This is the thread to detail the bingo row at York 2015. This was a once-in-a-lifetime event that took months of planning.

Collectors and enthusiasts from all over the Eastern United States got together and brought the machines.

For me, it all started on Wednesday. I and a couple friends loaded my five machines in the Penske truck.

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Bounty, Night Club, Gay Time, Ticker Tape and Double-Up.

I got my start Thursday at 5AM. I offered to go to a local collector's home and fix as many games as possible to bring to the show.

I fixed a few games, and we ended up loading three additional games: Nashville, Miss Universe, and the crown jewel of this collection - an extremely low play Silver Sails.

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Then, it was time to move the games to the York fairgrounds and unload the bingos! Jeffrey Lawton was on hand with his excellent bingo cart, thankfully.

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A listener to the For Amusement Only Podcast's friend ended up bringing a Big Time! Which was awesome and unexpected!
A Bikini and A Circus Queen also appeared that had been discussed as coming. My friend Steve Smith brought his beautifully restored Golden Gate, which was placed directly beside the Silver Sails.

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Thursday ended with a fun note in the hotel room:

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Day 2: Friday

I woke up, went to Rutter's with Steve Smith and got a sandwich for breakfast + one for lunch. We went to the fairgrounds, and I began working on the machines and fixing minor issues.

Hugh Kown had arrived the evening before. It was excellent to meet Hugh and shake his hand.

I had an EM for sale as well, which decided to break a connection to the 25V line off the transformer. With the help of a listener, I found and fixed that, then started working as one of several bingo ambassadors. Here's the local collector Jim with Jeffrey Lawton.

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As part of my podcast, I was running a little contest - anyone that could make a four in a row on any of the machines would win one of the bingo pinball books, autographed by Jeffrey Lawton!

We had 11 total winners on day 1!

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The Nashville ended up breaking down - it needed a full shop job and I just fixed some hacks (some relays were cut, etc) and got it playable. We were down to 11! The Big Time left with the owner at the end of the day as well, so we were down to 10!

The good news is that I was able to do a quick and dirty set of fixes to the Bikini and get it playable (fixing coin switch wiring, a timer issue, a scoring issue and an odds issue). I refined this on Saturday and made it play a bit better, but it also needed a full shop job. Friday ended with fewer games, but with great progress to imparting the fun and skill involved in the bingos to a whole new set of people.

Day 3:

The day started off with a bang - remember, we were down two machines! Folks continued to pour in to play the bingos, and Vic Camp arrived, bringing his Coney Island!

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(Pictured here with the final contest winner while wearing a great shirt ).

Vic's Coney Island was a great addition, and brought our numbers back up to 11.

Partway through the day, another bingo arrived! A United Caravan that I made a deal on while preparing for the show.

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Here's Hugh, Steve and Jeffrey checking out the new game. Just like every other pinhead, bingo guys like to see a new game, too!

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Jeffrey also got a photo with the last winner.

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Steve in front of his game (also wearing a great shirt) - I cheated a little, this one is from Day 2.

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Me in front of part of the bingo row. Believe it or not, it was hard to get a photo due to the frequency of people playing. This was also Day 2.

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A new bingo player gets into the swing of things.

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Looking down Bingo Row.

At this point, the show started to slow (which is how I was able to take the above photo).

But not before I had a friend take my favorite photo of the entire show:

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Left-Right: Jeffrey Lawton (Bingo book author and master technician), Jon Robinette (bingo collector), Hugh Kown (the Old Binger and master restoration and technical expert), Vic Camp (bingo player and collector), Steve Smith (bingo player and restorer), and myself (bingo neophyte).

When the show closed, we formed a bingo pit crew (as Vic said) to load up the games - this was an overwhelming, awesome thing - all the folks pictured above, plus some of my buddies from around VA were on hand to help with the task of disassembly and loading the games.

Jeffrey's son was a huge help on day 1 - we absolutely could not have unloaded the games without his help.

A BIG thank you go out to all the collectors that made this first ever bingo row possible, as well as the folks that run the York show for allotting the space for these games. Thank you as well to the folks that were willing to give these games a shot and learn about the unique features and gameplay of these complex, amazing games.

I think it was a smashing success, and was happy to be a part of it!

