Del Amo Fashion Square was one of the chain’s signature mall outposts, opening in the late 1970s / early ’80s boom when Bally was carpeting America’s shopping centers with blinking marquees. Retail historians note Del Amo’s Castle was store #127, wedged between McDonald’s and B. Dalton—recorded in South Bay history blogs. It began as a Le Mans Speedway when it opened in July 1972. Bally purchased the chain in the early 1980's and soon after removed the bumper cars, replacing them with more arcade games.
By the 1990s, the site had become a rite of passage for local teens—quarter stacks on the cocktail Pac‑Man, first dates under the glow of Mortal Kombat II, and the unmistakable "Aladdin’s" token clink in the coin tray. It finally closed during Namco’s early‑2000s retrench, but alumni still share memories in forum threads and nostalgia groups.
