Greenspan took over the business in the 1990s and now runs two arcades, Fun City and Sportland. With the start of the summer just weeks away, Greenspan said, his father’s business partner suggested they fill the empty storefronts with arcade games.
His arcade got its start in the 1970s when his father, a developer, found himself without tenants for a commercial building he had just finished along the boardwalk.
Having weathered the arrival of the PlayStation and Xbox and the fallout from the Great Recession, Greenspan said he plans to fight the new rules as long as possible to protect his family’s business. “They contribute to the family-friendly atmosphere that makes Ocean City a premier tourist destination.” “These businesses are the heart of Ocean City, especially our boardwalk,” said Melanie Pursel, executive director of the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, which has criticized the proposed rules. But the loudest outcry against them has come from Ocean City, where arcades are as much a part of boardwalk memories as Thrasher’s french fries and Fisher’s popcorn.Īrcade owners such as Jerry Greenspan are fighting an attempt by state officials to regulate part of their business like casinos. The regulations proposed by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission would apply to games everywhere, including at restaurants, roller rinks and bars. “I am not going to be regulated out of business,” said Jerry Greenspan, the second-generation owner of Sportland and Fun City, two of the Ocean City boardwalk’s biggest arcades. For the first time, amusement-game operators are facing some of the same requirements as the state’s casinos, and they fear additional fees and paperwork will make it impossible to make a profit on Skee-Ball, crane games and other classic summertime pursuits. Yes, beachgoers, a staple of summer could be at risk - at least that’s what arcade owners are warning. If ever there seemed a place immune to bureaucratic meddling, it would be inside “the claw,” a glass box piled high with plush “Despicable Me” dolls, waiting to be plucked by a claw crane.Īnd yet, state lawmakers have managed to wriggle inside, not to play but to regulate.
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