Edwin S. Lowe (1910February 23, 1986) was a U.S. salesman, toymaker, game

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

whose promotion of a game he renamed

Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

made it popular as a national pastime and fundraising activity for churches and schools. His company the E. S. Lowe Company produced bingo games and materials in addition to plastic toys and the dice game

Yahtzee Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley (a company that has since been acquired and assimilated by Hasbro). It was first marketed under the name of Yahtzee by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlie ...

. He later worked in film and stage production, including the Broadway 1981 play ''A Talent for Murder'', featuring

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...

. Lowe also opened the Tallyho hotel on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

in 1962.

Biography

Lowe was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, the eldest son of an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

, and studied in the British Mandate of Palestine before relocating to the United States at the age of eighteen.Los Angeles Times: "Edwin Lowe, Bingo Developer, Dies at 75 : Entrepreneur Reworked Game He Discovered at Georgia Carnival" by BURT A. FOLKART
February 27, 1986 While working as a traveling toy salesman in December 1929, Lowe encountered a group at an

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia carnival engaged in a game called Beano. Returning to his Brooklyn, NY, home, he organized a game with several friends, one of whom became so excited at winning, she shouted "Bingo!" The popularity of the game among his acquaintances prompted Lowe to print game cards, which he later sold under the name Bingo. He established the E. S. Lowe Company for the production of his Bingo game cards, which initially were released as 24-card sets. The company later increased the number of variations to more than 6,000 card combinations, adding to the game's popularity. E. S. Lowe produced miniature chess and checker game sets that circulated widely among U.S. service personnel in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The company continued to produce games and plastic toys after the war, including a boxed toy casino set called Monte Carlowe. In 1956, he bought rights from a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

couple who approached him with a concept of a game that they played on their

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

. Lowe highlighted its origins in naming the game – Yahtzee. In 1959, Lowe produced the popular "Renaissance Chess Set" which featured highly detailed chessmen based on the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

period. The beautiful design of these chess pieces has made them a favorite with chess players and collectors.

Milton Bradley Company Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley (1836-1911) in Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production o ...

purchased E. S. Lowe Company in 1973 for $26 million.New York Times: "EDWIN S. LOWE, 75; TOY MANUFACTURER POPULARIZED BINGO"
February 25, 1986 In 1962, Lowe opened the 450-room Tallyho hotel on the

. It was the only major hotel in Nevada without a casino, as Lowe believed that there were some tourists to the city who were not interested in gambling. Because of low revenue caused by the lack of a casino, the hotel closed later that year, with Lowe stating that it was a mistake to open without a casino.

Personal life

His last wife was Barbara (Zolnerowich) Lowe. He had one daughter Gail Ann Lowe Haymes Maidman with Jeanette Marmott Lowe, Gail. He maintained a home at Quogue, Long Island, New York, but died at his Manhattan residence on February 23, 1986, at the age of 75.

References

External links

Ideafinder link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Edwin S 1910 births 1986 deaths American game designers 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American businesspeople Polish emigrants to the United States