Coin Slot Magazine - #058 - 1979 - December [International Arcade Museum]
Another clever coin modification was the slotting
of the milled edge
around the coin. The wire or silk was tied around the slot, knotted and
the knot was stuffed into the slot. The slot was then flattened over the
knot, with no change in coin size due to the material around it. This coin
was also dropped in but seldom all the way into the escalator. These coins
apparently worked quite well since they are rarely found in the collector's
"matchbox" collection.
Still other players, it is claimed, developed a "touch" on the pull of
the handle to repeat a winning combination. A rhythm of pull, along
with a certain speed and strength of pull, was also said to repeat a winner.
The brief appearance and disappearance of the "skill buttons" on some
models attest to the skill of the players using these techniques. The
intent was to put the machine into a skill class of game and out of the
gambling class. The mission was accomplished ... to the distress of the
companies. Players soon developed the skill, and the flimsy legal loophole
was soon closed anyhow. Skill button machines are sought after collect-
ables since few were made and they were out of operation soon after
they appeared on the market.
Some operators had factory-supplied kits to bug the payout wheels,
home-made devices to reduce payout, new reel strips, and a variety of
other techniques to alter payout.
However, most players knew the usual
computation of odds on the twenty symbol reel: 20 x 20 x 20 = 8,000
possible combinations. Today in Los Vegas games, the above combina
tions are arranged for an average payout of 85 percent. What if only one
symbol on the wheel was bugged? The odds of paying on that reel were
considerably lessened. The player lost what small original probability for
a large payout combination? The bug was used no doubt; however, its
frequency of use is pure speculation. Operators said it was used very sel
dom. Players, especially losers, claimed all machines were bugged.
What is a bug? The bug is a simple circular piece of brass or iron,
slotted on one side to fit over the bar or bell stop of the third wheel.
Sometimes more than one bug was used. It was screwed tightly to the
notched wheel that determined the payout. Operators loaded the reels
with bars, bells, and super payout combinations. As you would expect,
the generous appearing machine had more bug problems than the "Orkin
man".
Another way to deceive the player was to change the factory-sup
plied reel strips. The pictures of cherries, for instance, were "lemoned"
com
.
m
:
over, usually with a picture
of e
s a u lemon or a non-paying symbol com
u wheel
from
m
d
bination. The notched
payout
was then plugged. The metal fingers
-
e
e
d hole
a
oad into
c
could not nl slip
the
of
the
notched
payout wheel to release the
r
w.a of the earlier machines came from the factory rigged
Dow slides.
w
payout
Some
w
://
http
26
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