Episode 382 - Email Interview with Keith Nickalo 10-22-16

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·13m 5s·analyzed·Nov 3, 2016

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

Email interview with bingo pinball repair expert Keith Nickalo on restoration, Ohio Dime Games, and operator hacks.

Summary

Nick Baldridge interviews Keith Nickalo via email about his extensive experience repairing and collecting bingo pinball machines. Nickalo discusses his entry into the hobby through an Old Chicago machine in the late 1970s, his self-taught repair skills, his collection of bingo machines (particularly Ohio Dime Games like Lotta Fun and Dixieland), and his documentation of operator modifications and mechanical oddities. He shares preferences for 1950s bingo machines, observations about United vs. Bally construction quality, and advice for aspiring bingo restorers.

Key Claims

Keith Nickalo received his first pinball machine (Old Chicago) for Christmas around 1978-1979 when in sixth grade
high confidence · Keith Nickalo's direct response about when he started collecting and repairing machines
Keith Nickalo discovered bingo pinball repair through Phil Hooper's website (bingo.cdyn.com) and Alan's instructional videos in 2008
high confidence · Keith Nickalo's response about teaching himself to restore and repair machines
Keith Nickalo has repaired approximately 20 Lotta Fun machines and close to 20 Dixieland machines
high confidence · Keith Nickalo's response about Ohio Dime Games
United bingo machines from the 1950s (Hawaii and Circus) had better construction than Bally machines, with metal gears in steppers and longer relay sweeps
medium confidence · Keith Nickalo's comparison of United vs. Bally construction, with verification from Phil Hooper's CDYN website that Hawaii is from 1954 and Pixies is from 1955
Mystic Line bingo machines are unreliable and overcomplicated, with certain circuits passing through eight switches and six Jones plugs for a single seven-volt circuit
high confidence · Keith Nickalo's response about least favorite bingo machines to work on
Keith Nickalo received a major restoration project involving 10 bingo machines from Belgium that were wired for European voltage, had 50 Hz motors, and suffered moisture and pest damage
high confidence · Keith Nickalo's response about biggest project completed
Ohio Dime Games like Lotta Fun were tolerated by local officials because players could not lose more than $50 playing them
medium confidence · Keith Nickalo's response about Ohio Dime Games and their legal status
Keith Nickalo prefers playing 1950s bingo machines like Lido, Bikini, Miss America, Surf Club, and Gaiety, and particularly wins on Miss America machines
high confidence · Keith Nickalo's response about favorite bingo types to play

Notable Quotes

“You just read it like a roadmap. You're over here and want to get to one of the relays over here.”
Repair technician (quoted by Keith Nickalo) @ N/A — Pivotal advice that helped Nickalo understand how to read schematics and begin self-taught repair work
“I got a full blown case of bingo fever.”
Keith Nickalo @ N/A — Describes the rapid escalation of his interest in bingo pinball machines after discovering Phil Hooper's website in 2008
“Parts machines are great to have, but there's nobody that needs that many of them.”
Keith Nickalo @ N/A — Reflects on accumulation of parts machines and recognition that the community's needs are limited
“I just really enjoy what the different operators did to these machines. I think it's a testament to how much money they were making off them.”
Keith Nickalo @ N/A — Explains his fascination with documenting operator modifications as evidence of game profitability
“You don't have to pickle around with all those wires at the same time. You're only interested in finding one, the broken one.”
Keith Nickalo @ N/A — Practical advice for aspiring bingo restorers on how to approach complex wiring problems systematically

Entities

Keith NickalopersonNick BaldridgepersonPhil HooperpersonJeffrey LawtonpersonWillie LoperpersonFor Amusement OnlyorganizationOld ChicagogameLotta FungameDixielandgame

