New Life Games Tech Forums

Well, I bought my first Vidoe Poker Machine yesterday.  An IGT fortune one.  Not a bad looking machine.  There are some scratches on the center glass/or plastic? that would make me want to get another one should I see one for sale.   The hold for the last card did not activate once while I was testing the game but it acted right after a few tries.  Since I have gotten it home I have not had any problems from it.  The center, third card hold button light flickers sometimes but mostly lights up as it is supposed to.  There was no reset key to be found so I am in the market for one of those as well.  Overall I am pleased.  I played till about 1:30 am then I gave up the game.  6 hours round trip to pick up the game was took its toll on me. 

The game worked as it should.  It took my money.  lol.    Admittedly, I was up for must of the playing time but I stayed at the party too long. 

Any help or leads to my wanted glass and key would be appreciated. 

Thank you all for your wisdom and support.  Now that I have a Fortune 1 I am sure that I will have many questions, and possibly some answers in the future to help and be helped.  Thanks again.

Ra

 :136- :105-


Cool machine! I've never seen that glass before that I can remember! Good job!

Thank you soooo much.  The little dancing people made me smile.  Just my luck that I found a game with an impossible to replace glass.  lol

Ra

Think of it as rare and unique, not hard to find! Besides, you can replace it with other glass if need be and change the entire scheme....uh oh, just looked again, and you can swap the glass scheme if you can find the same payout. Shouldn't be too hard though, there wasn't a ton of them made.

Rare and unigue.  I like the sound of that MUCH better.  lol.    For now I will just enjoy the game and try to look the other way and any cosmetic issues.  The fan up top is keeping a pretty good racket.  Was not doing that when I tested the machine.  I put some lubricant on the shaft (keep your minds out of the gutter) and now it ihas quieted down considerably.

Ra

Congratulations! :3-  I love poker and you can't beat a classic.  I think the scratches are "earned" and help give it historic character.  Who knows ... maybe someone famous caused that scratch?

:Dave

Thank you Dave.  You might be correct about the celebrity scratches.  I was told by the seller, who knows a lot more about these machines than I do, that the scratches are common when players have diamond rings on and they hit the glass with their hands while loading coins.  I sounded good to me.  Lol

Ra

You can get a new lock (reset key lock) at most any hardware store. Just make sure the "barrel" part is the same length. Remove your old lock  (power off!) and take it to a Home Depot. Then you just unscrew the cam and the little "thingy" (what the heck is it called?  :103-) that sets the rotation of the key. It's all very easy to do.

I took a good look at the lock last night and changed it out with one I had in my tool box.  Now I am ready to hit the Jackpot!!!  lol

My first Poker machine making friends with my Bally EM's.  Thanks to all of you.

Nice looking collection! I always wanted one of those 5-line Bally fruit EMs. Childhood memories.

Congratulations on your new and first video machine but consider yourself warned: The video poker flood gates have been opened...  :72-

Stat:

The five line 873 is easy to find but the fruit is another story on the East Coast.  I have not seen one for sale nearby in over a year.  They do come up in southern California pretty often.  Shipping for me would be over $300.  Big ouch!

I feel that I have been bitten by Video bug.  Lucky me. I have a small basement so I cant let it get out of hand.

BTW  Childhood memories of video poker?  Like so many of us, raised in a pool hall.

Nice addition to a fine collection. :244-
Where did you get those neat triangular-looking stands
for the Ballys? I want one!

Solid Silver:

Thank you for the compliment.  As far as the Octagon stands, I want one too.  The story is thus...  I had no clue how heavy those old EM's were when I bought my first one.  (I bought it online)  When it arrived I knew that I could not simply plop these games down on a cheap walmart table.  Crash bang pow!  I had no idea where to get a slot machine table.  My liittle mind started turning as to what could be decorative yet hold the weight associated with the old Bally EM's.  I concluded that and aquarium stand shoud do the trick since it hold many many pounds of water. 

The stands are made my perfecto company.  The design line is Majesty Octagon.  Alas when I felt confident that I was going to get the Joker Poker I looked to buy another Perfecto stand.  BAD NEWS!  The stand has been discontinued 2 years ago.  I called directly to the company looking for some old, even unfinished stock.  No such luck.  The locks are Home Depot cabinet locks that I put on myself.

These Perfecto stands are abour four inches higher than the White Clad table and make for a more comfortable viewing and playing posture.  I had to scrable at the last minute and I bought a used White Clad ice box table from a craigs list seller.   

I guess that the perfecto stand can be located privately from someone getting rid of the matcing tank but you may have to buy a deadly puffer fish along with it.  lol.

Ra

In the above post I meant Perfecto Hexagon.  I failed geometry the first go round in high school. 

Ra

hello Ra and new friends!

my new Fortune is what led me to find your site and I am just tickled with mine so I can understand completely you staying up all night just playing for a few more minutes...

