George Spanos is a game technician living in Schaumburg, Illinois. He works freelance around the Chicago suburbs at arcades and warehouses fixing whatever machines and cabinets are sent his way. Spanos’s first memories of arcade machines are from playing Qbert at the age of four in his... Show moreGeorge Spanos is a game technician living in Schaumburg, Illinois. He works freelance around the Chicago suburbs at arcades and warehouses fixing whatever machines and cabinets are sent his way. Spanos’s first memories of arcade machines are from playing Qbert at the age of four in his grandparents’ grocery store. Years later, the entire grocery store was converted to a game room. It was during this time that George learned to repair the various games his grandparents had acquired. After going to college, he returned to help run the establishment, and eventually moved from an operator to the freelance work he does today. In this interview, Spanos speaks about his personal background, the specifics of his work, and his thoughts of the future of the coin op industry. The interview starts with him discussing his early childhood involvement with coin-op and how he was raised in this environment. This went onto his early adulthood working for his grandparents at their own game room and the eventual transition into freelance work. Spanos believes that a number of arcades are currently setting a positive trend for the industry to grow as a whole. Show less
