Coin Slot Magazine - #021 - 1976 - October [International Arcade Museum]
TO THE EDITOR
Dear Sir:
I enjoyed
Mr. Frankenberger's article, Thirty Years of Unde
clared War, The Slot Machine Player vs. The Manufacturer/Operator.
I know an ingenious old gentleman, active for many years in
slots, who had many ways of making untold profits from his slot
machines in the 30's and 40's. At his various locations, consisting of
four to five machines at corner taverns and local dance halls, he al
ways managed to stimulate play and interest around the machines by
doing the direct opposite of what many greedy operators were doing.
Yet this old gentleman was probably more greedy than his compet
itors, and his locations probably were more profitable. How?!!
As well a know operators of the day were using Bugs, and put
ting lemon symbols over other symbols and plugging the payout
wheel to increase profits. My friend in his cleverness did the op
posite. He would start with a tight machine that would only return
20% to the player, then he would get out his drill and on the first
reel proceed to drill out a hole in it's payout wheel on a lemon sym
bol. So, with this lemon then followed by a cherry, would be a win
ning payout combination, or any two symbols preceeded with this
unplugged lemon symbol, since the knowledgeable slot player of that
day knew this was impossible, the greedy player then confirmed
that the machine was indeed broken. The slot player would then put
all his available change into the machine believing that with the next
pull the machine would completely empty, no matter what the sym
bol arrangement on the reels were. Quite naturally, with the odds
against the player, it would make a tidy profit but who could ever
resist palying that broken machine in the corner, and no one ever
.com
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use
Thanks to the e
greedy
m
d fro players!!!!!!!!
-
e
d
d
Tom Simek
nloa w.arca
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Eagan, Minnesota
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t
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h
bothered to mention to the management the machine's extra pay
offs! !!
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