# Episode 210 - 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line

**Source:** For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2015-10-07  
**Duration:** 7m 23s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-210-1934-pamco-lite-a-line

---

## Analysis

Nick Baldridge discusses the 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line, a six-card bingo pinball game discovered through research on Phil Hooper's bingo documentation website. The episode covers the machine's roulette-style mechanics, art deco cabinetry, plug-in electrical design, and connection to Don Hooker, who may have worked at Pacific Amusement Manufacturing before joining Bally. Baldridge announces the inaugural 'bingo row' at the October York Show featuring vintage bingo machines and signed copies of bingo pinball history books.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Lite-A-Line was manufactured by Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company (PAMCO) in 1934 and is the earliest bingo pinball evidence Baldridge has found — _Nick Baldridge, sourcing from Phil Hooper's bingo.cdyn.com research_
- [MEDIUM] Don Hooker was working at Pacific Amusements at the time Lite-A-Line was designed before Bally hired him shortly after — _Nick Baldridge, citing interview with Don Hooker and reading of flyer documentation_
- [HIGH] Lite-A-Line used a roulette-style tub similar to the first United game ABC, with three separate bingo cards activated by three separate coin slides — _Nick Baldridge describing mechanics from 1934 game documentation_
- [HIGH] The 1934 Lite-A-Line used a plug-in electrical system with automatic shutoff to prevent bulb wear, rather than battery operation — _Nick Baldridge analyzing 1934 flyer specifications_
- [HIGH] The first inaugural 'bingo row' exhibition will be held at York Show in York, Pennsylvania on October 9-10, featuring vintage bingo machines and competitive play for signed bingo history books — _Nick Baldridge announcement at episode open_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is the earliest bingo that I've ever seen evidence of."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~0:40
> _Establishes the historical importance of the 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line as potentially the first commercial bingo pinball machine_

> "So you shoot the ball and it spins around the roulette wheel and lands in a particular pocket. The game has three different bingo cards all with different arrangements and numbers and it has three separate coin slides each which activates one card."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~1:00
> _Technical explanation of Lite-A-Line's innovative multi-card, coin-activated gameplay mechanism_

> "The game, meaning it plugged into a socket as opposed to using a battery, but like earlier games, it had an automatic shutoff."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~2:10
> _Details the electrical innovation of plug-in socket design with automatic shutoff in 1934 manufacturing_

> "Don Hooker is a fascinating figure in the pinball industry and especially for bingos, and I'm looking very much forward to talking about him more in future episodes."
> — **Nick Baldridge**, ~2:50
> _Teases future content on Don Hooker, indicating ongoing podcast focus on bingo pinball history and key designers_

> "Lite-A-Line, just what the name implies. Light up a line of numbers in vertical or horizontal order. Insert one coin to complete the paying circuit on one scoreboard. Two coins to double your opportunities. Three coins for complete triple play."
> — **Nick Baldridge (reading 1934 flyer)**, ~3:15
> _Original 1934 marketing copy explaining the core gameplay and coin mechanism directly from historical source material_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Nick Baldridge | person | Host of For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast; researcher and enthusiast of vintage bingo pinball machines; co-organizer of bingo row at York Show |
| Phil Hooper | person | Pinball historian maintaining bingo.cdyn.com documentation website on bingo pinball machines and Magic Screen game mixers; source of research for Nick Baldridge's episodes |
| Don Hooker | person | Historical bingo pinball designer; worked at Pacific Amusement Manufacturing before being hired by Bally; described as 'fascinating figure' in pinball industry |
| Lite-A-Line | game | 1934 bingo pinball machine manufactured by Pamco with roulette-style mechanics; earliest evidence of bingo pinball game found by Baldridge; featured three-card multi-coin activation system |
| Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company | company | Manufacturer of the 1934 Lite-A-Line bingo pinball machine; known as PAMCO; employed Don Hooker before he joined Bally |
| Bally | company | Major historic pinball manufacturer; hired Don Hooker from Pacific Amusement Manufacturing; later manufactured Lite-A-Line as a six-card game |
| ABC | game | First United game; referenced as having similar roulette-style tub mechanics to the 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line |
| York Show | event | Pinball show in York, Pennsylvania; scheduled for October 9-10; hosting inaugural 'bingo row' exhibition featuring vintage bingo machines and competitive play |
| bingo row | event | First ever exhibition section dedicated to bingo pinball at York Show; organized as collective effort; features competitive bingo play and signed copies of bingo history books as prizes |
| Bally Bingo Pinball Machines | product | Book on bingo pinball history by Jeffrey Lawton; offered as signed prize copy at bingo row at York Show |
| Bingo Pinball War: Bally vs. United | product | Book on bingo pinball history; offered as signed prize copy at bingo row at York Show |
| For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast | organization | Podcast hosted by Nick Baldridge covering electromechanical and bingo pinball machines; episode 210 analyzes 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Bingo pinball history and early machines, 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line technical specifications and mechanics, Don Hooker and early bingo pinball designers, York Show 2024 bingo row exhibition
- **Secondary:** Historical pinball electrical design and plug-in systems, Roulette-style bingo pinball mechanics, Vintage bingo pinball documentation and research
- **Mentioned:** Art deco pinball cabinet design

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0)

