Classic Mode

Coin Slot

Issue: 1975 December 014

Page 6 Text:

Coin Slot Magazine - #014 - 1975 - December [International Arcade Museum]
Watling Creates New
Name and New Machine
Rol-A-Tor is Latest Development in Bell Constructions
THE
COIN
MACHINE
JOURNAL
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When we made our regular visit this month to the plant of the Watling Manu
facturing Company we saw signs of an unusual rush for this season of the year
for any manufacturer. We thought here was a story. The Watling plant is al
ways busy but never was it busier. So, we asked John Watling, general mana
ger and the man behind the guns, to give us a story,
Mr. Tom Watling was on the job and he said, "What kind of a story do you
want, " We told him it would be nice to tell our readers about the wonderful
activity and perhaps give them a message of cheer for the coming year. Mr.
Watling said, "That!s all very good but we are not going to give you any stories
about our plant or ourselves. The plant isn't for sale and we are perfectly sat
isfied, but there is a reason for all this activity and that is the new Watling
"Rol-A-Tor. " He said, "I am going to show you the new machine and I want
you to listen to what I have to say. " After shoving a cigar in our face and tak
ing us downstairs in the production rooms, not the experimental department,
he showed us machines coming off the line for Christmas distribution, A ma
chine so different that we couldn!t believe our eyes. We hardly know what
feature struck us first.
Certainly, it would be difficult to pick out the one outstanding feature for there
are several and we will start enumerating with the description of the Golden
Horn of Plenty delivering to the world a bounteous flow of gold coin from with
in the machine. In this display alone the designers have done an exceptional
job in portraying the true purpose of the machine. So lifelike is the raised
design that one would think these gold coins were just sliding off the top of the
machine; and one's first impulse is to shove his hat under the horn and rake in
the gold. If the machine had no other qualification than its beautiful magnetica -
Uy alluring design it certainly would be a masterpiece. The Horn of Plenty and
the lavish display of gold coins give to the Bell machine family and all machin
es for that matter something new in player appeal. No wonder the Watling's
are happy at this season.
"Here's a machine that will sell, " we said to John, and John in his usual hear
ty manner said,
"Will sell? " and flashed a stack of orders before us with the
emphatic assertion that the machine has sold.
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Mr. Watling then went on to point out the various other features that make this
one of the greatest achievements of his many years experience as a pioneer in
this field. Mr. Watling said, "I am showing you the machine of the future. "
He said, "Forget for a moment if you can that Horn of Plenty, any operator
knows the value of that, and cast your eyes on the Rol-A-Tor itself from which
the machine gets its name. This is the first and only bell type machine showing
the last nine coins played into the detector. We have given the location a coin
detector that is positively foolproof. You can't cover up any coin with a thumb
and you can't cover up the detector itself by the palm of your hand; yet this
detector big as it is has been so worked out that it harmonizes with the general
decorative scheme and gives to the coin machine industry a truly beautiful and
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/

Page 7 Text:

Coin Slot Magazine - #014 - 1975 - December [International Arcade Museum]
positively new type of construction. It is so different and so new that we had to
give it a name, Yes, it!s the bell type machine but it puts this machine on a
new plane so we have not only a new machine but a new name, Rol-A-Tor. "
Mr. Watling went on to point out that, "the machine comes in several models
employing all the standard and world famous Watling features. It has the fa
mous extra large jackpots. It is built with and without the Gold Award feature.
It is built with and without the mint vender and has all the latest improvements.
In addition, it has a system for regulating play which every operator will un
derstand and because of this and other features is one of the most practical
machines we have on the market and the best machine Watling has ever made."
We said to John that this machine is so realistic we almost heard the jingle of
coins as they seemd to flow out of the horn.
At this point John said, "We told you that we would not make a new coin top
unless it was years ahead of any other on the market and the new Rol-A-Tor
top is this. For instance, the 59 play machine shows the last nine coins; the
penny machine shows the last eleven; the ten cent machine shows the last
twelve; the twenty-five cent machine shows the last eight and the fifty cent
machine displays five coins. "
Mr. Watling concluded his interesting analysis of the origin and development
of the machine with this as the final and latest development saying that, "Well
here is one that the pirates will not copy as I have the design patented and pat
ent pending on the mechanism at the top. "
We asked what he thought of the outlook for the coming year. In his usual con
fident and optimistic manner he said, "We have never known a dull time. We
never sit and wait for prosperity, we go out and get it. Times are what you
make them. "
We did a little checking up on our own initiative and here!s what we found. So
well done has been the execution of the design that the machine looks larger
than it really is. It is truly an operator's machine, while from the base to the
tip it is almost identical in height to other well known models the cabinet size
is somewhat smaller. We found that mechanically the weight has been reduced
considerably because of improvements in design. Another interesting feature
which seems to us an important factor to the operator is the arrangement of
the reels. The reels are closer to the glass, they seem to lie flush with the
outward surface of the machine. They stand out so that the players cannot help
but see them. It always seemed to us that one of the mechanical difficulties
in the older machines, regardless of the model and how good they were, was
the fact the reels seemed to stand too far back in the machine. This is one
major improvement that has long been needed.
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As we read the
history
development we believe here marks
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another milestone
The creation of a
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new and different
of the appeal of the true and
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tested bell machine and all the modern ideas that common sense would permit,
Another item on the vender that appealed to us was the delivery of the mints.
The mechanism has been worked into the design itself in such a way that it
looks substantial and dependable. It doesn!t look like a gadget but really a
component part of the machine.
likewise the coining of a new name, that will have a great deal to do with the
future of this business. The machine is different ana the name is different..
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/

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