Signals

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restoration_signal: Keith Nickalo shares detailed repair philosophy: approaching complex wiring problems by finding one broken component at a time rather than overwhelming oneself; use of schematics as 'roadmaps'; preference for preventive maintenance on well-functioning restored machines
high · Keith's advice: 'You don't have to pickle around with all those wires at the same time. You're only interested in finding one, the broken one.' He also describes practical modifications he makes for home play (resetting reflexes, closing mixer switches, loosening adjustment plugs)
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historical_signal: Documentation of United bingo machine superiority in 1950s era (1954-1955 Hawaii/Circus vs 1955 Pixies transition); shift from metal gears and longer relay sweeps to Bally-style construction indicates cost-cutting or standardization pressure
high · Keith's analysis: 'the older United games were considerably better built than a Bally. The steppers had metal gears, the relays all had really long sweeps, the motors only turned when powered.' Cross-referenced with CDYN dates showing mechanical divergence between Hawaii (54), Circus, and Pixies (55)
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product_concern: Mystic Line bingo machines documented as unreliable due to overcomplicated circuitry; single seven-volt circuit passing through eight switches and six Jones plugs creates maintenance and reliability problems requiring ultra-clean conditions
high · Keith's analysis of London machine: 'I count eight switches and six Jones plugs for a single seven volt circuit. It ends up not being very reliable. Everything has to be super clean or those lights won't light.'
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operational_signal: Extensive documentation of operator hacks and modifications to bingo machines to either prevent winning, alter game conditions, or bypass safety systems; includes bridged fuses, soldered wire bypasses, and circuit modifications indicating machines were highly profitable and worth significant effort to optimize

Topics

Bingo pinball machine repair and restorationprimaryOhio Dime Games (Lotta Fun, Dixieland, Shoot-a-Line)primaryOperator modifications and hacks on bingo machinesprimaryUnited vs. Bally bingo machine construction qualityprimary1950s bingo machine design and reliabilitysecondaryDocumentation and knowledge sharing in the bingo communitysecondaryCollector psychology and parts machine accumulationsecondaryRegulatory tolerance for dime games and gambling machinesmentioned

Sentiment

neutral(0)