If you came through and played, let me know! I was excited to meet so many folks there. A special thanks go out to all the listeners that came up and introduced themselves to me. It's always gratifying to know that people cared enough to listen and wanted to see these games for themselves. We had some beautiful games there this year - I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.

ChrisHibler - I love the bingos, obviously, and I love to work on them. They are fairly straightforward once you've worked on a dozen or two . In fact, having seen pictures of the inside of a United game previously, I was excited to pick up the Caravan, thinking that it would have a different circuit design (similar to the ball bowlers) than the Bally games I was used to, but was disappointed to see the standard Bally circuits and playfield design replaced the unique United style used in previous games. I like a challenge. Oh, well. I had diagnosed all of the problems on that collectors' bingos remotely a month or two in advance of the show, and re-confirmed at the house. I retimed a magic screen unit while I was there, but the game had a burned screen lock coil, so didn't make it, unfortunately.

That collector, Jim, also had a couple of Keeney 6 cards, which would have been cool to get to the show, but one had been on fire, and the other had been converted to Single Coin so that you could not win more than a single replay. Those games did not have lockbars, and the Keeney games had three buttons to control search and payout. Really cool cabinets (of course I didn't take a photo like a dummy), and very unique!

Here's a photo of Pete and his son, who brought the Circus Queen after we loaded the game:

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Pete was a huge help with getting the United into the show, along with the seller.

He always brings a nice selection of games to York, and very glad he brought a bingo this year.

Thanks Agent57! It was great to be able to share these unique games with the community. Jeffrey normally brings two to three games every year. We are already talking about next year...

Thanks Otaku, come see me next year and I'll show you how to play. These games are my favorite for a reason (they are really fun and challenging)!

Ryan, ya better be there next year.

Bert - the games are lots of fun to work on - some circuits require figuring out both what the circuit designer intended and what the technician who modified it intended, then going from there.

The Bally manuals and schematics are incredibly good (for the most part), so I find them wonderful to work on.

The trick to moving a bingo is to lift as little as possible... that said, I'd take some Aleve. We used a combination of two hydraulic lift carts to move the heads onto the cabinets with legs on. You can also do it with one, but it is a little more difficult.

The cart used for the magic screens and mystic lines should be the heavier duty Harbor Freight cart - it comes up to the edge of a Penske truck. At home I have the wimpier cart which allows me to get in between the front legs of a woodrail bingo. This way you basically just have to shuffle the head back and forth to get it onto / off of the cab/cart.

I've been deeply involved with smaller office moves and that were hard enough at 1/5 of the people, so I feel for you.

When you get a bingo, let me know! I'm pretty active here and in the bingo community and am happy to help any time! I love seeing people get a bingo.

If you haven't yet, check out my show at http://foramusementonly.libsyn.com - I interview bingo and EM folks and discuss various methods of cleaning and repairing or restoring your machines.

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This young man went down the row and played each game. There were several children that played the games with their parents looking on, which was cool to see.

My own children really like the bingos, and their friends also enjoy them, so it is neat to see other kids enjoying them, too!

A bingo is easier than a horse race game - my daughters both manage to nudge a bingo pretty well (5 and 8).

The ones with the hoppers installed aftermarket... not so much.

I guess the key word is 'really', haha!

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This Night Club is one of my favorite games. I spent about a month getting it to live. Did a playfield swap, found a new glass, new side rails, etc. Winning on a line with quadruple odds feels good, especially with the faster control unit motor for speedy payoff.

Last night I was feeling up to fixing any issues that arose from moving the machines, and to begin on my tear-down of the Caravan.

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The shutter motor is arranged like a Gottlieb score motor - however, all the backbox components very closely resemble their Bally counterparts. I've got a couple of gummy motors to clean and a lamp issue on the third row of holes, then this one will be playing very well indeed.

Thanks orangestorm87 - I hope you do. Let me know if you see any! I love all pinball, but there is absolutely nothing like the thrill of sinking that last ball you need to get a 5 in a row and hearing the sweet music of the replays racking up.

Be sure to read the backglass and instruction card if you do see one at Expo. Red button starts all Bally/United bingos.

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Circus Queen: this game has one of my favorite art packages on any game. County Fair is the only Bally Bingo that comes to mind that has better art. Great magic screen gameplay with three in orange scores as green.

