While doing a Google search I ran across this. It is kind of interesting.
https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2016/10/04/mob-mayor-pinball/chronicles/who-we-were/
" With Prohibition winding down, organized crime was eager to take on pinball as a more acceptable alternative to the highly illegal slot machines of the day. It was a cash business, and it was a good one. For almost 30 straight years, pinball made more money than the entire motion picture industry. "
Yeah....when I first told my Dad that I started collecting pinball machines
he asked if I was in the mob! He grew up in that period.
Quoted from zarco:Yeah....when I first told my Dad that I started collecting pinball machines
he asked if I was in the mob! He grew up in that period.
In my fathers arcade in the 1960's every once in awhile someone would come in letting us know that we were in the mob. We'd deny it. They'd usually keep it up. The we'd say okay you made us, beat it or we'll have your legs broken.
They'd usually set a land speed record getting out of there.
LTG : )
Quoted from freeplay3:Pinball machines were used for gambling for many years. Lots of states had banned them. That's why pricing cards say for amusement only.
A lot of pins had the non gambling stamp upper left corner of the playfield.
LTG : )
Were there ever any pinball games, bingo or otherwise, that actually spat out coins? I get the idea of trying to keep the gambling element hidden, but it's still kind of odd to think that there were machines commonly used for gambling that never physically "paid out". Even Pachinko and Pachislot fill up the bin with balls and medals, to then be redeemed elsewhere.
Of course, Safecracker doesn't count.
Quoted from VanishingVision:Were there ever any pinball games, bingo or otherwise, that actually spat out coins?
Yes. In Minnesota they paid out tokens. You bought them back for a nickel apiece if you knew the person. The same equipment in other states could spit out nickels.
LTG : )
My Rockola Big Bank Night, has a dial that increases in value, like a jackpot dial.
When I first received the game, there was paper detailing payouts to customers of funds.
The game came in a payout version, mine was "under the table"
From Dick Bueschels Book,
"Dick Bueschel writes that movie theaters, in order to increase attendance during the Great Depression, would give gifts to patrons or would draw for prizes using the numbers on the ticket stubs. In 1936, 'Bank Night' was started, which was a cash giveaway of five to twenty dollars to the lucky patron with the matching ticket stub numbers, but the winner had to be present to collect, otherwise the amount would increase for the next show.
This pinball machine carried the same theme, as shown on the backglass and the playfield holes. The Register holes represented buying the movie ticket, the Winning Number holes compared to matching the ticket stub, and scoring a Player Present hole was necessary to collect the prize. Lights on the backglass reflect when each of these three functions was achieved. Artwork in the lower playfield shows patrons up on stage in front of the spinning cage used to draw the winning tickets.
Winning $2.50 on a nickel was a big deal! As the bank rose, more people would play.
There are two ways to win:
1) Scoring 4 holes in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally in the upper playfield grid.
2) Scoring one of the two Register holes, both Winning Number holes, and either of the Player Present holes would award the player the value shown on the lower playfield Bank Dial. If no win, then the Bank Dial would increment as a carry-over feature to the next game until it was won. This dial also increased every time the Bank Increases hole was made.
This game is not equipped with a payout mechanism, but payouts would be made by the location if the backglass showed the Register, Winning Number, and Player Present components were achieved. The payout would range from 50 cents to $2.50.
Bueschel also writes that this game has slanted woodrails, not only for appearances' sake but to prevent the parking of cigarettes on it. He seems to suggest that either Rock-Ola was the first manufacturer to do this, or this was their first game to have this."
Quoted from VanishingVision:Were there ever any pinball games, bingo or otherwise, that actually spat out coins?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-that-payed-out-nickels
LTG : )
Quoted from OLDPINGUY:My Rockola Big Bank Night, has a dial that increases in value, like a jackpot dial.
When I first received the game, there was paper detailing payouts to customers of funds.
