For years now, the Bally name and casino games have gone hand in hand. Made famous on the Las Vegas strip and having spread from there, the Bally brand of slot games is really something to behold. Though the company most casino-goers know as Bally Gaming is actually, technically, referred to as Bally Technologies now, it is still the producer of some of the finest slot games you will find at just about every brick and mortar casino in the United States and abroad.
- Bally Slot Machine History Free
- List Of Bally Slot Machines
- Bally Slot Machine History
- Bally Slot Machine Company
Bally may have existed for a while and is considered to be an old-schooler of the casino industry, it has adapted with the times. As more digitally-based slot games replace the once popular reeled games, Bally has been right there to offer innovative gaming solutions at every turn.
The organization has a history way back in 1936, during the Great Depression era in Chicago, making Bally the oldest slot machine manufacturer in the world. Bally Technologies is known for designing and manufacturing land-based slot machines at the time it was formed. Before SDS, players could cheat machines; the state of Nevada calculated losses up to 10% of an estimated $500 million in slot machine revenue. Because of the success of Money Honey and SDS, Lion became the leading producer of slot machines. After more than 30 years in business, Lion incorporated as Bally Manufacturing in March 1968.
List of Bally Slots
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Fireball
Fu Dao Le
Playboy Platinum
Playboy Muy Caliente
Quick Hit
Shadow Princess
Super Red Phoenix
Wonder Woman Gold/Wild
Bally Slot History
As is the case with most companies that have been around for as long as the casino industry in the United States has existed, the years have come with a whole host of changes. If you want to truly trace Bally’s history back to the very beginning, you will have to go back to the pre-World War II days, more specifically, 1932. At this point in time, Bally was known as Bally Manufacturing and was actually a subsidiary of a larger company, Lions Manufacturing.
During this era, Lions—and by extension, Bally—was known for their exciting and innovative pinball games. Their games quickly rose through the ranks of arcade game popularity, and before you could bat an eye Bally Manufacturing was the go-to pinball producer. Around the same time that their pinball games were doing extremely well, Bally Manufacturing ventured into the casino business and began producing slot games. Though their slots were nowhere near as popular as their arcade games, the Bally brand, as a whole, continued to grow. Shortly thereafter, the outbreak of World War II saw Bally change their focus to the war effort. For a period of time, Bally stopped producing pinball and slot games altogether. By the end of the war, however, business had picked back up where it left off.
The company enjoyed success for the next decade or so, but following the death of Bally founder, Ray Maloney, in 1958, the company began to suffer and bleed money. Left to Maloney’s two sons, Bally’s performance suffered and eventually the company ceased to exist entirely. While this looks to be heading towards a sad ending, the assets of Bally Manufacturing were purchased by a colleague of the late Maloney and slot games were back on the production lines.
A breakthrough game that was released during the early 1960s is what really helped propel Bally to the peak of the casino gaming industry. In fact, by the end of the 1960s, almost all of the slot games that existed across the large state of Nevada were produced by Bally; a testament to how much people loved their games.
The success of the 60s bled into the 70s and 80s, at which point things got even better. Once Bally made the intelligent move into the video casino game space, there really was no looking back. By tying in casino games with popular video games of the time, Bally took a stranglehold on both the slot and video gaming categories. Slowly, Bally went from being a regional powerhouse to one that was known the world over.
Bally Slot Machine History Free
In 2006, Bally was a much larger company with many different divisions, and the slot-making arm of the company was rebranded as Bally Technologies. To this day, that is the name of the company, though we aren’t discounting any future changes to the company name.
Top Bally Slot Titles
Michael Jackson King of Pop
If you have never heard of Michael Jackson, you probably haven’t listened to too much music. Michael Jackson was, and still is, one of the most popular pop icons of the 20th and 21st centuries. With so many fans from all over the world, Bally did well to capitalize on his immense popularity. The game, which can be found almost anywhere, is as extravagant as Michael was. The game consists of 5 reels and 25 pay lines. In addition, there are 2 bonus rounds and 2 wilds. All while you play, you will be serenaded by some of Jackson’s biggest hits, making the game that much more fun.
Pawn Stars
Being that Bally really reached peaked popularity in Las Vegas, and that one of the most popular TV shows to ever come out of Vegas was “Pawn Stars,” it is only right that the two joined forces. Having first hit the casino floor in 2012, the Pawn Stars slot game from Bally was yet another example of the company capitalizing on massive pop-culture icons. The game is complete with bonus rounds and plenty of free spins, and features clips of the “Pawn Stars” cast that play while you are playing.
While there are many other Bally slot games from which you can choose, the abovementioned games do well to highlight the types of themes you will find. What’s more, in addition to the games you will find at brick and mortar casinos in the United States and around the world, Bally slot titles are also found in abundance at online casinos as well. This is a growing theme amongst brick and mortar slot game makers, but one that serves the overall casino industry quite well.
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Owning a vintage slot machine is one of those fun yet daunting ideas. Many old school one-armed bandits are beautifully designed and instant conversation pieces. Plus slot fans who own a machine don’t ever have to worry about losing money to the house.
List Of Bally Slot Machines
Charles August Fey, a Bavaria-born inventor, was living in San Francisco when he invented his first gambling machine in 1984. His games grew to be so popular at local bars, he quit his day job and opened a factory to start mass producing them, most notably the Liberty Bell machines in 1899. A lot of the functionality from that early game remained in place through much of the 20th century. Watch this video to see the seven mechanical actions set into motion when you pull back the bandit’s arm. The inner workings are probably a little more complex than you expect.
Given that a lot of old slot machines are hand built, it isn’t surprising that coins can get jammed on their way through the mechanism. Big warning: If your machine jams, don’t force the arm or you can break, twist or damage a part inside. Different models and makes tend to have common jam points. The Mills model shown in the above video can have coins stuck in the “elevator” section that displays the last five coins dropped into the machine. Getting the slot working again can be as simple as cleaning the gunk off of an old part. You just need to be smart when you’re disassembling and reassembling the machinery.
Bally Slot Machine History
Okay, there are plenty of more places where a coin can get stuck and the above video demonstrates how to fix a variety of jams. It also explains how to disassemble the major parts of the machine and where common problem areas are.
Curious how an antique slot machine knows how much money a winner gets? This video shows the punch-card like communication that trips payouts and how. If you ever need to replace the reel symbols or calibrate the machine you’ll need to understand how these work. Even if you don’t ever plan on owning a machine, the metallic “circuitry” is interesting to see.
Bally Slot Machine Company
Want to own a modern slot machine? New ones have plenty more bells, whistles and dings, and also a lot more advanced parts. If you plan on getting one, you may want to have an idea of what’s inside. In addition to the classic reels, there are speakers, motherboards filled with programming chips and plenty of wires. Unless you have a way with a soldering iron you probably won’t try and fix it. But in case you do, here’s a clip from Discovery showing what’s inside.
Did you know newer slot machines are smart enough to test themselves when a problem happens? This video shows you the procedure for having the machine check its own system. The host’s desert dry delivery is also enough to make this vid worth a watch.