Coin Slot

Coin Slot Magazine - #068 - 1980 - October [International Arcade Museum]
HE PAST REVISITE
Recently Tony Mills of Mills Novelty Company in Las
Vegas was brought a Pace BANTAM RESERVE JAK-POT
machine. The owner wanted to have the machine restored
so that it could be sold. The machi ne is currently owned by
Buford
uncovered in his opinion and which virtually
sounds the death knell of one-armed banditry in the state
of Florida. The mind of Simon Peter is inscrutable and all
will recognize that he moves in devious ways his wonders
a Nevada resident, but it had originally been owned by his
father who resided in Miami. The machine hadn't seen
to perform.
much use because it was secluded in a closet.
operators," that is, storekeepers and others who allow the
The
provision
in
question
means
that
"location
After taking the back off the machine, Tony and his
machines to be placed in their establishments must pay
people found that the machine had seen very little usage.
$60 per machine in addition to the $60 tax already paid for
Inside they found an old Miami Tribune newspaper. They
them by the "operators," that is the bandit barons who
cleaned
replaced a few springs,
control anywhere from 10 machines up. This would mean
restored the outside case and castings and filled it with
$1,000,000 a year in taxes for the state in addition to the
up the mechanism,
gum balls. The machine is ready for sale and the story of
revenue accruing to county and city from machines—the
why it had seen such infrequent use can besurmised from
only drawback being that it would d rive all machi nes out of
the article reprinted below.
action except during the season and then only the bandits
placed in night clubs and similar places where wealthy
people congregate could be run at a profit.
Consequently, the real effect of the licensing act, if the
present interpretation of the Supreme court's decision
stands up, will be to drive the bandit menace out of
existence, even in countries and cities where they have
previously
operated
illegally by paying off law-
enforcement officers for "protection."
The city of Miami will not be able to seize the machines
as "gambling devices," according to thecourt's ruling, but
it can still keep them out of barrooms, according to City
License Inspector Gorman, and can confiscate any which
are operating without all the required licenses. Operators
can also be arrested.
The slot machines placed on Miami Beach only a month
or so ago have not been snatching as much "sucker"
money as the bandit syndicate, headed by a Chicago
racketeer and murderer, had hoped. Articles in the
TRIBUNE
exposing
the
impossibility
of
beating
the
machines have kept many former robot robber patrons
from throwing their money into the ever-hungry maws of
the
Pace BANTAM
RESERVE JAK-POT
Miami Tribune Monday, February 3, 1936.
mechanical
operators,
thieves.
planning
Besides
for a quick
that,
most
clean-up
of
the
before the
lightning had time to strike, set the machines with
gimmicks so that they would pay even less than the usual
10 percent. The result is that even the worst slot machine
addicts discovered that watching the wheels go around
lost its thrill when the plums, peaches, cherries, bars and
SLOT MACHINE 'VICTORY'
If one were so inclined, and we are not, one might shed
lemons never lined up for a pay-off.
gallons of tears over the sad plight of the one-armed
It has been a profitable season for the lawyers who
bandit syndicate. After the bandit barons had spent huge
would descend to representing the one-armed bandit
sums for "lobbying" during the legislative session, more
syndicate
huge sums to save the bill when it was apparently
but not so good for the robot barons
themselves. They have thousands upon thousands of
push the robot robbers down the throats of the people of
dollars tied up in slot machines, in permits and licenses.
Now, it appears that thei r last chance of getting any of that
Miami and other cities who do not want them, theSupreme
money back has been ruined by the Supreme court.
defeated, and still more extravagant sums attempting to
.com
m
:
u
court, in a decision which ro
at m
first appeared
se to give the
u apparently
f wanted,
m
d
-
bandit mob everything
it
has
sealed
e
e
ad rc things,"
ad as State Comptroller
o "damnable
l
the doom of the
n
a
w mechanical
Lee called
Do the
ww. thieves while he was rushing
w
/
/
:
the issuance
http of licenses.
It is possible that the bandits' best friend, Rep. Simon
Peter Robineau, slipped that little joker into section five of
the
slot machine licensing act which Justice
OCTOBER, 1980
© The International Arcade Museum
Rivers
The slot machine act provides for a referendum at the
next general election in counties where sufficient names
can be obtained for a petition to place the question on the
ballot. The TRIBUNE suggests that those organizations
and individuals opposed to operations of the one-armed
bandits begin to organize at once for the purpose of
forcing a referendum in November which will bar the robot
robbers from Dade county once and for all.
THE COIN SLOT — 27
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