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Beach Club Article, posted 7/01/05
The games that followed ATLANTIC CITY, et PALM BEACH, FROLICS, BRIGHT SPOT and BEAUTY, I doubt were as popular as ATLANTIC CITY, which I believe lasted well into the 50's and even the early ^60's. The fact that Bally went back to BRIGHT LIGHTS with their 8th machine, BRIGHT SPOT, suggests to me that bingos hadn't quite caught on yet with the general population of pinball players. That all changed with BEACH CLUB,*10, when Bally broke through and hit the beginning of the bingo bonanza, and in a big way!
When you compare BEACH CLUB with it's predecessors, there is really no comparison. With the jazzed up beach scene, artwork, and colors, BEACH CLUB really had it! When Bally combined into BEACH CLUB all of the
popular features of their previous machines, et, the new selection feature, the red and yellow stars spotting 2,5, and 8, and the odds panels blending into
the beach scene, and the score extra step to boot, they had a blockbuster! And with the internals now all contained in the head, it was doubly popular with operators, and I believe this added even more to it's appeal because the sounds of the whole mechanism were now closer to the feature panels!
There isn't a machine more dear to my heart than BEACH CLUB. One day after school I took some pop bottles to the store across the street, and went back across to Cashman's Cafe to play it, and I managed to rack up a
few replays from my first nickel. It was pretty loose, and I kept winning. Then BC gave me my first big thrill. BC has a red and yellow star, either of which spots 2,5,and 8, "if hit when lit". I had the yellow star lit and the "select a lit number" feature lit up to 16. By my 4th ball I had 6,17,and 3 in the right
vertical line, but wasn't paying much attention to it. The only thing I remember is that I made my selection, and shot my 4th ball. I came down on the right side, hit the yellow star, and plopped into 25, and the machine started to rack up. I looked up and couldn't believe my eyes! My first 5 in a row! It was a complete surprise! As the machine was counting, it took a few seconds to sink in how it had happened. I watched with anticipation as the meter hit 99 and went over 100 for my first time! I had the time of my life for the next three hours. I finally had my chance to really rock, with BC.
The impact of BEACH CLUB cannot be overstated, in my opinion, as the basic design and layout of BC, et, super cards, center card, number arrangements, and odds and features remained similar for many games
after it. This includes the United bingos as well. It is interesting to note that United's CABANA and BEACH CLUB are the same machines, except for the backglass. According to dates of manufacture on the super site,
they are two months apart. If I ever wrote a book on bingos, I'd probably have an entire chapter on BEACH CLUB. As I mention in the forum, I had the priveledge of owning two BC's. The first was a nice original, but with the second I almost took the backglass out and hauled it to the dump. The front was rubbed well into the plywood, the playfield had a deep groove {3/16"+}in the ball track at the top, every ball was worn completely to the
brass, and the search disc and wipers were about as bad. I eventually got around to restoring it. Ironically, as a result of my effort, that BEACH CLUB
helped me get my first job in the coin-op field. But I wish now that I had that BC, in that exact condition, with all it's scars and blemishes. I don't think I
would change it much. It's condition would speak for itself. BEACH CLUB is a true classic from the 50's
Thank you all for your interest in "Jim"s Corner". My next post will feature DUDE RANCH, PALM SPRINGS, ICE FROLICS, and HI-FI!
See you then!
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