Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

H. R. MASER -MUSIC
co ..
1337 MISSION ST •• SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA
Mills BLACK CHERRY
Mills GOLDEN FALLS
5-1 0-25-50c: PLAY
5-1 0-25-50c: PLAY
Mills VEST POCKETS
5c: PLAY
Jennings CHIEFS
Pace DELUXE BELLS
5~ 1 0-25-50c:-$1.00-Play
5-1 0-25-~0c:-$1.00-Play
SLOT BOX STANDS·DOUBLE REVOLVING SLOT SAFES
- MUSIC -=-- '
SEEBURG 8800-Like New-BarCJain
H. R-. -M ASER MUSIC , CO ..
COIH
MACHIHE
REVIEW
Phone-Klondike 2-0828
1337 Mission St.. San , Francisc:o. Calif.
16
FOR
APRIL
1947
the games on location and placed them
in new spots, thereby keeping play at high
level. Mrs. Laymon counted the pennies
and made collections; Paul repaired and
serviced the machines.
They commenced .selling routes to other
operators, and by the time winter had
arrived, their last chain of games had
been disposed. Then they headed back to '
Chicago.
'
But there was no rest for the weary Lay-
mons. Walter Tratsch needed closer super-
vision of games -shipped to New York. The
"team" not only supervised but operated
them in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
New York State.
After two years, play petered. Again
winter was icing in and once again the
Laymons returned to the Windy City.
Greeting them upon their arrival in
1928 was a new game: a miniature auto-
maticpool table, which offered five balls
for a penny. It had a scoring device, poc-
kets, cloth facsimile of a standard billiard
table; balls were shot from a gun. The
cabinet, set on a stand, was walnut ; price
- . ,
was approximately $125.
Paul was asked to see what he could do
about placing them in the immediate
vicinity, but close observation revealed
some mechanical defects, so he set to
work unwrinkling them. After consider-
able experimentation, he started opera-
tions, building up a route of 400.
The factory was receiving large orders
from California and they decided that
perhaps this lucrative territory could stand
some looking into. -They dispatched their
ace route builders: to the land of the
Sunny West, where they placed 200 pool
tables and a: sprinkling of Targets. The
weather was ideal, the people were human
and earthy, and business was good. The
Layinons relaxed and settled back under
!
the palms. They had finally found their
home.
The Chicago ticker, however, started
clicking again. Laymon was assigned the
job of surveying, operating and whole-
saling in New York and placing pool
tables on location.
The "big play" games at that time were
a pistol machine by See burg and Stoner's
Aristocrat, a five-ball pin game. Former
was about the size of a digger~ had a ro-
tating belt, and on the belt were metal
animals with holes in the middle and
prizes on top. When the player hit the
target, the prize dropped into the chute.
While the bright lights of the Big City
failed to captivate the Laymons, the siren
voice of the West gently but persistently
wooed them. Finally they succumbed to
the lure of the SItn State, and in 1933
established an office on South Hope St. in
Los Angeles.
Besides operating 'the regular A.B.T.
line of games, they specialized in selling
A.B.T. coin chutes. Inasmuch as Califor-
nia was emerging as a major manufactur-
ing area, the demand for chutes was great
and sales at the Laymons were likewise.
Those were the days when Harry Wil-
liams invented Contact, one of the reigning
favorites in coin history, manufactured by
Fred McClellan. Major League was born
in Southern California and flourished
throughout the country.
Fourteen years ago the Laymon.s moved
to Pico Boulevard. Their mushroomin g
distributing business reached such propor-
tions that they ceased operating and cQn-
centrated on jobbing.
, ".
The Laymons are exclusive Bally dis-
tributors for Southern California, Arizona,
Southern Nevada and the Hawaiian Is-
lands, besides handling a wide variety of
diversified lines.
The secret of their tremendous volume
of sales? Thumbs down on the policy of
robbing Peter or anyone else to pay P~ul
a profit. "We try to do business on the
Golden Rule standard," he said. "Give
customers their money's worth; do repair
work just a little better than the next fel-
low; refinish games to make them look as
clean and new as possible."
As everyone knows, shortage of ma-
terials is hampering full-scale manllfactur-
ing. However, Laymon believes that when
the kinks are smoothed out, new markets
will have to be cultivated to take care of
supply-especially markets for used equip-
'
ment.
"The hurry-up demands of war speeded
production via the assembly line and out-
put of equipment is due to swell to here-
tofore unreached heights. I think the
answer is to expand the export market_
Already there is an upward swing .in this
direction."
In the early days of coin-gaming, there
were no backboards or lights. "Games have
become more animated, more streamlined,
and present greater play-appeal. An im-
portant trend apparent during the last
decade is improved cabinets, sized to fit
any location."
It was about this time that Mrs. Laymon
went to lunch, four operators walked in,
both phones shrilled simultaneously, and
your report~r scurried for the nearest exit.
Marc:h of Nic:kels Joins
"Marc:h of Dimes"
CHItAGO-The 1947 Coin Machine
Show has been posted in the ledgers of
history but the coins roll merrily on.
Gross proceeds from Automatic Dispen-
sers' soft drink machine on exhibition at
the Sherman, have been turned over to the
National F.oundation of Infantile Paralysis.