Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

Issue: 1948 July

THEY'RE ALL CRYING FOR
YANKS
MANUFACTURING
COMPANY
161 W . HURON ST., CHICAGO 10, ILL.
W EST COAST O FF IC E
WILLIAMS DISTRIBUTING CO.
2309 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 8, Calif.
money he has to spen d. It i es pecially
important to kee p in mind th e lower in-
come groups, for in toto th ey can con ume
a lot of goods.
Our machine age is gea red to turn out
goods in quantity hardl y dreamed of bc-
fore. When some shortages still ex ist, it
eems foolish to mention oversupply, but
~oods are beginning to pile up in some
li elds.
Maybe th e coi n machine manufacturer
was ri ght: our factories can produce enough
so that employees should on ly work half
a week, get full weekly pay, and then have
plenty of time for leisure, travel, etc., in
which tim e they would spend more and help
10 con ume all the goods we can produce.
Sounds like a paradise.
Co nsum er relations is a much bigger job
than labor-mana gemen t relations, but one
of th e shortest ways to promote bigger con·
su mption of goods is to keep expanding
the many ideas to improve labOl'-ma nage-
ment relations.
5.000 Visitors Daily
At New N. Y. Arcade
NEW YORK-West 42nd Street, be-
tween 7th and 8th Avenues, has been
tagged "Arcade Alley" with th e recent
opening of the new 42nd Street Playland.
Street, whi ch draws vast throngs to a
number of second·run movi e hou ses, al-
ready has three amusement centers, two
operated by Schork & Shaffer and the third
by Johnny Christopher.
New site is operated by 42nd St. Enter-
prises, Inc., headed by Dave Simon of
Simon Sales, Inc., coin machine distri-
butor, and is managed by Nat Chodecker.
Head mechanic is Ray Schultz, who previ-
ously worked at the Fun Center in Oak-
land, Cal.
JULY, 1948
42nd St. Playland occupi es the 50 by
100 foo t si te of a former bus depot, and
it rear entrance fronts th e load ing lot of
another terminal , Pllllin g patronage from
waiting travell ers as well as from the
normal tran sie nt trade on 42nd Street. A
glass front makes activity in th e loca tion
visible to passer -by. In its opening weeks,
the arcade was drawin g an estim ated 3500-
5000 visitors per day, and mo t of them
dropped co ins in one of the spot's ma-
chines.
On e front co rn er of the s ite is occupied
by a cigar stand and a snack shop , with
balance of th e floor space devoted to the
arcade layout. Unique fea tures are a
marquee· type green and orange electric
sign out front , co mpetin g witb the neigh-
boring movie hou se sign for attention; and
a fluorescent lightin g system which jJ1umi-
nates the interior of th e arcade.
Basic feature of the pot is a " bank" of
37 custom-b uilt pokerino tables (made by
Scientific Machine Corp., New York),
which occupi es the right-hand side of the
loca tion. Sole break in th e tables is a
premium co unter, at whi ch pa trons redeem
coupons won at pokerino. Of the 59 other
arcade pieces, a major novelty is provided
by the introdu ction of roll· downs. Three
Singapores (U nited Mfg. Co., Chicago),
two H y- Rolls ( Bally Mfg. Co., Chicago),
and two Advance R oll machin es appeared
to be getting a major share of the play,
while two Arrows (Esso Mfg. Co., Ho-
boken, N. J .) and two Bing-A-Rolls
(Genco, Chicago) rounded out the roll-
down picture. Among a group of sports
machines, th e first model to reach the
East of Bally's Big I nning, a new baseball
game, proved a good drawi ng-card. A new
40-selection AMI coin phonograph is spotted
in the center of the loca tion .
Among the standard equipment were
Internati onal Mutoscope's Photomatons and
Voice-O-Graphs, ABT target guns, a nd Ex·
hibit fortune-tellers. Panorams, converted
to individual viewi ng and geared to dime
play, were doing well. On e interesting
unit was a battery of four ni ckel-opera ted
M utoscopes, each featuring a different
prizefight, with a Joe Louis bout rated as
top coi n· pull er.
Spot h as plenty of flash and color, and
the natural wood finish of the pokerino
tabl es and roll-downs adds a note of " new-
ness" to the equipm en t th a t has long been
missi ne; in pos t-war arcades in these parts.
42nd St. Playland expects to add a number
of new machin es after the CMI show, in-
cl uding Scientific's new baseba ll game, to
bring its total of arcade pieces well ove r-
the hundred mark.
Dr. Pepper Report Gives
Interesting Sidelights
DALLAS-Annual report of Dr. Pepper
Co. gave some sidelights on trend in sales
. of soft drinks. Don C. Bryan, president,
said the firm expects 1948 to be fairly as
good as last year, although costs continu e
to rise. H e sa id th e business now has
entered a buyer's mark et and that th e in-
dustry should be able to hold retail price
at five cents.
Sales began to decline in the last quarter
of 1947 bu t started upward aga in in De-
cember, he sa id. Supply chann els had
fill ed up by the end of the summer la t year,
accordi ng to Bryan , hence national sale
began to decl in e in October.
The pickup that started in December co n-
tinued into January, and th en leveled off
in the la tter part of the month, also during
the first two weeks of February. Sales
started upward again by th e end of Febru-
ary. Demand during March is normally
abou t 30 per cent below th e peak summer
mon th s, he sa id .
11
Turret Kicker New Skill
Feature of Bally's "Rancho"
Public Belalions Ideas
National and world problems are so momentous there is little chance for In-
dustry public relations work on any of these issues. Furthermore, the big issues
,are always controversial and decided on a political basis.
But there are some problems which provide public relations opportunities. The
n a: n objective at the present time is to encourage local and state organizations of
coinmen to keep some definite program agoing.
A list of suggestions is made in this editorial , on the theory that some of the
objectives will be chiefly summer campaigns and over by the time the national
elections are out of the way. The normal expectancy is that the next six months
or so will be subject to agitation and maybe crises, and hence the coin machine
trade can best undertake good-will programs that are temporary.
