Hi Ricky:

I would be interested in knowing the name of the game. This definitely sounds like a BALLY machine. Some "old school" Bally video games (like the 9-line version of BLAZING 7's) counted the number of symbols on a payline regardless of whether they were left-to-right ... sort of like a payline scatter. Also, the number of 7's accumulated to go into a 7 spin bonus round. The major drawback with this particular game was that regardless of how many lines you were playing, you always just got a single line in the bonus round. I think this is why this game never caught on.

However, Bally games like BOXCAR BONUS pay out on symbols which do not need to be left-to-right (for example, you could have CACTUS, CACTUS, WATER TOWER, CACTUS, CACTUS ... and it would pay 4 CACTUS ... where most machines would pay nothing).

/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\

PS - Bally has repackaged BOXCAR BONUS at least 3 times ... they are so far behind in their math algorithms ... they think if you add a big screen, the game will be more fun ...? Duh.