01/07/2026
Our NJAA Family with continue onto 2026 with a HEAVY HEART but fond memories of a truly loved & great man. Rest well dear friend 🥺 you will be missed.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Martin Shapiro. Marty passed away peacefully on January 4th, 2026. Marty has touched the lives of thousands of people during his years in the amusement business. Dr. Martin Shapiro was a chiropractor who, when he graduated, was voted most likely to succeed. However, he practiced very little due to his tremendous passion for the amusement industry.
In 1952, at the age of 16, Marty got his start in the amusement business as an attendant at a Skeeball parlor in Olympic Park located in Irvington, NJ. By the age of 17 he was managing the location. Just after he turned 21, he became an owner of a Fascination parlor which marked the beginning of a lifelong passion that he had with the Fascination game. After Olympic Park closed he arrived in Wildwood in 1968 and opened a Fascination location with Walter and Cindy Florimont. He was such a successful operator that within 3 years his 5 competitors closed their operations. In 1979 he opened Gateway 26 with the Weiner family as partners. He had 32 separate operations in Wildwood during the 80’s. Marty sold all of his operations except Gateway 26 by 1991 and the combination of Marty, the Weiner family, and Brian Sharpe grew Gateway 26 into one of the most successful arcades in the entire country. Marty sold his share of Gateway 26 to Brian Sharpe in 2007 but continued to run the Microphone and greet the customers through 2025.
Martin was active with the Jewish community and the Synagogue in Wildwood. He was a 3 time president of the New Jersey Amusement Association. He was president of several condo and timeshare boards as late as 2025. Over the years hundreds of employees, now grown, have visited Marty at Gateway to thank him for the impact that he made in their lives. Dozens of very successful former employees credited Marty with mentoring them and gave him credit for their achievements.
He had a passion for his customers. Many thousands of customers could not wait to run and see Marty during their Wildwood vacations. He will be greatly missed by his current and former employees, his colleagues in the amusement industry, and by the thousands of customers who enjoyed their vacations with him over his 73 years in the amusement industry.
Marty had a very loving relationship with his mother and father and cared for them in their later years. Marty is survived by his sister Susan Ellison who lives in Florida. Marty was incredibly close with his sister and she will miss him greatly. Susan has said that she does not know what she would have done without him in her life. Marty was fond of Susan’s daughter Randi who will miss her uncle Marty terribly. Marty treated Brian Sharpe like a son and called Brian’s four children Morgan, Alexander, Sophia, and Gabriella his grandkids.
Marty very quietly gave generously to dozens of charities of which St. Jude was his favorite.
On June 25th 2026, which would have been Marty’s 90th birthday, there will be a celebration of life at Gateway 26. We will share details as we get closer to June.