Transcript

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What's that sound? It's For Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to For Amusement Only. This is Nicholas Baldridge. Today I have a special treat, an email interview with Keith Nickello. Keith has been fixing bingo pinball machines for quite some time and documenting interesting oddities in the games that he finds. It's pretty fascinating to browse around his site and see just how many interesting hacks that operators would come up with to either prevent players from winning or just change the nature of the game itself. I sent Keith a list of questions, and he was gracious enough to answer by email, so let's get started. What drew you to pinball? How old were you when you first saw one? He responds, Next question, how do you get involved with bingo pinball? Did you ever play on location, and if so, where? He says, well, I pretty much just answered this one. They also had some in town in a laundromat. They're what most people would call the Ohio Dime Games. Seems like most people don't like them, but they were a lot of fun. When did you start collecting and repairing machines? When I was in sixth grade, my dad bought me a flipper pin titled Old Chicago for Christmas, probably 78 or 79. Having my own pinball machine seriously increased my popularity. Everybody wanted to come play. After a couple months, it broke. Dad called the guy, and he came and fixed it. Maybe a month later, it broke again. Dad pretty much said we can't afford to constantly call the repair guy in to fix this. If I can play it like it is and play it, but if not, we'll have to shut it down for a while. Well, you couldn't play it like that, and I really wanted to play it, so I thought I'd try to fix it. When the repairmen were there, they kind of showed me how the schematic worked. I actually do remember him saying, you just read it like a roadmap. You're over here and want to get to one of the relays over here. Anyway, I fixed it myself. Did you teach yourself how to restore and repair machines? Like I said, we had the one and I pickled around with it. I always wanted my own bingo machine. In 2008, I had to stroke a genius and thought, maybe I'll Google search for it. I found Phil's website and read his how they work section. I got Alan's video. I bought a couple machines and pickled around with them. I got them working and got a couple more. A few months later I had a full blown case of bingo fever. It's been a fun hobby ever since. How you meet Jeffrey Lawton I met Jeff through a friend of his Willie Loper I think Willie needed some parts or something Apparently he liked the transaction and said something to Jeff about it A couple months later Jeff called and he said he had a car parked in his driveway in a garage full of parts machines. He said I could have him if I wanted him. He just wanted to free up the room. I went and got him and put him in my shop out back. Somewhat ironically I have way too many parts machines right now. I'm probably going to give away a bunch of them myself. Parts machines are great to have, but there's nobody that needs that many of them. What's your favorite type of bingo to work on? I guess I kind of like the older ones from the 50s. Cypress Gardens, Gaiety, Surf Club. Easy to work on. Not overly complicated. Once you got them lined out and running, they tend to stay that way, sometimes for years. What's your least favorite? Some of the Mystic Line games are a little overdone. Look at the schematic for London at about J31 and you see three lights, X3, AB, and C. Look at all the stuff that circuit passes through. I count eight switches and six Jones plugs for a single seven volt circuit. It ends up not being very reliable. Everything has to be super clean or those lights won't light. What's your favorite type or title of bingo to play? Probably Lido, Bikini, or maybe Miss America. I tend to win on Miss America machines. Surf Club is great too, and Gaiety is a lot of fun with the moving ball. Actually, I really like the old six card machines too. They bring back a lot of memories, are easy to play, and usually when you win, you win big. What's your least favorite? I don't care much for the ring games, even though I currently have them both. Galaxy isn't much fun either. The layout on the bingo card makes it hard to win. It's rare on Galaxy to need several numbers for a win. You just never find yourself saying something like, I need a 2, 4, 12, or 22 for a win. Miss Universe is even worse. Only 18 holes and 3 balls, no extra balls. Miss Universe is all about feeding in the money. Once you're done coining it up, you just shoot your 3 balls and start feeding it again. Surprisingly, I didn't care much for bounty either. The extra and super okay features don't light often enough to even really matter, and the whole skill shot special game is nowhere near as much fun as I thought it would be. When playing a machine, what's your approach? For a game with advancing odds, do you try to get the odds high, or do you just play for features? Actually, when I played these on location for money, I just fed it one nickel and then played it. The first nickel pays out the best odds. The way I figured it, after that you're just paying to lower your odds of winning. When they're in my basement, I like to light up the features. I usually make the games easy to light them, too. Reset and disconnect the reflex, close switches on mixer number 4 relay, and move the adjustment plugs to their loosest position. I get bored with pumping in coins at home. For the most part, I just like to use the different features. I do have a silver sail set up as it was in the bars, but rarely play it. Also, since there's no real money involved, I don't care about the odds. How do you feel about the Ohio Dime Games, as Jeffrey Lawton calls them? I've noticed on your site that you've repaired many lot of funds. Yes I come and gone through about 20 of the Lotta Fun machines close to that many Dixielands One of the reasons is because they so available to go by There simply a bunch of them for sale around here I think these machines were generally well tolerated by local officials You really couldn't