The Pinball, Antique Slot Machine and Console Page
UPDATES:
10/25/04 - Examples of Bally and IGT PAR Sheets placed in Download Area.
02/29/04 - Added scans of Bally Deluxe Draw Bell Score and Instruction Cards to the Download Area.
02/21/04 - Evans Pacers added to the
Evans Resources page.
01/30/04 - Added two early 1900 Mills catalogs to the information and Download Area.
12/16/03 - H C Evans 1909-1910 Catalog added to information and Download Area.
12/01/03 - Added hi-res scans of H C Evans Shooting Gallery catalog pages to Evans Resources page.
08/24/03 - Added two Keeney manuals for Super Bell and Bonus Super Bell in the information and Download Area
05/15/03 - Added Evans Standard Casino Gaming Table to H C Evans Resources.
05/15/03 - Added Evans Zephyr or Thunderbolt Racer to H C Evans Resources.
04/11/03 - Added Evans Candy Race Track to H C Evans Resources.
04/06/03 - Added scans of H C Evans Coin Machines from 1940 catalog.
01/30/03 - Cleaned up scans in Mike Munves Catalog and set in PDF format.
01/29/03 - Instructions and Parts List for Evans Consoles added to Information and Download Area This includes information for Galloping Dominos, Pacer, Bang Tails and Lucky Star.
01/29/03 - Bally Slot Manual for Series 6000 electro-mechanical machines added to information and Download Area
01/17/03 - Added Real Player file to Grandstand showing game cycle.
01/15/03 - National Slug Rejector and Coinco Coin Acceptor service manuals added to Information and Download Area
01/13/03 - Mills Novelty Co. story and catalog, an issue of Spinning Reels, added to Information and Download Area
01/02/03 - Added Bally Slot Consoles parts list and description to Information and Download Area
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AMUSEMENT PINBALL FLYER SCANS Scans of hundreds of pinball machine flyers may now be purchased on CD or DVD disks from this site. The scans are hi-res at 300dpi which show good detail on monitors, and they are suitable for printing. Proceeds benefit the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. Please visit the site to examine the content, then conveniently place your order on-line. |
Partial listing of slot machine introduction dates: Bally, Caille, Jennings, Mills, Pace, Watling
Selected ads from the March 28, 1931 issue of THE BILLBOARD.
Amusement pinball machines were not prevalent in Galveston through my younger years. The City was "wide open" so the gambling machines prevailed because of their higher earning capability. Pool tables and amusement machines in clubs and taverns were unknown until crackdown on the gambling machines began in the 50's and 60's. Some ancillary shuffle-type games were popular such as bowlers. The largest aggregate of amusement machines that I can remember was the penny arcade at Houston's Playland Park on South Main (before the time of theme parks). My first visits to the park were during and at the end of WWII. I can remember the Evans Machine Guns so popular at the time. A enemy plane would fly across the backglass somewhat randomly and players attempted to score maximum hits. With successful hits the screen would flash red. This was typical of many war games featuring submarines, dive bombers, bombardiers, etc. See the Mike Munves Catalog on the Downloads Page for illustrations of other machines of this era.
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Another favorite of mine was a baseball game by Amusematic. It was like a pinball in appearance, but the playfield glass was painted with illumination from below. The pitcher would wind up, throw, and if my timing was right I hit a home run. Or out. Or bases. I would like to see one of those old machines again -- if anyone has a flyer, please send me a scan of it.
I have collected some machines representative of the machines I played. Being from Galveston, I am primarily interested in gambling pinball machines, antique slot machines and consoles, how they work, pay out percentages, repairing and restoring them. I prefer electromechanical consoles and pinball machines.
Gary Cartwright's book Galveston A History Of The Island provides a more historical account of the city, and he includes several chapters on the Maceo era. He also describes the hurricane of 1900 which devastated the Island killing 6,000 people.
Cartwright's book is available from Amazon and other booksellers.
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The structure over the Gulf as depicted on the book cover above was known as Murdoch's Bath House. The photos were made about 1929. The picture of the viaduct was made from a vantage point on Murdoch's. The viaduct connected to an amusement center called The Crystal Palace which featured, among many concessions, a salt-water swimming pool. Rental swim suits, lockers and showers were available for the many tourists visiting the Island. Six railroads operated passenger service to Galveston and there were many excursion trains. Additionally, there was the Interurban, an electric rail operation from Houston that could run the 50 miles between the cities in 50 minutes. It ran every hour on the hour.
In the '40s and '50s Murdoch's had a bingo parlor, restaurant, curio shops and souvenir stores and the "Bird Cage" which was a circular room filled with slot machines. Accross the Boulevard from Murdoch's were two Play Land arcades, each filled with slots. Two other bingo parlors operated, one on and the other just off the beachfront.
The Beach Amusement Park was also in this area with thrill rides, Ferris Wheel, etc. The arcade within the park was essentially slot machines, but they also used Diggers as slots by filling them with watches, silver dollars, halves, quarters, and of course lots of dimes and nickles.
Among the concessions were a Sit-down Grab ,Wire Joint, Dark Walk, Salt=water Taffy, Penny Pitch, Over-Under Seven, Bix Six wheel, Cat Rack or Punk Rack, Spill the Milk, Shooting Gallery, two Set Spindles and two Razzle joints, one on each side of the midway. Many vacations were lost right there. What is a Razzle? It is a flat joint carnival game sometimes called a count store. It could break the Chase-Manhattan bank in less than an hour. See the Evans catalogs in the Download Area for a description of games and shooting galleries. The H C Evans Resoures page discusses some specific Evans games.
The Hub News Stand--a brief description of a small gambling operation.
BINGO MACHINE PRICES to the operators back in the '50s. These are Bally price lists. Included are other machines such as bowlers, kiddie rides and amusement devices.
What is that machine worth today? A record of eBay Auctions, while not complete, gives an indication of current selling prices.
BINGO MACHINES This is a link to the definitive web site. The site is mature containing comprehensive information on bingo pinballs including maintenance and repair. For example, there is a illustrated tutorial on the disassembly of the mixer and spotting unit common to all machines. There are useful recommendations for tools, tips for repair procedures and diagnostic aids.
There is a database of Machines including photographs and/or scanned images of flyers. There are also scans of award cards and instructions which may be downloaded and printed. The database was expanded to include all known manufacturers.
PHOTO ALBUM of antique machines, punchboards with some United bingo machines.
DOWNLOAD AREA for useful troubleshooting files.
LINKS to related sites.
For information about a CD-Rom filled with antique machine images and AVI files of many in operation, visit Vintage Slots of Colorado. You will also find sound advice on buying an antique machine and what to avoid in today's remanufactured machines that will not appreciate in value as the originals have. You will also find a Classified Ad section and links to other sites. This is an excellent site for persons entering this fascinating field of collecting.
Are you interested in a Bally In-Line (Bingo) game? Contact Alan Marriage whose prices are very competitive and whose support after the sale is good. I bought my Silver Sails from him.
Thanks for visiting.
Comments or criticism? Email Ray in Galveston.
