# Episode 267 - 1951 Bally Broadway

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-12-02  
**Duration:** 5m 49s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-267-1951-bally-broadway

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## Analysis

Nicholas Backbone discusses the 1951 Bally Broadway, an extremely rare early bingo pinball machine that appears to exist in only one known unit. The game is a single-card bingo machine with no special features, using the cabinet and playfield from Bright Lights but with a distinct Broadway-themed backglass. Information about the game is scarce, but Dennis O'Dell provided schematics and instruction cards, and the machine was reportedly distributed in Syracuse, New York area restaurants and bars with specific payout rules ($2 for four-in-a-row, $10 for five-in-a-row).

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Only one known unit of the 1951 Bally Broadway exists — _Nicholas Backbone citing information from Phil (surname unclear from transcript) and Dennis O'Dell documentation_
- [MEDIUM] Bally made two different games titled Broadway — _Phil's notes as referenced by Nicholas Backbone_
- [MEDIUM] Broadway used the same cabinet and playfield as Bright Lights but with different coin door configuration — _Phil's notes cited by Nicholas Backbone_
- [MEDIUM] Broadway was distributed in Syracuse, New York area restaurants and bars with $2 payout for four-in-a-row and $10 for five-in-a-row — _Information attributed to 'Bill' as cited by Phil's notes_
- [LOW] The game was never advertised and may have been a special order for a single operator — _Nicholas Backbone's speculation based on rarity and distribution pattern_

### Notable Quotes

> "This looks like a really interesting piece here and it got some great artwork"
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, early in episode
> _Establishes enthusiasm for the machine despite scarcity of documentation_

> "It's Papa Duke much a one card version of Brightlights and currently only one is known to exist"
> — **Nicholas Backbone (paraphrasing Phil)**, mid-episode
> _Key claim about rarity and relationship to Bright Lights_

> "If you got four in a row, they paid you two bucks and five in a row was a ten dollar payout"
> — **Nicholas Backbone (attributing to Bill via Phil)**, mid-episode
> _Documents the specific payout structure for this regional variant_

> "The game was never advertised so it's possible it was a special machine for a single operator who could buy enough to make production worth it"
> — **Nicholas Backbone**, later in episode
> _Proposes theory about why documentation is so sparse_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nicholas Backbone | person | Host of 4 For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; primary speaker and analyst |
| Dennis O'Dell | person | Apparently owns one of the 1951 Bally Broadway machines; provided schematics and instruction cards to researchers |
| Phil | person | Source of detailed notes and information about Bally Broadway; appears to be a bingo game historian or researcher (surname unclear from transcript) |
| Bill | person | Contributed information about Broadway distribution in Syracuse, New York area (surname unknown) |
| Bally | company | Historical pinball/bingo machine manufacturer; produced the 1951 Broadway and Bright Lights games |
| 1951 Bally Broadway | game | Rare single-card bingo pinball machine; one known unit exists; features Broadway-themed backglass artwork |
| Bright Lights | game | Early six-card bingo game by Bally; Broadway shared its cabinet and playfield but with different backglass and coin configuration |
| 4 For Amusement Only | organization | EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; focuses on early electromechanical and bingo pinball machines |
| Syracuse, New York | location | Geographic area where Broadway was reportedly distributed to restaurants and bars |

### Signals

- **[historical_signal]** Episode documents and analyzes a rare 1951 Bally Broadway bingo machine with extremely limited existing records; appears to be one of only one or two known units (confidence: high) — Nicholas Backbone describes Broadway as an early bingo with scarce information; only one known unit; attribution to Dennis O'Dell's schematics and instruction cards as primary sources
- **[restoration_signal]** Dennis O'Dell's ownership and documentation (schematics, instruction cards) of the single known Broadway unit represents active preservation of rare electromechanical pinball history (confidence: medium) — Nicholas Backbone mentions Dennis O'Dell owns one of these games and provided documentation; plans to follow up with him about the machine
- **[community_signal]** Collaboration between podcast host, collectors (Dennis O'Dell), and unnamed historians (Phil, Bill) to piece together fragmented historical documentation about obscure machines (confidence: medium) — Nicholas Backbone credits multiple sources (Phil's notes, Bill's Syracuse information, Dennis O'Dell's schematics) and acknowledges he would have no knowledge of the game without Phil's contribution
- **[content_signal]** 4 For Amusement Only podcast continues detailed exploration of obscure early bingo machines with archaeological approach to documentation (confidence: high) — Episode 267 dedicated to single rare machine; methodical analysis of artwork, technical specifications, and regional distribution; continuation of coverage series from prior episodes
- **[gaming_signal]** Broadway appears to have been a regional variant optimized for specific operator/location with localized payout structure ($2/$10 in Syracuse area) (confidence: medium) — Bill's testimony that Broadway was in most restaurants and bars in Syracuse with specific payouts; game was never advertised; possible special order for single operator

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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. Continuing from yesterday's episode, I wanted to talk about another early bingo. This one is one that either never went to target愛게 스피트스� mobile inner particuler connect to hurts The game is a single card game with no special features and no spotted numbers. You put in one nickel and you earn replays based on the type of win that you had. You either have a three, four, or five in a row and you'll earn some number of replays. Now information on this game is fairly scarce However we do have the information provided by Dennis Dodell who apparently owns one of these games and I going to have to ask him about that next time I talk to him This looks like a really interesting piece here and it got some great artwork which we get to Now just like Bright Lights it Free Mediegaming Lesson T riskwindaka, Company of Carl gue, Flareiest Pi, I not sure if I getting the information from about this game because otherwise I would have had no idea that it existed But he says it looks like Bally made two Broadway The other Broadway we get into later on but for now this is the only one I talked about Back to his notes. This one used the cabinet and playfield from Bright Lights, though the coin door configuration is a little different. It's pretty much a one card version of Brightlights and currently only one is known to exist. He mentions that Dennis O'Dell sent him the schematic and instruction cards and that another person named Bill added that that particular game with the one card was in most restaurants and bars in the Syracuse, New York area. If you got four in a row, they paid you two bucks and five in a row was a ten dollar payout. The game was never advertised so it's possible it was a special machine for a single operator who could buy enough to make production worth it. The and that could well be I have no idea but but I can tell you is that the uh... as Phil says the cabinet playfield are the same as on bright lights but the back glass is different it's got four ladies two on each side flanking the bingo card and a man and a woman dancing as if The Broadway musical and then you got Bally Broadway and Broadway is written in the same style as the bright lights So it all caps red with white spots in the numbers to represent the bright lights Now on the left and right of the word Broadway you have the same man and woman which are shown below but reversed. The ones below that, the man is on the left, the woman is on the right. And to the left and right of Broadway, you have the woman on the left and the man on the right. The meter's in the same place as on Bright Lights, it's in the upper right. And it's three digits, just like Brightlights. And then you have some buildings of Broadway lining the left and right side. And everything is on a field of blue. It's very attractive. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS-1. 724-246-4671. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Cast, via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter, at bingopodcast. You can follow me on Instagram, also at bingo podcast, or you can listen to us on our website, which is for amusement only dot libsyn dot 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 2026-06-06 | Item ID: d20ecded-7d55-43a4-8314-c1c4ba7ef058*