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Don Hooker

personactive23 mentionsFirst seen May 24, 2015Last seen Jun 10, 2024

Profile

Don Hooker is a person mentioned in 0 episode(s).

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Claims (5)

  • opinionhigh

    Don Hooker was an absolute genius at designing circuitry for portioning spotted numbers based on statistical probability

    Source: Nicholas BaldrigeEpsode 370 - Game progress, 1965 Bally 50-50
  • factualhigh

    Don Hooker designed the vast majority of bingo machines and introduced the guaranteed advancing odds innovation to Turf King

    Source: Nick BaldridgeEpisode 367 - Artwork, 1950 Bally Turf King, Interview with Ava Baldridge, MD Bingos for Sale
  • factualmedium

    Don Hooker designed Bright Spot and traditionally designed most of Bally's bingo games

    Source: Nick BaldridgeEpisode 280 - 1952 Bally Bright Spot
  • factualmedium

    Don Hooker added guaranteed advancing odds to one-ball horse race games at Bally

Recent Mentions (24)

  • Bally pinball designer credited with designing Bright Spot and traditionally designing most of Bally's bingo games; known for exceptional playfield post layout design

    Episode 280 - 1952 Bally Bright SpotDec 16, 2015
  • Historical pinball designer credited with adding guaranteed advancing odds to one-ball horse race games at Bally; referenced in context of early odds mechanics development

    Episode 211 - 1937 Bally Line-UpOct 8, 2015
  • Inventor of guaranteed advancing odds mechanism in pinball games; joined industry just before Turf King development

    Episode 416 - Robo-Frenzy, Multi Horse Race, Sing Along, 1941 Bally FairmontFeb 22, 2018
  • Historical bingo pinball designer; worked at Pacific Amusement Manufacturing before being hired by Bally; described as 'fascinating figure' in pinball industry

    Episode 210 - 1934 Pamco Lite-A-LineOct 7, 2015
  • Pinball designer at Bally; credited with developing guaranteed advancing odds feature used in Turf King and later bingo games

    Episode 437 - Multi-Races Programming, Robo-Frenzy Units, 1950 Williams DreamyDec 20, 2018
  • Legendary bingo pinball designer praised for mechanical complexity of games like Magic Screen games

Contradictions

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Related Glossary Terms

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Source: Nick BaldridgeEpisode 211 - 1937 Bally Line-Up
  • factualhigh

    Don Hooker designed circuits for Bally bingos in the 1950s

    Source: Nick BaldridgeEpisode 74 - Differences Between United and Bally Bingos
  • Episode 398 - Multi-Bingo Progress - all 25 holes done - Magic Pockets - Flippers Arcade - Robo-Frenzy Cabinet - Bingo Questions - 1938 Exhibit RegattaJun 15, 2017
  • Designer of vast majority of bingo machines; credited as innovator of guaranteed advancing odds mechanism used in Turf King

    Episode 367 - Artwork, 1950 Bally Turf King, Interview with Ava Baldridge, MD Bingos for SaleApr 7, 2016
  • Legendary designer credited with creating the search disk mechanism used in bingo games

    Episode 369 - Game progress, 1964 Bally 2-in-1May 5, 2016
  • Designer credited with clever number placement and mechanics in Miss America 57

    Episode 385 - All the Miss Americas, 83 Games, Next StepsDec 15, 2016
  • Legendary EM bingo engineer credited with clever hardware design for ball-counting and anti-cheat systems

    Episode 374 - Multi-Bingo Hardware Issues and 1952 Bally Miss CaliforniaJul 14, 2016
  • Bally designer credited with safety switch innovations on Shoot-A-Line control unit to prevent timer timeout during payout

    Episode 413 - 1940 Chicago Coin Fox Hunt, Shoot-A-Line, Dixieland, Royal Flush, Doozie, Line DriveJan 11, 2018
  • Bally game designer; influenced payout mechanism design circa 1940s; transitioned games from 400-to-1 gear systems to reflex unit payout systems

    Episode 438 - Multi-Races Continues, Robo-Frenzy Testing, 1957 Gottlieb Ace HighJan 2, 2019
  • Primary designer of Bally bingo games; later games on Multi-Races were designed by him

    Episode 472 - 2022 York Show RecapOct 23, 2022
  • Bally engineer credited with careful design consideration of tilt mechanisms and game circuits

    Episode 352 - Hard Tilt vs. Soft TiltFeb 26, 2016
  • Circuit design engineer for Bally bingo machines in the 1950s

    Episode 74 - Differences Between United and Bally BingosMay 24, 2015
  • Legendary Bally pinball designer; pioneered early bingo game features and design philosophy of game evolution

    Episode 115 - Interview with Danny Leach 6-26-15Jul 4, 2015
  • Designer/engineer credited with original sectional scoring implementation using sequence and winner units

    Episode 381 - Magic Screen searches, Unproduced Williams games, PPE, 1947 Williams TorchyOct 20, 2016
  • Bally bingo designer praised for sophisticated portioning circuitry and statistical design of spotted numbers

    Epsode 370 - Game progress, 1965 Bally 50-50May 19, 2016
  • Legendary pinball designer who created Rotolite for Pamco in the 1930s and later designed all Bally bingo machines; recognized as innovative thinker ahead of his era

    Episode 414 - Williams Line Drive, Robo-Frenzy Wiring, 1935 Pamco Roto LiteJan 24, 2018
  • Engineering luminary in bingo machine space (1940s-1950s); competitor to Lynn Durant with different mechanical approach

    By Golly It's BingoJun 10, 2024
  • Legendary engineer in bingo machine design space, second of two dueling luminaries

    Silverball Chronicles Ep 38: By Golly It's BingoJun 10, 2024
  • Legendary EM engineer; Bally bingo designer; developed complex amusement device engineering; Gottlieb examined his work; characterized by Nick as one of greatest amusement device engineers ever

    Episode 83 - Carnies in the HouseMar 11, 2019
  • Referenced as master of bingo/flipperless machine engineering

    Episode 85 - Sword of LexanApr 7, 2019
  • Bally engineer who conceived circuitry for complex bingo pinballs; got start at PAMCO, brought design ideas to Bally

    GAMBLING, PINGAMES & MANUFACTURER PERSPECTIVESAug 23, 2018