C.O.C.A. Times

The Bally
Reliance
by Johnny Duckworth
Quarter Model
Nickel Model
Nickel Model
Nickel Model
If you have ever seen the Bally Reliance you won't
soon forget it. This dice machine is quite incredible
as you play the game of craps in a slot machine. The
first time you see one you try so hard to figure out
how the machine can possibly do this. It is like
magic. How can it throw the dice, know what num-
ber was actually thrown, and then payoff correctly?
The mechanism is quite complicated compared to
the traditional 3-reeler. The dice slide out of a drum
below the glass in the player's window. It is a tight
space, as the depth isn't much bigger than the actu-
al dice. The dice can slide and bounce all over in the
players window, but there is no way they can roll
over and change the number they are set on. The
dice are preset in two drums, a left and a right. The
left is the first number thrown, otherwise known as
the come out number. If a 7 or 11 are thrown first,
you are a winner. If it is a 2, 3, or 12 you lose. If you
hit another number in the left drum you then need
to hit the same number in the right drum to win. The
secret is each drum holds 13 pair of dice. When the
drum lands in a position it throws the same number
every time for that position. It can then payout if the
Nickel Model
position it landed on is a winner. Production of the
Reliance started in 1935 and it sold originally for
$119.50 for the nickel model and $125.50 for the
quarter model. This machine has so much character
in the way it looks to the way it plays.
Towards the end of production, Bally tried to com-
pete with their bolt-on jackpots which were all for
show. These machines were promoted as the New
Super Flash Reliance. To be more competitive, they
also sold for a reduced price of $92.50 for the nick-
el and $95.50 for the quarter. It resembled the jack-
pot on the 3 reel machines because it boasted a
flashy jackpot bulging with coins. What the player
didn ' t know was that the bolt-on jackpot for the
Reliance is actually separate from the machine
itself and there was no way to physically win the
coins in them. If you were lucky enough to hit the
jackpot you still received the $5 or $25 jackpot
token depending on the denomination played. The
tokens were concealed in the window on the front
of the machine. If the machine had the bolt-on jack-
pot added, the tokens were hidden. The tokens
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