Pamco Parlay Junior

The Pamco Parlay Junior is a rare and historic electro-mechanical pinball machine from January 1936, produced by Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company (PAMCO), a pioneering manufacturer in the early payout-pinball industry. Like its sibling machine, the 'Pamco Parlay Senior' (1935), it is a one-ball horse-racing payout game rather than a flipper-based scoring game — flippers would not be invented for another eleven years.

Gameplay on the Pamco Parlay Junior centered on wagering-style mechanics typical of one-ball payout machines: players would shoot a single ball, and where it landed determined the odds-based payout, tying into the horse-racing theme. The machine's compact size, measuring 40 inches long by 20 inches wide, makes it notably smaller than its Senior counterpart. Its backbox housed the electromechanical components that drove these payout mechanics.

According to historical accounts, the changing-odds feature introduced across the Pamco Parlay line is credited with marking the beginning of the 'bingo machine' category of coin-operated games. Although little is known about the designer or specific details surrounding the machine's creation, the Pamco Parlay Junior remains an important piece of pinball history, offering a unique glimpse into the payout-game roots that predated modern flipper pinball.