Dartmouth Woman Becomes Face of Dave & Buster’s Human Crane Game

The SouthCoast has a surprising nationwide connection to the wildest arcade game yet.

When Dave & Buster’s rolled out its newest attraction, the Human Crane, it needed the perfect face to promote it. As it turns out, that face belongs to a Dartmouth native.

While chatting about my upcoming broadcast from Dave & Buster's in Providence on The MGM Show, I got a phone call from proud Dartmouth mom Wendy Weidenfeller, who connected the dots.

From Production Assistant to Poster Girl

Weidenfeller's daughter Haley Nisbet was working behind the scenes for Sunday Morning Studio, a creative woman-owned company run by her sister Taylor and her wife Ashley. The team was hired to produce a campaign for Dave & Buster’s, and Haley tagged along as a production assistant during the shoot in Dallas, Texas.

Initially, a child model was photographed for the Human Crane promotion, but when producers asked Haley to step in “just for fun,” her photos ended up stealing the spotlight. A few months later, Dave & Buster’s selected her image as the official promotional poster.

Today, Haley’s face can be spotted at Dave & Buster’s locations across the country, from wall posters to the official website.

Get our free mobile app

Dartmouth Roots, National Spotlight

Though Haley and Taylor now live in New York, their roots are here on the SouthCoast. Both grew up in Dartmouth, attended Dartmouth High School, and Taylor even interned at Fun 107 back in the day.

Weidenfeller laughed when recalling Haley’s knack for ending up in the spotlight, from being pulled onstage at Nickelodeon Studios years ago to now being the “poster child” for one of Dave & Buster’s most viral attractions.

“Gigi has Maybelline. Kendall Jenner has Pepsi," she joked. "And Haley has Dave & Buster’s.”

The Game Itself

So what’s all the hype about?

The Human Crane is exactly what it sounds like: instead of a claw grabbing stuffed animals, it’s a harnessed human being lowered into a pit of oversized prizes. Players strap in, get hoisted above the pit, and swing around to grab as much as they can.

READ MORE: The Parking Garage at Providence Place Mall Discriminates Against Larger Vehicles

It’s as much spectacle as it is game, and now it has a Dartmouth face behind it.

Come Experience It

If you want to see the Human Crane in action (and maybe spot Haley’s poster on the wall), stop by Dave & Buster’s in Providence. I’ll be there broadcasting live on Wednesday, September 10 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. playing games, talking prizes and giving this larger-than-life claw machine a try myself.