SAVE is a word that will underly some civic campaigns now under way that
have important national interest, and in which local trade groups can cooperate
with a lot of favorable publicity resulting therefrom.
Other civic and business leaders will manage all these campaigns, but coin-
men as a group can find ways to lend moral support, and maybe perform some
'active services. It will be a chance for coinmen to mix with leaders in other fields.
1. Save Gasoline. This is a campaign that might have special meaning for the
coin machine trade. True, a lot of the publicity about gas shortaqes is intended to
get people to avoid useless driving, but there is still the danger that gas shortages
might become all too real during the summer.
The oil industry is leading in the "Save Gasoline" campaign and the special
object will be to get summer tourists to save as much as possible. The campaign
is largely one of proper publicity, using posters, letters, stickers, etc. The coin
machine trade is interested in as big a summer tourist trade as possible, but this
may be a summer in which some curtailment would be advisable.
There is also the danger that coinmen themselves might be accused of wastinq
·gas. It would be preferable for the trade to help spread the slogan-"Save Gas."
2. Save Scrap Metal. During the last war, some coin machine firms did win
mention for joining in the scrap metal campaigns; in some cases it was simply
furnishing a truck to transport scrap to the market place. The good work was done,
and in those cities where performed, it added to the good reputation of the men in
the business.
The scrap metal saving idea is not over, and may become important before the
year ends. The American Iron and Steel Institute is leading in this campaign,
Teoresenting a great industry and, of course, composed of business men who them-
selves have a big public relations problem. They would understand the problems
of the coin machine trade in trying to win public approval.
The idea is not so much the scrap that could be recovered by coinmen, but the
joining in a city campaign to encourage people to collect scrap. In fact, local
coinmen could plan and carry out a city campaign as their very own civic enter-
prise.
3. Save Lives. Safety campaigns are a permanent thing, but at intervals it is
necessary for civic and business leaders to wage special safety drives, in order
to keep the safety idea in the minds of the people. Newspapers are always active
in such campaigns and coinmen, in taking active part in local safety movements,
would be working with leaders in many lines of business.
The coin machine trade has already developed some leaders in safety work.
Men like Grant Shay (Bell-O-Matic Corp.) prove that coinmen can make a name for
the business in the safety field.
Operating firms that have employees should conduct the approved forms of
safety instruction in their own business. Since safety work and instruction is a
well organized program, every coin machine firm that takes part in safety work
among its own employees should be duly registered with city and state agencies
that foster safety programs. Be sure to get credit for what you do.
4. Save Forests. This is an old stdry, but forest conservation is being given
special attention in a summer campaign aimed particularly at tourists. The cam-
paign will be publicized by prominent entertainers, radio and movie stars, etc.
Bob Hope and others will feature the campaign. If famous stars can give special
support to such a campaign, why not the coin machine trade? It is a program that
will cost little money and yet it may win a lot of good will.
Here again, there are a lot of cities in which coinmen themselves can lead
the entire city-wide campaign for forest conservation, cooperating with the national
organizations that sponsor such work. And the newspapers would have to give
forth with good publicity.
There are other public campaigns than these, in which coinmen can join
10cally, much to the credit of themselves and the Industry.
Keep in mind also that campaigns to raise funds for fighting cancer, heart
disease and other scourgeG will be conducted this summer in many cities. Coin
Machine Industries, Inc., supports the cancer campaign, while National Automatic
Merchandising Assn. supports the fund for fighting heart disease. So, the Industry
is definitely in these campaigns nationally; now, support loca1 drives.
CHICAGO-An entirely new skill fea-
ture, Turret Kicker, has been built into
Bally's newest five-ball novelty game,
Rancho, according to George Jenkins, vice-
president and general sales manager of
Bally Mfg. Co.
The new Turret Kicker wi th built-in
kicker hole is located near the bottom of
the playing field and constantly sways back
and forth during the game. As the ball
rolls down the field, it is frequently cap-
tured in the moving target and held in
the kicker hole while the turret con-
tinues its waying motion. The player
then aims the ball toward high score
bumpers and bonus pockets. The same
ball can be captured two, three or more
times as it rolls back down the field, per-
mitting extra skill shots.
T he game, thoroughly location tested,
bears a ranch motif and has a colorful
playing field and brill ian tly I ighted back-
glass.
I
1)~
'l~
FROM STOCK!

UNZEL
ushback Wire
18 or 20 Strand
68
Color Combinations
Pushback wire, for many years one of
our leading items, has kept pace with
the phenom~nal growth of the coin
machine industry.
The wide variety of color combinations
available lends itself to devious methods
of wiring harness-to meet any require-
ments of the industry.
Coin machine service organizations and
distributors are invited to write for com-
plete information as to how they may
beller serve their trade by furnishing
them with RUNZEL quality wire.
Manufacturers of coin machines may
avail themselves of our engineering
facUities for designing correct and most
efficient wirinq harness.
RUNZEL
Cord and Wire Co.
w. :\IO:\TROSE AVE.
CIIICA(;O 41, 1 LL.
t72 :{
12
COIN MACHINE REVIEW

Download Page 11: PDF File | Image

Download Page 12 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.