148
May, 1937
AUTOMATIC AGE
Rock-Ola s Radio Rifles Popular at Show
Size Important Detail
for Counter Games
One o f the small but important de
tails in the manufacture o f counter
games was explained recently by A1
S. Douglis, president o f the Daval
Manufacturing Company.
“ Tho many operators buy our coun
ter games,” Douglis said, “ we find
that a large m ajority o f them do not
realize all o f the detail work. For
example, such a minor detail as size.
Most operators have neglected this
feature entirely, not figuring the why
and the wherefore o f this problem..
Mr. Hen ry C. Lemk e, M an ag er of the Lemk e Coin Machine Co mpa ny, reports
that the T o m Mix Radio Rifle and the School Days Rifle created considerable
c om me nt at the Detroit and Michigan Exposition and M i d - W e s t Spo rtsman Show
held at the Detroit Convention Hall, April 2 to 10, 1937. Crowds of people actually
waited in line to play the Radio Rifles, due to the splendid publicity and the
unique arrang eme nt which Mr. L e m k e made concerning the Roc k- Ola Radio Rifles.
Liberal Percentage Best
For Trade
Silent Bill Cohen, who is known as
the sphinx o f Minneapolis, produced
an editorial recently which puts him
decidedly on the side o f the Liberal
League o f the coin machine business.
He has been quick to see that much
o f the antagonism to the industry is
due to the tight percentages paid out
in some machines.
“ The basis o f successful operating,”
Cohen said, “ is liberal percentage.
Most operators prefer to give the pub
lic a run for their money because they
make more money that way, but they
also please the general public, who,
after all, are the ones that must be
satisfied.
“ Most o f the time the operator
yields to the demands o f the m ajority
o f location owners who are greedy
and hate to see a customer winning.
Don’t yield.
The right arguments
will convince your location owner that
a liberal machine is the best paying
dividend he can have.
“ Lose a location rather than be a
party to an outright gyp, whose spot
will peter out and be a detriment to
the operating business in the long
run. I don’t believe in shorting ma
chines even fo r special events because
o f the adverse publicity. Seventy-five
to 80 per cent is fair to all.
“ In summer resorts tight machines
also are very bad fo r our business.
Lawmakers, law enforcers and others
who are on a vacation or just fo r a
few days’ recreation in resorts play
the machines and find that they are
so badly bugged it is impossible to
get back 25 per cent o f what they
put in. No wonder a lot o f people
get hostile against the machines.
Whenever the opportunity presents
itself they take drastic action to close
territory.
“ Complaints are lessened when you
operate liberal machines.
Do you
know that when you bug a jackpot
that the machines pays 6% per cent
more because the smaller payouts
come up oftener, yet the customers
when they find they cannot get a jack
pot are sore?
“ W hy not try a tight machine
alongside a liberal one and satisfy
your location customer which one
pays the best. F or example, in one
location try a dime liberal and a nickel
tight. In another a tight dime and
a liberal nickel. Do this to satisfy
yourself also.
“ Do it now! Don’t wait. Give the
public a run fo r their money and I
am sure that you will create a differ
ent public opinion regarding ma
chines.
“ O f course, there are soreheads you
will never satisfy. Those that are
out to win and will declare the ma
chine a gyp because they lose a lit
tle, even though they were ahead and
could have quit a winner. They nat
urally stay until they lose, but you
will find the m ajority o f the public
know that they will lose when they
play the machine, but if they can get
a run for their money are satisfied.”
© International Arcade Museum
“ W e spent many days investigating
the latest fixtures being made for
stores before we adopted a size for
Tri-O-Pak and Double Deck and ar
ranged these games so that the me
chanism would conform to the size of
space we knew that the storekeeper
would allow fo r the games on his
counter.
“ Every operator will agree that few
storekeepers will allow their entire
counter to be taken up by a game.
They have other merchandise to dis
play and, tho they admit the counter
game will earn much more money,
still they feel it necessary to have
their regular merchandise displayed.
“ Therefore the size o f every Daval
counter game is planned so that no
storekeeper will regret giving the
space necessary to display the game.
In fact, operators tell us that they
are complimented by locations on the
scientific manner in which the space
question has been answered by Tri-O-
Pak and Double Deck.”
New Effort to Legalize
Pin Ball at Tulsa
An ordinance to legalize marble
boards played fo r fun with tokens,
and not fo r keeps with nickels will
be presented to the Tulsa city com
mission, by W . L. Coffey, attorney
who is representing fou r marble
board operators.
The follow ing operators are pro
moting the ordinance: Boyle Amuse
ment Company, Tom Gray, J. B.
Largent and L. T. Newlin. A pro
posal to set up a license o f $20 per
machine is included in the proposed
ordinance.
The Supreme Court now has before
it an appeal from a present city
ordinance banning marble boards.
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