### Signals

- **[historical_signal]** Discovery and analysis of 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line through Phil Hooper's bingo.cdyn.com archive; identified as earliest known bingo pinball evidence; historical marketing flyer preserved and quoted (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge cites research from Phil Hooper's website and reads from original 1934 flyer documentation
- **[event_signal]** First ever 'bingo row' exhibition launching at York Show October 9-10; collective effort organizing vintage bingo machines, competitive play, and signed book prizes (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge opening announcement: 'I'll be part of a collective bringing the first ever bingo row'
- **[design_innovation]** 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line demonstrates early pinball plug-in electrical design with automatic shutoff; represents innovation in preventing bulb wear and unwanted activation (confidence: high) — Analysis of 1934 game specifications: 'it was a plug-in game...it had an automatic shutoff'
- **[personnel_signal]** Don Hooker's career trajectory traced from Pacific Amusement Manufacturing to Bally; positioning him as key figure in early bingo pinball design (confidence: medium) — Nick Baldridge: 'Don Hooker was working at Pacific Amusements at this time...Bally hired him shortly after this'
- **[content_signal]** For Amusement Only podcast establishing deep historical research focus through Phil Hooper's bingo.cdyn.com documentation; multiple recent episodes drawing from this source (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'I've been spending a lot of time here recently, if you couldn't tell from recent episodes'
- **[community_signal]** Growing community engagement with vintage bingo pinball machines evidenced by inaugural York Show bingo row exhibition and competitive tournament play (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge organizing first bingo row with competitive play and multiple referenced bingo history books as prizes
- **[design_philosophy]** Early bingo pinball design borrowed heavily from roulette mechanics; 1934 Pamco Lite-A-Line used spinning roulette tub similar to United's ABC game (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'it had a roulette style tub similar to the first United game ABC. So you shoot the ball and it spins around the roulette wheel'
- **[gameplay_signal]** 1934 Lite-A-Line emphasized chance over skill with minimal player control; manual plunger and nudging possible but very limited compared to roulette mechanics (confidence: high) — Nick Baldridge: 'you can nudge the machine certainly, but you have very little control over it, much like in roulette'

---

## 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. The York Show is almost here. In York, Pennsylvania, October 9th and 10th, I'll be part of a collective bringing the The first ever bingo row. At the bingo row you can compete. Try and get four or five in a line for a chance to win an autographed copy of Bally Bingo Pinball Machines or the Bingo Pinball War, Bally vs. United. Hope to see everybody there. And for those that can't make it, hope to see you there in spirit. Tonight I wanted to talk about a really I'm going to read a fascinating game which I just found by reading up on Danny's website, danny.cdyn.com. I've been spending a lot of time here recently, if you couldn't tell from recent episodes, just digging around and reading various things. That's just the way I digest that website, but I keep finding these great pieces of I was doing some research into Don Hooker the famous bingo pinball designer from Bally when I read about a game called Lidoline Now Lidoline if you been listening for a while was a six card game manufactured by Bally early in the days of bingos but this line line was manufactured by Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company or PAMCO as it was known in nineteen thirty four so this is the earliest bingo that i've ever seen evidence of and the way that it worked it had a roulette style tub similar to the first united game ABC so you shoot the ball and it spins around the roulette wheel and lands in a particular pocket The game has three different bingo cards all with different arrangements and numbers and it has three separate coin slides each which activates one card. Looks pretty cool and uh... I've gotta say the cabinetry is really neat. It's very art deco. Of course considering the time that it was made that makes an awful lot of sense. uh... I think the wooden legs are beautiful, they're tapered at the top forming sort of a coffin style shape very pretty it does not have an auto ball lifter, it had a manual ball lift like a spoon and um... push in that plunger and then plunge the ball Now from the looks of it you know you can nudge the machine certainly but uh you have very little control over it much like in roulette So what's fascinating about this game, aside from all this, in 1934 it was a plug-in game, The game, meaning it plugged into a socket as opposed to using a battery, but like earlier games, it had an automatic shutoff. Now this would prevent, uh, bulbs from wearing out and, um, issues with, uh, things being active when they shouldn't be. But, as I said, well, before I got distracted by reading the The flyer. This game was designed at Pacific Amusements and it appears that Don Hooker was working at Pacific Amusements at this time. In reading through an interview that he gave, Bally hired him shortly after this Lidl line This is the last of the two episodes of the show. Now, Don Hooker is a fascinating figure in the pinball industry and especially for bingos and I'm looking very much forward to talking about him more in future episodes but for today I wanted to Leave you with the verbiage from this flyer from 1934 Light a line just what the name implies Light up a line of numbers in vertical or horizontal order. Insert one coin to complete the paying circuit on one scoreboard. Two coins to double your opportunities. Three coins for complete triple play. I think there should be more scoreDromes these days. Mr. Operator, if you've ever recognized a winner before, if you've any idea of what the paying public takes to instantly and stays with constantly, insist on seeing Lidline's marvelous action. Insist on knowing what heavy cash results Lidline is getting. Then operate Lidline for these astounding earnings that Lidline and its high class locations surely provide. Thank you very much for listening. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line at 724-BINGOS1, 724-246-4671. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Cast, via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter at bingopodcasts. You can follow me on Instagram at nbaldridge. Or you can listen to us on Thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: d59be721-e745-4efc-a1fc-167e584f3291*