel stores in the San Francisco and Oakland area," said Mike DeFazio, senior vice president of store concepts at RadioShack. "The game is legendary and has appeal for experts and novices alike. While you are in the store enjoying our new interactive elements like the speaker wall and 3D printer, take the time to play a game with us!" 

"Along with our friends at RadioShack, we're obviously psyched to see pinball prohibition end in Oakland," said Gary Stern, CEO, Stern Pinball. "Our company has origins in the pinball industry that date back to the ban's enactment itself. We're both honored and amazed to see brands like RadioShack embrace pinball, and help make it more accessible to a new generation of fans."

If you want to showcase your pinball skills for a chance to win your own pinball machine, simply visit RadioShack starting August 20 at 3040 East 9^th Street, Suite A. The tournament runs for 30 days, with the last chance to qualify on Friday, September 19 by 9:30 p.m. PT and a Grand Finale on Saturday, September 20 at the same location. The highest scorer on the machine in the Grand Finale will have the honor of taking it home. For more details and rules, visit the RadioShack TechSpecs blog, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About RadioShack Corporation

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH)  is a leading retailer with more than 27,000 knowledgeable associates focused on connecting consumers with personalized solutions and discovering what's possible through the latest in consumer electronics. The company's updated product assortment incorporates national brands, industry-leading private brand products, mobile devices and wireless carriers. Customers can shop leading brands in headphones and speakers, wearable technology, smart toys and DIY supplies, connected home, power accessories and home entertainment at www.radioshack.com, or at one of the more than 5,000 locations in 26 countries. Find RadioShack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Stern Pinball, Inc.

Stern Pinball, Inc., headquartered just outside Chicago, Illinois, is the oldest and largest producer of arcade-quality pinball games in the world. Stern's highly talented creative and technical teams design, engineer and manufacture a full line of popular pinball games. Recent Stern titles include Mustang, Star Trek, Metallica, Avengers, X-Men, AC/ DC, Tron, Transformers, Avatar, Iron Man, Batman, Spiderman and many more. All of Stern's pinball games are crafted by hand and assembled by Stern's expert team. Both pinball enthusiasts and casual players around the globe enjoy Stern's games. For more information, please visit www.sternpinball.com. 

For further information please contact:

RadioShack Media Relations
Phone: 817-415-3300
eMail: [email protected]

SOURCE RadioShack