# Episode 183 - 1951 Bally Coney Island

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-09-10  
**Duration:** 8m 22s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-183-1951-bally-coney-island

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## Analysis

Nick Baldridge discusses Bally's 1951 Coney Island, a three-card bingo machine that introduced several innovations including automatic ball lifter, extra ball play, and mixer/reflex units adapted from horse race games. The episode covers the game's mechanical features, design improvements over Bright Lights, and its anticipated appearance at the York Show's inaugural bingo row in October.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Coney Island was the first bingo game to feature extra ball play — _Nick Baldridge explaining Coney Island as 'an advancement over the previous game Bright Lights Ballet first bingo in that you can play for extra balls'_
- [HIGH] Coney Island was the first Bally bingo game with an automatic ball lifter (Bright Lights had manual) — _Nick Baldridge: 'this was the first game with an automatic ball lifter in bally's bingo line bright lights had a manual lifter'_
- [HIGH] Coney Island is the second machine Bally produced in the bingo line — _Nick Baldridge: 'second machine that Bally produced in the bingo line, the first to use an automatic ball lifter'_
- [HIGH] The mixer and reflex units in Coney Island came from one-ball horse race games — _Nick Baldridge: 'the reflex unit and the Mixer unit came over from the one-ball horse race games'_
- [HIGH] York Show will have its first ever bingo row, taking place October 9-10 in York, Pennsylvania — _Nick Baldridge: 'Coney Island uh... may be making an appearance at the York show in the bingo row first ever bingo row York show'_
- [HIGH] Coney Island has a backbox that hinges at the bottom rather than opening outward — _Nick Baldridge: 'The backbox, instead of opening, hinged outward, so you open it from right to left. This one is hinged at the bottom'_
- [HIGH] Nick Baldridge lost the original episode due to power failure/battery backup failure — _Nick Baldridge opening: 'This is the first episode I've ever lost due to technical difficulties... the power blinked in my battery backup decided that it just wasn't up to the task'_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is the first episode I've ever lost due to technical difficulties, but I recorded the whole thing and was putting the very finishing touches on it and then the power blinked in my battery backup decided that it just wasn't up to the task"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, 0:30-1:10
> _Meta-commentary explaining the late release and re-recording of the episode_

> "Coney Island is a three card bingo similar to the six cards there are three cards represented on the back glass but this game is and advancement over the previous game Bright Lights Ballet first bingo in that you can play for extra balls"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, 2:15-2:45
> _Key claim about Coney Island's innovation: introduction of extra ball play feature_

> "this was the first game with an automatic ball lifter in bally's bingo line bright lights had a manual lifter and Coney Island added the automatic ball lifter that was used for the rest of the bingo machines that Bally produced"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, 6:30-6:55
> _Documents technical innovation that became standard for all subsequent Bally bingo machines_

> "second machine that Bally produced in the bingo line, the first to use an automatic ball lifter, the first with extra ball play, The first with a mixer and a reflex unit"
> — **Nick Baldridge**, 7:10-7:25
> _Summary of Coney Island's multiple firsts in Bally's bingo lineup_

> "Even with eight balls, it is a challenging game. But it's a beauty, it's fun, it's fast and I look forward to hopefully playing it again at York."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, 9:20-9:35
> _Personal gameplay experience and enthusiasm for the game; note of anticipation for York Show appearance_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; pinball historian, technician, and enthusiast specializing in bingo machines |
| Coney Island | game | 1951 Bally three-card bingo pinball machine; second in Bally's bingo line; features automatic ball lifter, extra ball play, mixer and reflex units |
| Bally | company | Historic pinball and bingo machine manufacturer; produced Coney Island and Bright Lights among early bingo machines |
| Bright Lights | game | First bingo game in Bally's lineup; predecessor to Coney Island; lacked automatic ball lifter and extra ball feature |
| York Show | event | White Rose Game Room Show; October 9-10 in York, Pennsylvania; will feature inaugural bingo row section; Coney Island may appear in free play area |
| For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast focused on electromechanical and bingo pinball machines; hosted by Nick Baldridge; Episode 183 covers Coney Island |
| VicCamps | venue | Location where Nick Baldridge has played Coney Island |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Bally bingo machine history and innovation, Coney Island game mechanics and features, York Show/White Rose Game Room Show bingo row
- **Secondary:** Automatic ball lifter technology adoption, Mixer and reflex units in bingo machines, Comparison between Bright Lights and Coney Island
- **Mentioned:** Bingo machine artwork and cabinet design

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Nick Baldridge expresses enthusiasm and appreciation for Coney Island's innovations, historical significance, and gameplay experience. Despite opening with frustration about technical difficulties losing the original episode, his overall tone toward the subject matter is positive and passionate.