This particular machine had black lacquer on the wood trim.

Jim told me that once he got it back home he's been playing it quite a bit - hit it big a few times in a row - 899 credits!

Eric, absolutely! I hope you had fun.

Rob, I'd love to organize a bingo row at every show! Logistically, though, I don't normally go to Allentown. I would definitely want to be there with games before asking someone else to bring them. I know York is crazy far away for some folks, and I am sorry for that.

I've had an inside report that there are no bingos at Expo this year...

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As the second bingo that Bally produced, Vic's Coney Island was a rare treat. The fantastic water/theme park artwork and fast-paced three card gameplay are really great when coupled with the extra ball feature. I've done an episode about this machine discussing the difference in the internal components as compared to later models.

As with most of the bingos, this game was played nonstop!

Thank you Vic for coming out and sharing your passion and your game.

It was so great to see you in person again. I highly admire your skill as a player and your enthusiasm as a bingo ambassador. I get the feeling that we'd be having lots of bingo nights if I lived closer!

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Steve Smith's fantastic restoration work on a Golden Gate. Steve is a woodworker and did a ton of work on this game.

If you've listened to the podcast, before restoration, this was the game I burned the search index coil in right before my first trip to York...

Seeing this beautiful game right next to the incredibly low-play Silver Sails was incredible! Both played and looked spectacular.

If you notice on the magic screen area, Steve has added extra lamps to brighten up the bingo card. He has also added another lamp to the replay register.

I want to thank Steve for getting me into bingo pinball, and for hauling his game at my insistence. At least I helped him load it! And I didn't burn his coil this time!

Steve, thank you! It was truly a special event.

Vic I'm glad you got some photos of the Bikini - I think I only had the one from setup.

The Bikini as you can see, was in rough, but restorable condition. I was able to get it fully working and on free play during Friday. I don't think anyone brought this one home, though the current owner wanted it sold.

Oddly enough, I'm working for a Bikini for a customer now...

It is a very fun game and the futurity feature allows for much longer play sessions than most other screen games.

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The Bounty... One of the kings of the magic screen games. This game is from my collection, and performed well. It is the only game with the skill shot feature that allows for a win on your first shot via white button coin up.

Very fun magic screen gameplay with improved replay circuit. I was initially not going to bring this game, but plans changed at the last minute. We had a very strong magic screen showing, which was excellent. Bounty was played a lot, but most magic screen players gravitated to the very beautiful golden gate and silver sails.

An issue with the red letter award cropped up during the weekend which I have not yet addressed (high on my list).

As with all the games in my collection, one of my very favorite games.

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Miss Universe - an interesting game.

I don't think I played enough to get my feet under me. The game will spot up to four numbers, and has a moving lines feature to allow you to score in your highest odds value.

Even with all that help, the game only has three balls - and the playfield only has 18 holes (the only with this layout), making it very difficult to put a winner together. I did manage to get a three in a row winner on the few games I played. The motor used is a high RPM, and the replays stack on very quickly.

This particular model had multiple warnings that it was a three ball game, which I found amusing - it must have been a pretty confusing game for seasoned bingo players.

I think it was an interesting experiment, certainly!

Thanks Vic! I was hoping you'd chime in on Miss U. It looks like you could make some serious replays. The select a spot feature is pretty unique in the implementation, but it has to be to support the 3 ball play. If it comes again next year, I hope to put a few more games on it. I'd love to hit it for the 5-in-a-line odds, but I think it would be easiest to hit corners on this one.

You have to be in absolutely top form to put together a good hit, though! A single ball in a hole you don't want and you basically lose your bet.

I will say that I did find the playfield layout easier to nudge the ball to the ball return on Miss Universe than on normal 25 or even 20 hole bingos.

Go for it, dasvis! The games are super fun.

Joey, Carnival Queen is a fun game (much better with a backglass). I'm happy to help if you'd like some advice, just PM me with your game's symptoms.

"Inside your bingo" is a fantastic resource as it tells you expected behavior.

I would also recommend the schematics and manuals at bingo.cdyn.com - I started there, and would study circuits on the schematics until I understood their purpose (there's always plenty more to learn, though!). The fantastic manuals that came with the machines (also on bingo.cdyn.com, Phil Hooper's site), are incredible resources. They diagram each unit, and provide schematic locations for each switch, along with what the switches do when actuated.

