Owning a vintage slot machine is one of those fun yet daunting ideas. Many old school one-armed bandits are beautifully designed and instant conversation pieces. Plus slot fans who own a machine don’t ever have to worry about losing money to the house.
- Up for sale is a Trump Taj Mahal Slot Machine Jackpot Out Of Service Flag/Sign. This is a HTF- Rare piece.
- You can speed the boot up by pulling the game CF out of it's slot when you have the ram clear card in. Once the game gives you the message to remove the ram clear card and put the OS back in you have to have both the game and OS cards in though.
Bally is a leading maker of slot machines, a coin-operated gambling device. The user inserts money into the machine and pulls the lever. The reel results determine if you are a winner.
Charles August Fey, a Bavaria-born inventor, was living in San Francisco when he invented his first gambling machine in 1984. His games grew to be so popular at local bars, he quit his day job and opened a factory to start mass producing them, most notably the Liberty Bell machines in 1899. A lot of the functionality from that early game remained in place through much of the 20th century. Watch this video to see the seven mechanical actions set into motion when you pull back the bandit’s arm. The inner workings are probably a little more complex than you expect.
Given that a lot of old slot machines are hand built, it isn’t surprising that coins can get jammed on their way through the mechanism. Big warning: If your machine jams, don’t force the arm or you can break, twist or damage a part inside. Different models and makes tend to have common jam points. The Mills model shown in the above video can have coins stuck in the “elevator” section that displays the last five coins dropped into the machine. Getting the slot working again can be as simple as cleaning the gunk off of an old part. You just need to be smart when you’re disassembling and reassembling the machinery.
Okay, there are plenty of more places where a coin can get stuck and the above video demonstrates how to fix a variety of jams. It also explains how to disassemble the major parts of the machine and where common problem areas are.
Curious how an antique slot machine knows how much money a winner gets? This video shows the punch-card like communication that trips payouts and how. If you ever need to replace the reel symbols or calibrate the machine you’ll need to understand how these work. Even if you don’t ever plan on owning a machine, the metallic “circuitry” is interesting to see.
Want to own a modern slot machine? New ones have plenty more bells, whistles and dings, and also a lot more advanced parts. If you plan on getting one, you may want to have an idea of what’s inside. In addition to the classic reels, there are speakers, motherboards filled with programming chips and plenty of wires. Unless you have a way with a soldering iron you probably won’t try and fix it. But in case you do, here’s a clip from Discovery showing what’s inside.
Did you know newer slot machines are smart enough to test themselves when a problem happens? This video shows you the procedure for having the machine check its own system. The host’s desert dry delivery is also enough to make this vid worth a watch.
Meet Our Experts
- Aly PinderProgram director, service innovation & connected products, IDC
- Dave HartFormer executive VP of corporate development, ServiceMax
- Stacey EpsteinCMO and chief customer experience officer, ServiceMax
Meet Our Experts
As a field service tech with Bally Technologies, Paul Helt can usually be found in one of two places: on the floor of a major casino on the Vegas Strip, servicing or repairing thousands of slot machines — or behind the wheel of his Chevy van (yes, it’s white), en route to the next casino to do the same thing. Here’s a detailed look at one of the unsung heroes of field service (not to mention the gambling industry), and what it takes to get the job done.
The Service Tech
A Michigan native, Helt became intrigued by the promise of the Vegas Strip during the 1980s recession. For the last 15 years, he’s been repairing slots, from the old-time lever and reel machines to today’s generation of electronic touch-screen games. But when he isn’t repairing slot machines, the last thing Helt wants to do is gamble. “It’s boring,” he said with a laugh. “Us guys are around these machines all day long. The last thing we want to do at the end of the day is be around them more.”
Instead, he takes his three grandsons on local adventures in his free time. From Red Rock to Lake Mead, the lure of Las Vegas extends far beyond the sparkle of the Strip. “It’s just a fun city,” Helt said. “People are different out here. There’s always something exciting going on.”
The Job
Not only does the job entail installing new slots in casinos around the world, it requires constant maintenance of existing machines. Helt covers anywhere from 200 to 500 miles on an average day, patrolling the Strip and far-flung areas of the desert such as Rockland and Mesquite, making about a dozen stops and servicing as many machines. Casino managers call Bally’s central dispatch center when a machine goes down and dispatch locates the nearest tech in the field. When Helt goes on a service call, the first thing he does is locate the house tech manager who ushers him to the broken machine.
Helt’s duties include:
- Fixing broken reels on old-fashioned mechanical slots
- Repairing monitors on modern machines if they go dark
- Making courtesy stops to check in on existing customers
- Beating the clock: Helt gets each machine back in working order within 30 minutes of arrival
Slot Machine Out Of Service Dog Vest
Most of Helt’s time is spent fixing older machines. Newer games possess technology similar to an iPod Touch, with all electronic components that are less likely to break than the reel slots.
The Training
Helt has a background in electronics and mechanics. Before focusing on slot machines, he worked as a cabinetmaker and mechanical draftsman. Monthly training sessions on Bally’s latest technology keep techs up to date. “Everything’s changing so fast,” Helt said. “Every month, I need to brush up on something new.”
Slot Machine Outcomes
The Tools
- A few screwdrivers of varying size
- “The suitcase,” a pack of equipment that acts as the brains of any slot machine
- A rugged handheld Motorola computer that relays dispatch information, logs worker activity and keeps track of inventory
The Van
- 2011 Chevrolet Express