I also share your pain in the fact that when I brought the Fortune home I, too, did not realize how heavy it was and when my guys went to put it on it's stand they felt it wouldn't hold it so they lowered it to the ground and it slipped just enough to ding it a bit right where the lock is.

I am able to unlock it but will have to fix this problem sooner than later as the door is heavy as many of you know and it is mostly all one piece and will eventually wear out the hinges pretty quickly.  Shortrackskater is a neighbor and might be able to swing by to take a gander at it for me and my other safer option is of course to leave well enough alone and only gingerly open and close the door when needed as the inside and outside are in minty condition and I count my blessings the slip wasn't worse.

now for the fun stuff!

the gentleman I purchased the Fortune from didn't even know this but...

when the slot is idle for a period of time it starts to flash short messages, some a bit risque for 1975!

I'll put one here for you boys so you can have the first peek.

enjoy a little flashback to 1975 and my Fortune Coin Co slot machine...

ok ok...

two more for sh*ts and giggles...

Haaa,
Those are funny.
 :58- :91- :58-

rooty tooty fresh and fruity!

the nurse is a little loopy!

hey guys, is mine a '67 or '69?  I'm delirious and going to bed.   :294-

Bad:

Those sayings are funny.  I dont think that my Fortune has that feature.  What year was yours manufactured?  When unattended it just sits there and calls me over and forces me to play another handfull of quarters. 

The 809 is a nice machine.  The 809 and the 873 seem to habe been the most popular models.  I see them in my area from time to time but must need some work.  Enjoy.

Ra

Does it have a Bally data tag on the lower right hand side of the cabinet?
If so, in the black area above the model number it should be stamped with a Month / Day / Year of manufacture.

Let me talk to Darrell (hubby) tonight, as we have the same machine (or at least had, but I think its still here somewhere). I remember the sayings after seeing your machine. Ours was a 3-line penny slot. I believe we messed around with them and changed them, so unless you know the history of the machine, they may not be original. Sorry if I burst any bubbles, original or not, they are still pretty cool.

Neonkiss,

thanks for the suggestion, but this is one of those slots with the serial plate removed.  I understand that in the day some slots were bought/sold under "shady" circumstances with the plates removed just in case the gaming commission happened to find one in an establishment where it maybe shouldn't have oughta been and this way it couldn't have been traced back to where it shoulda been if you know what I mean.

opps... maybe Ra and I shoulda oughta move da topic if you know what I mean.

Bad and Ra are innocent of all charges.  We simply enjoy older gaming devices.  Is that a crime?  lol

Ra

Nice collection there! And those stands are great. I never would have thought of using an aquarium stand. They look custom made for a slot machine.  :3-

Short:

Thank you for the compliments on the stands.  Necessity is the mother of invention.  I had no idea how heavy those em's were until the first one was in my garage.  No slot machine supply store in NY.  I thought to myself, self, what kind of table is strong enough to hold up this machine with a compartment under it that will hold the hopper overflow?  With water being about 8 pounds per gallon my list of choices was really short AND there was a pet supply store nearby.  The rest is history. 

Problem for me now is that they stopped making the stand that you see in my pictures about 2 years ago.  What do I do now?

Ra

hey Ra,

who you callin' older?

ha!

ok, so according to California Antique Slots, Inc. the 809 is a 1967.  Ra's 873 is a 1970.  but I can't tell the difference! I'm looking at all the models in between and there were a lot of exports made in those three years; it would be fun to see some of them. and keep checking craigslist for aquarium stands.  you're on to something there.

Ra- there is a better picture of my Fortune on my profile page.  I'm really very new to all of this and literally stumbled across it.  I didn't know what it was and frankly didn't want it.  it was posted on craigslist out in the boondocks with the Bally it's shown with.  the owner had said, "it might behoove you to look it up and buy it along with the other one".

ha ha! "bee-hoooove me".  I almost didn't even go thinking this guy was a joker because I couldn't find anything anywhere about it, not even a picture.

when I saw it I had to have it. and little old grandpa was no joker but a very sharp minded man in an elderly man's body.

he didn't just want to sell it to anyone, he wanted someone to have it.

it's a 1975 Fortune Coin Company slot machine developed by Walt Fraley.  the first one.  before Si Redd purchased Fortune Coin in 1978.

Bad:

I would never call you old because we are as young as we feel.  Your pictures are very nice.  My first machine was from LA Slots and they had a lot of El Rancho games for sale.  You have a great and diverse collection. 

I did not even know that there were early vidoe slots until I found this forum.  NY is a 30 year state so I am extremely limited here.  The Bally 1000 and 2000 series scare me and are ill advised by many.  That leaves me the pre 1980 games.  There are indeed all shpes and sizes to choose from. 

You are correct in that many of the best machines were exported and are very scarce in the states.  I have been lucky enough to meet people with some rare birds and I have been able to play many of them.  My cup runneth over now and there is no more space in my cave.  I have to buy and purge at the same time in the future.  Glad that you like the fish tank idea.  I am always willing to help a fellow collector. 

Ra