And really, feel free to ask questions. I love to talk about bingos, and love to talk about tech.

I take each stepper apart, clean, lubricate, then reassemble. Each stepper, done properly and tested (step up/reset or step down from each position), takes about 15 - 30 minutes, depending on the issues.

Depending on the game, if there is triple deck scoring (separate red, green, and yellow odds), and if there are multiple cards with their own replay counters, this can take upwards of 5 hours. Not too bad, considering that the majority of problems are with funky steppers in a typical bingo.

Vic, actually I've done one way back at episode 25. I've seen photos and talked to Vic about those games he's selling - they are really good deals for someone looking to get started. The fact that they are working as well? Takes the cake.

Dasvis, yes, they can seem daunting at first glance. But looking closer, you'll notice that many of the units have multiple twin units close by. This is very handy to note when doing your first tear down.

The control unit and mixer units are very foreign looking to a seasoned EM repair person, but really they function like score motors, and are very similar to Bally EM score motors. In fact, it is really not that large of a leap if you've worked on a Bally EM flipper game to move to a bingo (at least in my opinion).

If you have repaired or restored an EM, you can certainly tackle a bingo. Patience and perseverance!

Wow - Beach Time, Hi-Fi, Variety, Show Time, Beach Beauty, Key West, Gay Time and one other I cannot identify... very cool!

Edit: Found another pic that showed it - the first Miss America!

Craig, no, there were plenty of 'A' titles from all eras at York (including 'A' bingos).

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I stole Vic's pic of Double-Up (thanks Vic!), as I didn't have a better one at the show.

Double-Up was my first bingo. It's a 20 hole playfield, so a different form of gameplay from the typical 25 hole bingos. I love when the Double lights in one of the color sections, then I earn the player-controlled doubling feature... This allow me to earn quadruple the replays in that color (a max of 2400 from one game). I enjoy the player-controlled moving numbers feature (Mystic Lines), but the playfield layout makes it very challenging!

Double-Up by itself had over 1000 plays on it over the weekend! I only took photos of the meters on Ticker Tape and Double-Up, unfortunately.

Absolutely! I was very happy to see you play the game. I agree about nudging the 20 hole playfield. I find that hole #20 is very easy to consistently hit. 20 is in the yellow section, so I try to build up my yellow odds, and get the score selector feature. Earning double odds is satisfying! Much more so if you get the random award. Here's a shot of a recent 4 in yellow. I had the mystic lines lit so was able to move #20 up (didn't get it on this one, after all that build up!)

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462871.jpg (This was the best pic that I had of Ticker Tape at York!)

Ticker Tape is a 1970's 6 card bingo with "Double or Nothing", corners scoring, and super lines.

Very fast 5 ball game, with corners and super lines awarded at random as you coin up.

When you have a 3, 4 or 5 in a line hit on any card, pressing 'C' to collect will search all the possible winning combinations on each card. When it finds a winning combination, the machine will click to a halt, and flash 'Double or Nothing' on the backglass. Pressing the D button gives you a chance for double the normal amount of replays based on your hit, and pressing R collects the normal amount.

My daughter's favorite game.

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(Vic, cribbed your pic again)

Gay Time - I purchased a few months ago from Vic himself! This game got a tremendous amount of play while at the show, and for a couple of great reasons:

The artwork is gorgeous - cabinet, backglass and playfield are all exceptional.

The gameplay is phenomenal - 4 columns of magic lines which allow you to reposition each column up or down one number independently. Aside from this, this game is one of only two that Bally produced with the Magic Pockets feature. This allows you to physically reposition the top row of balls (1-7). The game will actually kick the ball left and right and allows for some really interesting gameplay strategies! It can also spot the numbers 10 or 25 - 25 is a huge help as it is in the one column that the Magic Lines cannot move. Note that each of these features is earned independently! You may very well have a game with Magic Pockets lit, but are only able to reposition the first two columns of numbers via Magic Lines. Topping all this off is the ability to land 3 in a row in yellow or red and earn 4 in a row!

