Not that pinball ever really left.
The law, which has been on the books since the 1930s, has gone unenforced for the better part of a century. But like
so many other forgotten rules and regulations of eras gone-by, the law, technically speaking, never went away.
So, in a concerted effort to tidy up their books, the Oakland City Council announced that they will repeal the existing ban in the next few weeks.
The criminalization of the game came to pass towards the end of the Prohibition Era as Oakland and
other US cities moved to combat the growth of gambling that plagued the country. At the time, lawmakers viewed pinball as the perverted cousin of the more notorious slot-machine.
For the most part, this obscure legal reform will go unnoticed by the city's 400,000 residents who have been preoccupied with
more pressing criminal concerns in recent years.
Still, for Oakland's known pinball enthusiasts
like Legionnaire Saloon manager Fu Akerele-Ale, the change comes as a welcome, and entirely complete, surprise.
