Classic Mode

Play Meter

Issue: 1981 October 01 - Vol 7 Num 18

'A Bum Rap'
By Robert J. Boyle
[Ed. note: The following editorial column appeared in a New
Jersey newspaper. The subject of this defense, Bill O'Donnell,
former chairman of Bally's board of directors, was forced by
New Jersey officials to resign before Bally could be granted a
license for its casino in Atlantic City.]
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Former Attorney General John Degnan's loss in the
primary pleases me. I never met the man, and really
know little about him, except that I believe he used the
Constitution for his own purposes and not for the
purposes that it was written.
Degnan tilted a lot of casino windmills, and indicated
that he saw himself as the protector of the public. That
might not be a bad idea but the way he went about it and
the logic he used, baffled me.
I always believed that in this country you were free to
come and go as you please, free to associate with
whomever you wished, free to conduct business and,
that unless you were a convicted criminal, no
government agency could throw up restrictions against
you.
But, watching some of the hearing for casino officials
from afar, I began to wonder about Mr. Degnan and his
tactics. I especially wondered about his attacks on
William O'Donnell, who headed the Bally Casino.
Mr. O'Donnell, a Chicago resident who took an ailing
slot machine business and made it into a profitable one,
was instrumental in building Atlantic City's most
expensive casino. And, he wanted to head the business
that he built.
Mr. O'Donnell has never been convicted of any crime.
But he was denied ownership of the casino after the
Casino Commission ruled agaist him. Mr. Degnan was
the spear in the attacks on Mr. O'Donnell, and the
attacks seem unfounded . One was that one of his
employees at one time played golf with a suspected
Mafia member. The duffer was no longer employed by
Bally. Nevertheless it became an issue.
In this country we should be free to associate with
anyone. Mr. O 'Donnell also tried to get a loan, according
to Degnan, from a person who may or may not have
Mafia links. He wanted to save a business.
Loans do not necessarily have to come from banks.
Organizations such as the Teamsters, and even the
Catholic Church have given loans. When you need a
buck you go where the money is. And, it appears that is
what Mr. O 'Donnell did, and there is nothing criminal in
that.
Most everyone at one time or another deals with
questionable characters. Because a policeman, or a
newsman knows and perhaps even likes some of the
world's shady people does not make him shady.
From where I sit, Mr. O'Donnell got a bum rap.
To force a man to sell his own property, a property he
worked for and built with his own funds seemed lopsided.
Mr. O 'Donnell is still on the outside looking in; still
under orders to sell his stock; still unable to visit the
casino he built. But with a new governor taking office in
January, and with a Supreme Court hearing due, maybe
Mr. O 'Donnell will be able to enjoy the rights that he and
every American should have.
He should be allowed his casino.
There are laws in the state to protect the citizens. If he,
or any other casino operator breaks them, then he
should be punished and restrictions should be placed
against him. But neither he nor any citizens should face
"before the fact" injustice.
That just isn't the way it should be done in this country
or this state.
•
PLAY METER, October 1, 1981
A wards for '81
Play Meter expands program
to cite games 'excellence'
The "Play Meter" awards for 1981
will open up eight categories for
operators' voting on excellence in
coin-op pinballs and video games.
This departure from the dual awards
of 1980, the industry's first ever, has
been made, Play Meter publisher
Ralph C. Lally II said, because, "We
want to recognize the multi-faceted
appeal of games and their attraction
to players. Assuming this to be the
basis of growth in the industry, we
want to give special recognition to
the most innovative additions to the
most popular game modes."
With this aim, Play Meter will in
October award the manufacturers
who, based on operator/ readers
response , have contributed
machines that excelled in each of the
following categories:
Best video game for the year;
Best pinball for the year;
Best artwork on a video game;
Best artwork on a pinball game;
Best new technical improvement
on a video game;
Best new technical improvement
on a pinball game;
Best new play feature on a video
game;
Best new play feature on a pinball
game.
David Pierson, Play Meter's
editorial director, noted : "The
operators' votes, based on their own
direc t experiences with the games of
the year, will decide the awarding of
'The Play Meter' awards for 1981."
Ballots are currently being mailed
to operator/ readers of Play Meter.
The balloting is not open to any
manufacturer's representative,
Pierson noted.
Manufacturers have, however,
been notified of all nominations by
their competitors, in the event that
any dispute should arise pS to which
factory inaugurated any particular
innovation in the games, Pierson
added .
The input from readers has been
impressive since the awarding of the
1980 Play Meter trophies, said
publisher Lally . "It was this input
which led to our expansion of the
categClries being awarded," he
added . "As a .mark of excellence in
the industry, we hope for these
PLAY METER , October 1, 1981
awards to have as much meaning for
coin-op as Oscars have for the
motion picture industry, the
Gram my for records, The Tony, The
Emmy and so forth in other
entertainment modes.
"It is exceptional, however, that
the operators of the games
themselves, not the producers or the
consumer as in other fields, do the
voting which determines the
winner," Lally added.
The awards program sponsored
by Play Meter remains open to
operators' input as to what
categories should be extended for
the games in the coming year, said
Lally.
Balloting via the Play Meter annual
polling of operators is part of the
vehicle which has been widely
recognized as the authoritative
survey of the coin industry in the
United States. The results of the
l l ~ 'l
l I 1
annual survey in other areas of
operating will be published in the
upcoming "State of the Industry"
issue of Play Meter.
As stated in an editorial column
("Up Front") in this issue, the
various categories of excellence
being awarded via "The Play Meter"
are posed as a standard for better
machines and ultimately more profit
for all those engaged in the industry.
The 1980 awards, Lally said, were
"well-received by all industry people,
not restricted to the winning
companies (Atari and Williams). I
think it shows the industry realized
that the time has arrived to recog-
nize excellence, as other enter-
tainment fields likewise have such
honors."
Winners will be presented with the
"Play Meter" award during the 1981
AMOA Show in Chicago in late
October.
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9

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