Mechanical Memories Magazine

Another large five-player each side machine was called World Flight. This machine
had places to bet on - Dakar (white), Lisbon (green), Paris (yellow), Bermuda (blue). A
giant clock at the top would revolve to display the winning amount, ranging from 2d to
12d. One day we walked in and the places were flashing as usual, but the clock was
stuck on 12d. One side the attendant could see us, but the other side we could not be
seen. Our hearts missed a beat as we backed each of the five places - then
2,4,6,8,10,12d every time! We emptied the five sections on that far side. Then, pockets
bulging with coins, we sneaked out to the local sweet shop to treat ourselves to pop and
sweets. We went back in an hour later and the payout clock was now turning - the
attendant had no idea what a super day we had just had! (Another round to us).
Another little fiddle was the old 35mm film trick. This was done on penny
machines that had a slide, where you pushed the slide in, e.g. Tuck Shop and Flying
Scot. You would place a piece of 35mm film in the slide (covering the penny hole), put
the penny on top and push in the slide to release the ball. As you withdraw the slide, the
penny has not dropped through into the machine's cashbox, it has returned, held by the
□ 0 .. til ; □ 0 ·m p~ ◄
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Drawing of th e World Flight machine.
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