Ticker

The Ticker, manufactured by Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company (PAMCO) of Chicago in 1934, is a single-player electromechanical payout machine. Unlike conventional pinball, which awards points, replays, or free games, payout machines like Ticker dispensed coins directly to players based on where the ball landed, aligning them more closely with early gambling devices than with the scoring games pinball would later become known for.

By 1934, PAMCO and other manufacturers had already been producing pinball-style games for a few years, so Ticker represents a mid-1930s example of the format rather than one of the very earliest games. Its electro-mechanical design used relays and solenoids typical of the period to control the payout mechanism.

Little is documented about Ticker's specific design, art, or theme. As a payout machine, it reflects a branch of early pinball history closely tied to coin-operated gambling devices, a category that was common before such machines were regulated out of the amusement market in many jurisdictions.