November, 1939
By
C arroll
E,
V e t t e r ic k
Coin Machine Business Is GOOD—
With Promise of Getting BETTER!
HE complexion of the coin
machine industry is turn
ing from the sallow
shades of recent months to a
healthy pink. Things are look
ing up, up, U P ! Operators are
paying heavy premiums to get
some of the new machines, and
manufacturers are spending
sleepless nights trying to gear
up production to meet demands.
No, this is not true in ALL coin
machine factories just yet, but
it is a reality in several Chicago
coin machine emporiums — and
it IS definitely a harbinger of
better times for everybody in
the biz.
Don't sell the coin machine
industry short! By Show time
the rumble and rumor of a new
prosperity will be an accepted
fact and you fellows who have
been slow to realize that new op
portunities are breaking will be
hot-footing it to get your share
of the business.
And here is another tip! If
you are entertaining any doubts
as to the success and the signifi
cance of the 1940 Coin Machine
Show, you can start getting rid
of them. If by Show Time you
are still not convinced that it
will be the finest and grandest
Coin Machine Show ever held—
well, come to Chicago anyway,
doubts and all, and if this tip
proves wrong you can wheel me
down State Street in a wheel
barrow! Is it a deal?
T
11
AUTOMATIC AGE
Now just one more forecast.
Your pre-view of the Coin Ma
chine Show each year is your
Convention Issue of A u t o m a t ic
A g e . It is almost always the only
coin machine publication which
reaches the trade in advance of
the Show. The 1940 Coin Ma
chine Show opens on Monday,
January 15th. By January 10th
you should have your copy of
the largest, most complete, most
beautiful Show Issue ever pub
lished. It will contain features
that are now in preparation,
some so valuable that you will
keep this issue under lock and
key. Every manufacturer of coin
machines and supplies will be
represented in this great edi
tion. This is not a boast, but a
promise to our operator-sub
scribers who depend upon A u t o
m a t i c A g e for complete and ac
curate information and who ap
preciate the fact that A u t o m a t ic
A g e is confined TO THE TRADE
ONLY,
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Music operators are not sure
yet whether penny-play phono
graphs are a threat or a prom
ise. Yet, a well-known Chicago
firm declares that tests in cer
tain kinds of locations show that
pennies pile up a higher gross
than nickels. This firm is now
offering full-size phonographs,
using standard records, equipped
with a combination penny and
nickel coin chute. For a nickel
© International Arcade Museum
the customer gets to hear five
records.
*
*
*
Something truly fancy in the
realm of deluxe amusement de
vices is now in production at one
of the industry’s largest plants.
No, it doesn’t have colored lights
or gold-plated gadgets. On the
contrary, it is very quiet and
dignified in appearance. But,
man, what happens when coins
are inserted in four different
coin chutes—that is what makes
it deluxe. Of course, what the
operator wants to know is what
happens when he opens the col
lection box. Well, from the inner
sanctums of this great coin ma
chine factory comes an an
nouncement which indicates that
returns are definitely deluxe. As
a matter of fact, they might
even be able to prove to you
that it earns more than SEV
ERAL regular Bell machines.
Better look into this!
*
*
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Feverish activity in the games
division of the industry indicates
that there is a healthy demand
for machines that have enough
“Umph” to please the players
without the necessity of reward
ing the player, now and then,
for his attention and his invest
ment. We’ve seen some of the
collection records compiled by
one Chicago manufacturer, and
we’ve heard reports from oper
ators and distributors, which
you wouldn’t believe was pos
sible with a 100 per cent amuse
ment machine. All of which
proves, among other things, that
if you can fascinate the player
http://www.arcade-museum.com/