Page Created on 07-24-2023
If
you are researching the history of these games, Silver Sails is an interesting
Bingo to
examine,
giving us a little bit of “hidden” insight to what was happening in the Industry and at Bally in 1962
Our
first clue that something was different was the flyer, which was a simple
picture of the backglass
with
no text or narrative highlighting the name and features`…really, not a flyer at
all`
Our
next indicator is that this Bingo came on the heels of Golden Gate and it has
the exact
same
feature set`…The only difference between games is the backglass, playfield, and
cabinet artwork`
Players
were fooled for a second that this was a new game, but they quickly see through
the mask
and
realized that this “is” basically Golden Gate`…definitely pretty, but still
Golden Gate
So
we still see Bally putting effort forth, but under close examination “not a
lot” right`
So
what is going on`…Well many of us would start following Billboard Magazine a
bit closer`
And
slowly a “larger” story starts to unfold as we gain access to news clippings
across the Nation
It is 1962 and Law Enforcement was still
waging their war on pinballs as the Fed signs the
Eastman Act
Everyone is following the news and this was
thought by many to be the final “blow” in outlawing the Bingos forever`
As the teams at Bally wait for the impacts to
unfold, their Manufacturing and Sales departments respond in kind`
_
Billboard Magazine Sept 1962 _
Due
to the changing laws and pressure, United closed in 1958 and for the next few
years Bally would
also
face some upheaval`…Bally then loses their engineers, so for 4-or-5 years we
see some huge shifts in design`
As
to Silver Sails: The only thing we really don’t know: Is if there were any
“crossover” games released as the materials
were consumed`…did timing
force Bally to send out a few Golden Gates with Silver Sails backglasses in them`
I have seen 20-or-30
of these things`…a few more than I’d expect`
1-or-2 could be
explained as Owner/Operators replacing broken backglasses,
but 30 or so – Hmmmm
Why
not`…In fact, it’s more than likely this crossover did occur`
Jeff
says the opposite happened`
