Pingames and Gambling
The Post-war Era
During World War II no new pingames ("payout", "free play", or "novelty") were manufactured, the plants being devoted to "war production". Some pre-war games were "converted" to "new" games using the old parts and cabinets. The only "payouts" converted during that time were some of the "one-ball horserace" type machines manufactured prior to the war.
Russ Jensen |
| Gottlieb Daily Races - 1947 |
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By the late Forties many jurisdictions had passed anti- gambling laws, many of which focused on pinball, especially the "one-ball" multiple coin machines. In fact, many of these laws specifically mentioned "one-ball machines" as one type which was outlawed. In an apparent effort to get around "the 'letter' of these laws", Bally (the producer of most of the post-war "one- balls") tried a gimmick which probably, I would think, met with only limited success.
They introduced an optional feature on their "one-balls" which they called the "skill lane". At the upper left hand area of the playfield (at the location where the rubber "rebound pad" was normally located) a trough was installed just long enough to hold four balls. On top of this area was a cover labeled "Skill Lane". Five balls were used in these machines, in place of the normal one, and the instruction cards were modified by adding a statement such as: "player must shoot the first four balls into the skill lane in order to qualify the fifth ball for scoring". An electrical contact located below the trough disabled the scoring mechanisms of the machine until the fourth ball landed in the "skill lane".
In case you haven't guessed already, the main idea of this was that a "one-ball game" (specifically outlawed in many areas) now became a "five ball game" which were not outlawed in most areas. The other part was that "skill" was now supposed to be involved. It turned out, however, that the only "skill" involved was being able to pull the plunger all the way back (or even close to that) because a moderate force applied to any ball would send it directly into the "skill lane"; but the card said "skill", didn't it? The card also said "5 balls 5 cents", so between these two maybe the "five ball one-balls" could be operated for awhile in a few areas where "one-balls" were outlawed, at least until the matter was taken to court. I really don't know how good this idea worked, but I doubt that it was very successful. But, it's a good piece of pinball history trivia anyway.
As I said, by the late Forties Bally was almost the only manufacturer of payout pinballs. These were all in the form of "one-ball horserace" machines, most of which were built in two models, one "coin payout" and the other "free play". These were often released in pairs with similar names, such a s JOCKEY CLUB and JOCKEY SPECIAL, with the term "special" in the name normally used to signify the "free play" version. Of course, even the "free play" versions were used mostly for gambling, with the location owner paying off for "free games" and using the "knock- off button" as described earlier. But, as we shall soon see, the day of the "one-ball" and of the "knock-off button" were soon to come to a close.
Russ Jensen |
| Keeney Big Parlay - 1947 |
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Before we end our discussion of the late Forties, another significant event in pinball history, having a lot to do with the legal hassles over pinballs and gambling, must be noted. This was the introduction of the "flipper" to pinball by D. Gottlieb and Company in December of 1947.
The prevalence of the "one-ball games" at that time, which as we said were used almost exclusively for gambling, led to increased pressure by anti-gambling forces against pinball games in general. The increase in the "skill factor" in pinball play resulting from the introduction of the flipper gave the pro- pinball forces a new "weapon" to use to defend "amusement pinball" in the courts. It could now be argued that "flipper pinball" was more of a game of "skill" than of "chance", an argument that was much more difficult to support before the flipper came along.
So by the end of the Forties we had the "one-balls" as the primary gambling pins on the one hand, and the new "amusement flipper games", with their increased "skill factor", on the other. Of course, the ever present "knock-off button" still remained on many flipper machines allowing them to also be used for gambling, if desired.
