![]() Today, pinball’s speakeasy roots are still apparent in Seattle, though the subculture has gone more mainstream in the city. Crime syndicates controlled Seattle's pinball parlors all the way into the 1970’s when government officials were finally indicted for taking bribes from pinball proprietors. In the 60’s, “pinball king” Ben Cichy “accidentally drowned” just before testifying against local law enforcement in a pinball bribes scandal. ![]() Seattle's speakeasies and seedy nightclubs became pinball’s home, and its existence in prohibition’s underworld led to pinball rackets serious enough to bomb each others’ businesses. Pinball was only tolerated in Seattle under heavy regulation and taxes – and a nod from scandalous law enforcement officials willing to look the other way for a price. Before the advent of flippers in the 1930’s, pinball was a gambling machine – a game of chance banned outright in cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Seattle’s approach to tolerating vice during prohibition made it a national home for pinball. Seattle is a destination for pinball arcade lovers – a national pinball hotspot where the game has a scandalous history, a diverse array of communities keeping the game alive today, and arcades full of pinball games rarely seen anywhere else. It’s a trick question: they really go hand-in-hand. ![]() Which came first, Seattle’s association with subcultures or its status as a pinball hub? ![]()
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