lose 50 bucks playing Lotta Fun. When I was a kid, there was a shoot-a-line in a local laundromat and a Lotta Fun in a bowling alley. They would let kids play them. We used to go around and collect up those old returnable 16-ounce pop bottles and turn them in to get the dime back. We knew all the places that people would hang out and leave them laying around. Then we'd take the dimes and feed them right into the shoot-a-line. It was great fun. We had names for the different holes. We always called the center light Paul Lindy and had all these strategies for ultimate victory. It was great fun and a good way to pass a couple hours. In the end, they did away with them all. They let the video games stay though, just as addicting but with no chance to win anything. They took a quarter to play versus a dime and generally had no strategy and only lasted for a couple minutes. You've worked on United games. How do you feel about the differences in mechanics or electrical layout versus Bally games? Well, in my opinion, the older United games were considerably better built than a Bally. The steppers had metal gears, the relays all had really long sweeps, the motors only turned when powered. Jeffrey Lawton said they were built more like the old bowlers. I wouldn't know those. I've never had an old bowler. I do know I loved the mechanics on Circus in Hawaii, but somewhere in there they started making them pretty much exactly like a Bally. Somebody told me the last United Bingo was built by Bally. Not sure when they changed them over like that, but Hawaii and Circus both had the old mechanics in them, and Pixies is more like Bally. Same mixer and control unit layout. According to CDYN, Phil Hooper's site, Hawaii is from 54 and Pixies is from 55, so sometime during that year they just started copying a ballet game. I love perusing your site and finding new tidbits of information. What made you wish to document these bingo oddities and items of interest? If I remember right, Phil told me to get a Google site and post some stuff up. I'm not sure though, somebody put it in my head. Google sites are free and extremely easy to use, so I started posting some pictures with a little blurb. Kind of gotten away from it because they only give you 100 megabytes. I'm out of space. I've got more stuff I want to put up, and I may end up getting my own URL through a web hosting service. Have you found any other machines other than Dixieland manufactured and stamped by IGT? No, I haven't, although I've heard that some of the Mystic Gate machines have that tag on them and were made in the early 80s. I've never come across one, though, and when and I asked a guy for a picture of the date stamp on his machine. He didn't send it to me. What's the oddest thing you've come across? I guess most of the really odd stuff is already on the website. I just really enjoy what the different operators did to these machines. I think it's a testament to how much money they were making off them. Even the old six-card machines. I came across a lot of fun machine that was more modified than original. I posted that story up already as well, and he has provided a link which I'll put in the show notes. Probably the most ridiculous thing I come across though was those fuses That comes across my mind from time to time even years later Somebody bridged the fuse contacts with wires then plugged the fuses back in Why would anybody do that? Why not just straight wire it if you're not worried about a short? Is that fuse link across there? If so, then why not just another fuse? Has to be easier than soldering fusible link across the contacts. I posted the pictures up on this page towards the bottom and He sent me another link. An aside, I've run across several machines that have wires soldered across the fuse terminal lugs of the actual fuse itself. It always seemed like a heck of a lot of work to me, too, since you could just unsolder both sides of the fuse and solder them together if you really didn't care. Seems like it's a temporary fix that ended up being permanent. and probably caused a bunch of problems in most of the games I worked on. But anyway, back to the interview. What was the biggest project you've completed, or worst condition game restored? He says, To be clear, I don't really restore them like Hugh. I just go through them and make them play again. The cosmetic condition of the game is just what it is. Having said that, the machines I got from Belgium were probably the biggest project I've been involved with. Danny posted the story on his website. and he provided a link to Danny Leach's website. To sum it up though, I got 10 games that had been in Belgium. They were wired for European volts, had 50 hertz motors in them, digital replay meters, and two of them didn't even take coins. Credits were put on through a phone modem. To make it even more fun, the guy I got them off of stored them in a barn. Critters got in them and set up shop. Not very dry in the barn, so there was a lot of moisture damage. Do you have any messages for other bingo players and restorers? Any closing thoughts? I'd say to anybody who's ever opened up the back door on bingo machines, saw those wires and thought they couldn't fix it, sure you can. You don't have to pickle around with all those wires at the same time. You're only interested in finding one, the broken one. Check out Phil's site, maybe buy Alan's videos, and then get in there and give it a go. It's not that hard. I'm far from a genius and I can do it. So can you. I want to thank my guest, Keith Nicklow, for coming on the show. Keith is incredibly nice. I've been talking with him off and on for several months and chatting with him about a couple of weird machines here and there, and I've really enjoyed our talks. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you very much for joining me. My name again is Nick Baldrige. 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 Casts, via RSS, on Facebook, on Twitter, at bingopodcast. You can follow me on Instagram, also at bingopodcast, or you can listen to us on our website, which is 4amusementonly.libsyn.com. Thank you very much for listening, and I'll talk to you next time. Thank you.