The game came in a payout version, mine was "under the table"
From Dick Bueschels Book,
"Dick Bueschel writes that movie theaters, in order to increase attendance during the Great Depression, would give gifts to patrons or would draw for prizes using the numbers on the ticket stubs. In 1936, 'Bank Night' was started, which was a cash giveaway of five to twenty dollars to the lucky patron with the matching ticket stub numbers, but the winner had to be present to collect, otherwise the amount would increase for the next show.
This pinball machine carried the same theme, as shown on the backglass and the playfield holes. The Register holes represented buying the movie ticket, the Winning Number holes compared to matching the ticket stub, and scoring a Player Present hole was necessary to collect the prize. Lights on the backglass reflect when each of these three functions was achieved. Artwork in the lower playfield shows patrons up on stage in front of the spinning cage used to draw the winning tickets.
Winning $2.50 on a nickel was a big deal! As the bank rose, more people would play.
There are two ways to win:
1) Scoring 4 holes in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally in the upper playfield grid.
2) Scoring one of the two Register holes, both Winning Number holes, and either of the Player Present holes would award the player the value shown on the lower playfield Bank Dial. If no win, then the Bank Dial would increment as a carry-over feature to the next game until it was won. This dial also increased every time the Bank Increases hole was made.
This game is not equipped with a payout mechanism, but payouts would be made by the location if the backglass showed the Register, Winning Number, and Player Present components were achieved. The payout would range from 50 cents to $2.50.
Bueschel also writes that this game has slanted woodrails, not only for appearances' sake but to prevent the parking of cigarettes on it. He seems to suggest that either Rock-Ola was the first manufacturer to do this, or this was their first game to have this."
[quoted image][quoted image]
That bank dial is so cool. Talk about old school attract mode. If that dial was up there, how could you not play and try to win?
Quoted from VanishingVision:Were there ever any pinball games, bingo or otherwise, that actually spat out coins? I get the idea of trying to keep the gambling element hidden, but it's still kind of odd to think that there were machines commonly used for gambling that never physically "paid out". Even Pachinko and Pachislot fill up the bin with balls and medals, to then be redeemed elsewhere.
Of course, Safecracker doesn't count.
Here you go. Scroll down to a list of 403 payout games. https://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?specialty=10&sortby=name&searchtype=advanced
Good read below about the pinball wars of Willamette county. (Portland Ore)
https://offbeatoregon.com/1307d-pinball-wars-elkins-vs-teamsters.html
Portland currently has the biggest concentration of location games in the world, so it makes sense that people went to war over pins there back in the day.
Quoted from LTG:Yes. In Minnesota they paid out tokens. You bought them back for a nickel apiece if you knew the person. The same equipment in other states could spit out nickels.
LTG : )
In Nebraska, where my dad's family lived, in the VFW night clubs only (gambling was not allowed in NE) there were these machines with ducks that flew across the play screen that paid out in tickets that the winner would cash in at the bar. When visiting family, I saw the local mechanic drop in some money, win $17.00 worth of tickets, cash in, and go back to his table and finish his beer.
Bally made quite a few payout pinballs in the mid-1930s. My Roundup from 1936 has two (!) seperate payout systems. One for 'regular' payouts and one for a 'Gold Award'.
In regular play, the player only has the chance for a payout from the regular payout system (the same as Bally's 1935 Jumbo, a very popular game back then).
However, when one of the two lights on of the playfield stays on after putting in a coin, the possibility of a Gold Award kicks in. Now, if the ball falls into the hole called 'Mystery Cinch' on the playfield, the player wins this Jackpot. This is is paid out by the second payout system.
This is all from what I've read. I have just picked up the game and haven't got it working yet. If I do get it working, I will definitely make a video of the game and how it works. I'm afraid this is the type of machine that gave pinball a bad rep for decades. Still, a very interesting chunk of pinball history.
Here's some pictures: a Billboard ad, the playfield, the Gold Award payout system and a token that I found jammed in the coin entrance.
754687a4720a8eaeac5e5fb404c48a8dc7f30df1 (resized).jpg
f87c5c9588c9826a49f5218e46b1a3cb2e7629ec (resized).jpg
e35014b577ef45cc6c5863fce748e0c87b655083 (resized).jpg
IMG-20210514-WA0046 (resized).jpeg
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