Looff's Lite-a-Line

If anybody noticed I was gone part of last week it was in part to visit the oldest gambling establishing in California, Looff's Lite-a-Line.

Please check out my new page about it. As always, I welcome all comments, questions, and corrections. In particular, should I cut out the "personal note" part?

A fine and fun read, Wizard. There's nothing wrong with the personal note, surely some of your long time readers are interested in a bit of personal history, and the ones that aren't only lose five seconds reading that. I believe that the potential enjoyment value of the readers interested in that exceeds the value of the few seconds lost by those who don't care, therefore, leaving the paragraph in is +EV.

That's exceptionally well done, thanks Wizard. I didn't see anything I would change.

I hate when a TV game show requires a random selection because they always ask the contestant why. And the response is usually something like, "I chose #2 because I have two daughters," or "I chose #14 because that's my IQ."

However you chose #11 because, "When given the choice, I'll always pick a prime number."

You would be mathematically hilarious on Deal or No Deal.

I grew up in So. Cal and spent many nights at the Pike, riding some rides and playing in the arcades. I may have to visit this place next time I am back just to check out the memorabilia.

Quote: Wizard

If anybody noticed I was gone part of last week it was in part to visit the oldest gambling establishing in California, Looff's Lite-a-Line.

Please check out my new page about it. As always, I welcome all comments, questions, and corrections. In particular, should I cut out the "personal note" part?

Love it, and keep it the personal touches... it makes it far more engaging, and for this sort of report, that's the important part. It's not a new game that needs pages of analysis, or a new casino with some quirks.

Thanks for the kind words so far. I was almost going to make a blog entry about Looff's instead of a game analysis, because there isn't that much to analyze about the game mathematically. However, it truly was a fun and unique experience, and that is what I was trying to convey.

Very interesting game.

Well written article. No typos that I noticed.

Only one thing: Clicking on photo thumbnails will link to a large version, in the same window. In most of your other articles, they link to a pop-up of the photo. Why the change?

What great timing, Wiz. I am heading to Long Beach this weekend, to attend the Red Bull Flugtag and was looking for places of interest near Long Beach, and just this morning came across Looff's Lite-a-Line, online and was thinking it was a possibility. I think now, I will definitely check it out. :-)
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I remember being on a brass ring carousel in the late 80s but cannot recall its location. If I had to guess it would be at the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. They had a padded clown face against the wall with an open mouth. It was fun to try to chuck the ring into the mouth, or at my little brother, on the way by.

Thanks for the review, Wizard! Very interesting place!

By the way, do you remember The Pike? Growing up in Santa Monica myself and the fact that I was only 8 when it shut down, it must have skipped my radar. But being so close, did you frequent the park?

I thought it was a very warm and interesting review, and I would leave the personal observations in. I think you convey well the nostalgic appeal of the games in the tone of your writing, and I certainly would appreciate the warning about food being vendo. All the links work, the photos are useful (loving the lady giving you the eye over the top of your machine scoreboard), and only a couple nitpicky grammars not needing attention. Well done!

Great writeup Wiz. The fiancee and I are on a mission to see all of the Major League Baseball stadiums over the course of the next few years. Over the summer we were able to hit 9 of them (STL, MIL, CWS, CHI, DET, TOR, NYY, NYM, & WAS) and were looking for a tour to the west coast possibly next summer. Since "too many beach days" is not in the fiancee's vocabulary, perhaps we'll catch an Angels game and stay somewhere in Long Beach for her, while hitting Looff's for me. She does get a kick out of those horse-racing type games (not sigma derby but the ones where you roll the ball for walk/trot/run), so I'm confident that she wouldn't hate the idea of Looff's. As an added bonus, you can win actual cash prizes here instead of stupid stuffed animals that we'll never use, so what could be bad about that?

Just out of curiosity and since I've never been to California myself, how would you rate the part of town where it's located? It's hard to tell from the limited pictures online but is it a place I may want to avoid at night or would you see it as being harmless to visit in the evening hours?

Thanks for the insight. Looks like a fun way to spend a few hours.

I just now saw this - good review/write-up!

Thanks for the continued kind words!

Quote: duckmankilla

Just out of curiosity and since I've never been to California myself, how would you rate the part of town where it's located?

That baseball trip sounds like fun! I wouldn't mind doing that, but with the NFL. Looff's unfortunately is located in an area that doesn't cater to tourists. The fun stuff to do, like the beach and Queen Mary, are located many blocks to the south. My advice would be to hit Looff's in between visiting the Dodgers and Angels. You can easily pop by as you drive up or down the 405. You might also consider staying a few days on the beach in Long Beach, although I'm partial to Venice Beach.

At the risk of changing topics, as long as we're talking about Long Beach, did anyone else recognize the passing of Cal Worthington last week?


Rest in peace Cal. May you be selling cars wherever comes next.

Wiz... great article. Enjoyed reading every word of it. A unique carnival-style game.

Quote: RogerKint

I remember being on a brass ring carousel in the late 80s but cannot recall its location. If I had to guess it would be at the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. They had a padded clown face against the wall with an open mouth. It was fun to try to chuck the ring into the mouth, or at my little brother, on the way by.

Yes, I was at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk in May, and their carousel still has rings riders can throw at the clown.

Here's a photo of Santa Cruz riders reaching for the ring:

Quote: Wizard

...At the risk of changing topics, as long as we're talking about Long Beach, did anyone else recognize the passing of Cal Worthington last week?


Rest in peace Cal. May you be selling cars wherever comes next.

Whatever will become of his dog Spot?

RIP Cal.