Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

of boards. At first this may have been a
real obstacle, in comparison with some
types of equipment, but now the fact is
well established that shuffleboard will pay
big dividends on the total investment. The
only caution is that operators who are new
to the field not neglect their equipment.
They must also prepare . to do some mer-
chandising to keep play at a high level.
Shuffleboard is something that can be
boosted through contests, through appeal
to the social nature of people-a thing tliat
was not so practical with novelty games.
Equipment may cost more, but on the basis
of investment, an operator has so much
more to work with when he puts out shuffle-
board tables.
No game idea, on which coin control is
practical, has yet appeared which has so
many possibilities as shuffleboard. It can be
made to appeal so much to the sociability
of people in clubs, neighborhood taverns
and other establishments that it will surely
become a national pastime, something like
the spread of bowling as a pas time~
Men who are thinking of shuffleboard
'1~
I
FROM STOCK!
•
Z)~
UNZEL
ushback Wire
18 or 20 Strand
68
Color Combinations
Pushback wire. for many years one of
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'I'lle wide variety of color combinat·ion.
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. ....ain machine service orqanizations and
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Manufacturers of coin machines may
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CHICAGO ·11. ILL.
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16
should not overlook clubs and similar estab-
lishments as good locations. Also, bowling
alleys in most cases have the space and
will prove excellent locations. The number
and kinds of spots for placing shuffleboard
are increasing, as the reputation of the
game spreads. The big selling job is al-
ready done, in the publicity 'given to shuffle-
board, and it is now for operators to get
quality equipment and offer it to the many
thousands of ·locations that. are waiting for
some operator to give them service.
Actually, the kinds of locations that will
accept shuffleboards, and use them profit-
ably, are still on the increase. This is im-
portant to operators who plan to place the
boards this year; the fact that the location
field is still widening should be a big en-
couragement.
The neighborhood tavern has ' received
most attention and still is a choice spot in
which to place shuffleboard. But the list of
possible locations would include not only
taverns, but hotels, clubs, recreation cen-
ters, arcades, airports, resorts, lodges, serv-
icemen's centers, and others. Every operator '
in the music or games business has several
locations that need shuffleboard and will
pay excellent returns.
.Experienced operators already know how
to get locations and there is no selling job
after all, for most locations are demanding
shuffleboard or just waiting for it. Shuffle-
boards can be handled in a number of
ways, so that the operator has a much big-
ger leeway than when he invests in most
other types of equipment. There are some
locations that still want to buy their own
boards, but here the established operator
can sell the board on various plans, or offer
to service the board at a profitable fee.
This is the year for established operators
in the music and games business to. take
on shuffleboard and make much bigger
earnings in 1949 than for any year since
die lush times during the war period.
WASHINGTON
( Co n tinued from page 12)
abandonment of the no-import decree on
coin machines. No change is expected by
. Commerce in European policy, and the best
that can be hoped for in Latin America is
the status quo. Duty hikes on coin ma-
chines placed some time ago by Mexico
are certain to continue for the rest of the
year. A few South American countries hi t
by inflation are mulling increased tariff
fees. The Philippines recently slapped on
tariff restrictions which hold i1I)ports of
automatic phonographs to 60 per cent of
the total bought during the 1948 fiscal year.
Imports of amusement games are restricted
to 40 per cen t of the 1948 total. The only
exception is for second-hand phonos selling
for less than $75, which are uncontrolled.
More Revenue Paid
The Internal Revenue Bureau's report on
coin machine taxes collected in December
showed an astounding increase over the
Same month in 1947. Coll ections amounted
to $836,118 as compared with only $395,433
for the preceding December. The increase
over November was nearly 100 per cent for
one of the largest month-to-month gains of
the entire year. For the first six months
of the current fiscal year, coin machine tax
receipts ran $1,387,343 ahead of the same
period for the preceding .year. Discounting
a whopping increase in personal' income
tax collections for the six-month period,
Uncle Sam's over-all income from taxes was
off a billion dollars, with excises .. account-
ing for most of the decline. The coin ma-
chine levy was a shining exception.
If Congress finally passes legislation call-
ing for a coin of a new denomination, it
will be over the frantic protests of the
Bureau of the Mint. John McCormack,
House Majority Leader, recently introduced
a bill authorizing a seven-cent piece, and
other such bills can be expected later.
Mint officials, including Director Nellie
Tayloe Ross, claim that any new coins
would be more bother than they are worth,
causing havoc with cash registers and sys-
tems of bookkeeping. Another difficulty in
getting a new coin bill passed is a split in
the ranks of advocates, with some clamor-
ing for a seven-center and others wanting
one . amounting to seven and a half cents.
Other fractional coins have been suggested
but stand no chance of Congressional ap-
proval.
Per capita consumption of ice cream
last year was 18. pounds, according to the
Dept. of Agriculture. This figure repre-
sented the second successive yearly decline.
Prediction for the current year is that the
decline will continue. Per capita consump-
tion in 1947 was 191f2 pounds, while an all-
time high of 23 pounds was reached in
1946. In the boom year of 1928, only 9
pounds was consumed per capita.
Chewing Gum Output
Preliminary figures from the census of
manufacturers taken last year by the Census
Bureau showed a vast gain in chewing gum
production since 1939 when the last official
figures were collected. The latest statistics
are for 1947 and show that 37 manufac-
turers put out $148,300,000' worth of gum
at the wholesale level. This represented an
increase of 144 per cent over 1939. Ten
new gum makers entered the field between
the two censuses. Gum costs skyrocketed
during the eight-year period. Expenses for
labor and materials were only $23,000,000
in 1939 but jumped to $92,500,000 for 1947.
The number of employees in the industry
was 5,472 in 1947 as compared wilh 2,627
at the time of the earlier, census.
Pass Gas Station Ordinance
SEATTLE-The Vancouver, Wash., city
commissioners have passed an ordinance
outlawing self-service filling stations in that
city. The ordinance, specifically, makes it
illegal for anyone but owners or proprietors
. of garages or service stations, or their em-
ployees, to fill gasoline tanks of autos or
other containers.
Meanwhile, in Seattle, the Self-Service
Gasoline Dealers' Assn. has incorporated,
but the city council has yet to act on wheth-
er it will permit installations here.
J ohn A. Clynch has announced plans to
operate a self-service laundry. Operation
of bell machines in Twin Falls, Ida., ended
at midnight Dec. 31; they have also been
banned in Boise. Borgil A. and Anne . E.
Raketty, and Rose E. and Keith E. Putnam,
have incorporated as Raketty Vendors with
a capital of $50,000 to own and operate ito-
bacco vending machines. In spite of ap-
proval of the board of thea tel' supervisors,
here, Peter Silverman, owner of the Sport-
land Arcade, has been charged with dis·
orderly conduct for photographs shown in
a peek machine.
and SUPPLIES
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AMERICAN CHI. COIN
OLYMPIC ROYAL
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COIN MACHINE REVIEW