### Signals

- **[historical_signal]** Coney Island documented as second Bally bingo machine introducing multiple technical innovations (automatic ball lifter, extra ball play, mixer/reflex units) that became standards for subsequent bingo machines (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'second machine that Bally produced in the bingo line, the first to use an automatic ball lifter, the first with extra ball play, The first with a mixer and a reflex unit'
- **[event_signal]** York Show (White Rose Game Room Show) will feature its first ever dedicated bingo row section on October 9-10 in York, Pennsylvania; Coney Island expected to appear (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'Coney Island uh... may be making an appearance at the York show in the bingo row first ever bingo row'
- **[design_innovation]** Coney Island adapts mixer and reflex units from horse race game line to enable extra ball monetization in bingo context; represents mechanical reuse and cross-platform innovation (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'the reflex unit and the Mixer unit came over from the one-ball horse race games... for this game, they wanted to make it so that some of the nickels were eaten based on the amount of replays'
- **[design_philosophy]** Coney Island uses control unit mounted high in backbox (rather than on back door) and hinged-bottom backbox design for improved maintenance access, showing manufacturer attention to servicer convenience (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'the control unit is mounted up high... mounted in the middle of the back box instead of on the back door again this would just be convenient for when you're doing maintenance' and 'This one is hinged at the bottom, so you just fold the back panel down'
- **[community_signal]** First dedicated bingo row at York Show signals growing community recognition and celebration of bingo pinball as distinct collector/player segment within broader pinball community (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge announcement of 'first ever bingo row York show' with Coney Island as featured attraction
- **[gameplay_signal]** Coney Island noted as challenging despite eight balls available for play; described as fun and fast, indicating good player engagement despite mechanical simplicity compared to later bingo machines (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'Even with eight balls, it is a challenging game. But it's a beauty, it's fun, it's fast'
- **[restoration_signal]** Nick Baldridge documented as active technician restoring and maintaining vintage bingo machines; referenced bringing game 'back to life' at customer's house (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge opening: 'I was over at a friend and customer's house fixing up a game bringing it back to life which is always very satisfying'

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## Transcript

 What's that sound? It's 4 Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to 4 Amusement Only. This is Nicholas Baldridge. Tonight's episode will likely be brief. This is the first episode I've ever lost due to technical difficulties, but I recorded the whole thing and was putting the very finishing touches on it and then and the power blinked in my battery backup decided that it just wasn't up to the task and killed my computer so rather than spend all evening complaining about that um this episode is coming out late to begin with as I was over at a friend and customer's house fixing up a game bringing it back to life which is always very satisfying and uh... as i left he was putting a few games on just giving it a whirl so I'm uh... excited for him and hope he enjoys for tonight's episode I wanted to talk about Bally's Coney Island which came out in nineteen fifty one Coney Island uh... may be making an appearance at the York show in the bingo row first ever bingo row York show is also called the white rose game room show it's october ninth and tenth in new york pennsylvania coney island is a three card bingo similar to the six cards there are three cards represented on the back glass but this game is and advancement over the previous game Bright Lights Ballet first bingo in that you can play for extra balls So aside from being straight up three card bingo three four five in a row wins you can also pay for the privilege of shooting an additional three balls So with that you have eight chances to get a and the game internally has three different replay counters, one for each card as you might expect. But this game is also interesting in that the reflex unit and the Mixer unit came over from the one-ball horse race games. Bright Lights did not have those. Bright Lights was a lot more straightforward though. There was no extra ball feature, so there was nothing to portion with the money that you're putting in. So for this game, they wanted to make it so that some of the nickels were eaten based on the amount of replays that you were winning, and that's what the reflex does. The mixer works in concert with the reflex to restrict the number of times that the extra ball unit can step up. Now the mixer unit in this is different than the mixers in later ballybingos. The mixer in this game most closely resembles that of the one ball horserace games. instead of having a large motor similar to the control unit which spins constantly providing a steady 16 pulses per revolution along with four different mixers and the spotting disc this game has a single mixer disc So the gameplay very straightforward Again 3 4 5 in a row on any of the cards wins And you can win on multiple cards. Couple other features which make this game stand out or relatively unique. The backbox, instead of opening, hinged outward, so you open it from right to left. This one is hinged at the bottom, so you just fold the back panel down. That would be a whole heck of a lot more convenient to work on. Also, the control unit is mounted up high, similar to the position that the mixer unit would be in later games but mounted in the middle of the backbox instead of on the back door again this would just be convenient for when you're doing maintenance now aside from that this was the first game with an automatic ball lifter in bally's bingo line bright lights had a manual lifter and Coney Island added the automatic ball lifter that was used for the rest of the bingo machines that Bally produced. So, to put this in perspective, second machine that Bally produced in the bingo line, the first to use an automatic ball lifter, the first with extra ball play, The first with a mixer and a reflex unit As I say this game will hopefully be in the free play area at York Now the artwork The artwork is very tip combinations that will EPAispenser Later Tablet Think about playing a video games tires ou nou ne airport Linux Team in ourτικorou Peace time Need a Many Other Pass The Message Tecn sehe S a The back glass image are some guys and gals frolicking in the river. Very nice, attractive back glass and very nice, attractive game. Now this game is quite a bit smaller than the bingos that followed after it. and that's because there were many fewer features and things that it needed to keep track of. But with all that, as I say, it does manage to keep track of the replays independently scored on each card. Fascinating game, good player. I've played one over at VicCamps and if you've heard some of our interviews, you've heard us talk a bit about this game. Even with eight balls, it is a challenging game. But it's a beauty, it's fun, it's fast and I look forward to hopefully playing it again at York. Well, that's all for tonight. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at foreamusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingoes line at 724-BINGOES1, 724-246-4671. You can listen to us on iTunes, stitcher, pocketcast,vrss, on facebook, on twitter, at bingopodcast, you can follow me on instagram at nbaldridge, or you can listen to us on our website which is foremusementonly.libsyn.com. Thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 5a1c044c-132c-4420-bd57-35b58e1bb900*