A PREMIERGAMING PARTNER

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ABout Us

In 1958, Bill Pappas, Fair Share Amusement Company’s (FSAC) founder, started on Chicago’s south side with only a handful of locations and believed in one principle: Provide the best equipment and back it up with the best service in the business. Bill resisted growing too large. He carefully integrated new locations into his route so that he could maintain his high level of service. He and his location partners became family. It wasn’t unusual to see Bill’s young son, Mike, join his dad on the route in the summer. He would carry a bottle of Windex and some towels and clean machines while Bill did his collections. As Mike grew up, he learned how to do repairs, move equipment, and eventually worked his way through college as a route collector.

Mike graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), became a Certified Public Accountant, and went to work for Price Waterhouse. In 1984, Mike left Price Waterhouse, got married to his beautiful wife Bernadette, and took over FSAC from his father. Mike has continued to run the company with the same service-based principles as his father.

Over the years, FSAC continued to grow, but with the same carefully integrated method that Bill employed. As technology changed, FSAC became a leader in the conversion from 45’s to compact discs, and from compact discs to the current digital downloading music that jukeboxes utilize today. Mike became very involved with running dart leagues and, to this day, his dart machines earn more thanks to his expertise. He also started Fair Share ATM services, which has grown into another great revenue source for FSAC and Fair Share Gaming (FSG) customers.

Mike became very involved in the Illinois Coin Machine Operator Association (now the Illinois Gaming Machine Operator’s Association) and sat on the board of directors in 2009 when the Illinois legislature passed the Video Gaming Act. While others in the amusement industry looked to sell their routes, Mike laid out a game plan to build a small to medium sized video gaming business. He proceeded to identify and hire some key people that
he would need to run the best operation in the industry. Mike didn’t wait until the Illinois Gaming Board went live with machines in 2012 to hire staff. Rather, he put together the best compliance and service departments in the state over a year beforehand. The game plan worked out for FSG and their customers. Mike and FSG compliance director John Jesernik were relentless in insisting that FSG’s customers get their applications completed and in the system ahead of other establishment owners. The strategy paid off and, within months, FSG had many locations live and earning more money than they had imagined.
WHY FAIR SHARE GAMING?

We appreciate you taking the time to consider having Fair Share Gaming as your terminal operator and business partner.  With over 55 years of experience in route management in the coin-operated industry, Fair Share Gaming has the experience and knowledge to make your transition into video gaming a successful venture.  We are looking forward to showing you how our experience and knowledge have resulted into proven and documented high return results.

With a long history of established relationships in the Chicagoland area, we continue to operate under the same principles that have made us successful over the years.  Our approach is different from other companies in the industry. We tailor a specific plan for each location including marketing and layout.  The personalization you will receive is unmatched in the business. This will result in prompt application filing and a quicker “go live” when you become licensed.  We are not concerned with being the largest company in the business, but rather a company that focuses on your establishment’s specific interests and needs to make your establishment as successful as possible. 

Currently, FSG has grown to stretch throughout the Northern Illinois area. Despite the growth, no location is more than a 20 minute drive from one of FSG’s service technicians. Mike is on the executive board of the IGMOA. He still owns 100% of FSG. The two companies now have 30 employees to serve their customers’ needs. His sons are now the third generation of this truly family-owned business.

It’s easy to say that that our proven results speak for themselves.  However, we feel there is no better way than for you to speak with some of our customers.  We can provide you with a list of locations and references that support all our claims.  Again, thank you for taking the time to consider Fair Share Gaming and we look forward to working with you in the near future and in the many years to come.