This game pulls in more new bingo players than any other in my collection at home, so I was not surprised that folks gravitated to it. This was the machine where I did most of my bingo tutorials, as I like to start beginners off with a less complex game than a Magic Screen. People would try for a four in a line for a while, leave, and come back over and over to this machine.

It was a great addition to the Bingo Row, and is a great addition to my collection. Thanks again, Vic!

Hey NoQuarters, I am really excited to hear of your interest in owning one of these great machines. Each machine is appealing for a wide variety of reasons.

We (Vic, Jim, myself, Steve, Pete, and several others) really tried our hardest to put together a fantastic row of bingos with a huge variety of features and play mechanics this last year. This coming year, I'd like to keep it rolling, however, I am likely not going to bring six! I am hoping to recruit some more folks that wish to bring bingos for 2016's bingo row. Thus far, we have a couple of commitments, and a couple of 'maybes', but it's looking like we will have about six or so per day.

Keep in mind that, traditionally, at York you are most likely to find a nice variety of bingos to play - Jeffrey Lawton, the man who wrote the book you purchased (good job!) normally brings two-three.

I am so thankful for all the folks who participated in bringing their games, helping set up, tear down, and load, getting the word out, and playing. I think 2015 was a great success overall, and hope to see some of those new bingo players back in 2016 to get acquainted with new machines.

I really could not have done my part without any of the other folks. It was a huge team effort, and it really paid off. Still puts a smile on my face to think about it!

Not to self-promote too much, but if you haven't given me a listen at http://foramusementonly.libsyn.com - I talk quite a bit about bingos! I had a much more varied show when the podcast began, but over time I've really drifted into giving overviews on each of the bingos in chronological order. I think this is a neat way to listen to the evolution of these games, as Bally (and United) really innovated to draw in players and keep them excited. If you'd like to hear Vic talk about these games with me, he and I have had several shows together. I also did a small series on the bingo row. (Ad over)

Shooting the ball, pushing the machine, getting just the right number lined up for a 5-in-a-row (without tilting)! It's an excellent feeling, and requires quite a bit of skill.

I am always happy to answer questions, so if you have any thoughts on a game you'd like and if you'd like to know anything in particular, feel free to ask me.

dasvis: The best sites are as these -

http://danny.cdyn.com - Danny shares a TON of stories and history of machines in all parts of the world and has a true passion for bingos. Solid state, EM, outlawing of the games, articles about Bally trying to keep up with a changing legal landscape - it's all there. He also has player histories and essays about various game strategies. Vic has contributed quite a bit to Danny's essay section (Vic is the best player I know).

http://bingo.cdyn.com - This is the best_ technical reference I've ever used. I reference this site all the time when helping myself or folks with problems. Phil Hooper runs this site and has included technical drawings of undocumented units, manuals and schematics for almost all known machines - including mid-run production changes. He also has very detailed information about how to troubleshoot or disassemble most of the units in the game, their functions within, common problems, etc. Invaluable. Phil also has a great sense of humor.

http://www.ballybingo.co.uk/ - Chris Dade's site. Chris has scanned and touched up most of the backglass and many playfields for use as replacement translites. He also runs the Bally Bingos in Britain forums, which you reference above. This is a very useful resource - lots of knowledgeable folks across the pond. Some history and excellent pics on Chris' site.

http://www.coos.net/bingo_e/index.html - Coos' bingo site - he is a restoration expert from the Netherlands. He has figured out a way to screen new backglasses using mirrored inks, and produces beautiful new translites. Check out some of his restoration work.

http://www.oldbinger.com/gallery.htm - The premier American restoration expert, Hugh Kown. The man is an amazing technician, and does fantastic work.

http://www.bingo.joopriem.nl/ - Bally bingo computer simulations. Joop is a very nice guy and has lovingly produced several machines - Bounty, Magic Ring, Showtime and more! He's adding more on a regular schedule, too! These are not the same as a real machine, but the next best thing.

http://s841.photobucket.com/user/Cabinut/slideshow/Bikini%20Bingo%20Pinball%20Restoration/?albumview=slideshow - This is my friend Steve Smith's slideshow about restoring his Bikini (he brought the beautiful Golden Gate to the bingo row). He also does amazing work.

http://foramusementonly.libsyn.com - my show! I can't ever stop talking about these games.

I think that's all at the moment.

-Nick