What the heck is an IGT Aristocrat

[SolidSilver]

I have played, seen and been offerred a number of hermaphrodite reel machines that appear to be Aristocrats,
but also bear the IGT name. They are all from the early 80's, and all are basically mechanical machines with
electrical solenoids, reel-position readers, payout hoppers, etc.  Interesting, and I'd like to play with one,
but I've not yet gotten the straight story on how they came to be.

Some folks say IGT ordered them from Aristocrat before IGT had their own reel games;
others say IGT licensed their electronic technology to Aristocrat for a few years;
still others say they were old machines refurbished/re-engineered by IGT for some reason;
and others say they were entirely Aristocrat products sold through IGT before Aristocrat Nevada
got all their legal ducks in a row for selling under their own name.

I know Harvey's Tahoe had a bunch, as did Fitzgeralds and other casinos of the time.

Anybody know the REAL scoop?

[stayouttadabunker]

short-lived partnership....like the blink of an eye.
You'll find it in court document summaries.

[uniman]

My understanding is IGT, formally SIRCOMA, was originally all video slots. Aristocrat, owned by Len Ainsworth, was not licensed in Nevada as Ainsworth was accused of a shady past so Nevada would not give them a license to sell. So IGT purchased Aristocrat machines and slapped their label on them and then sold them in Nevada. Until IGT developed their own, then they dumped Aristocrat and lobbied to prevent them from getting a license.

Here is a tidbit I found;

Toward the end of the 1970s, Ainsworth once again proved itself as an industry innovator. That decade had seen the rise of a new entertainment form, the video arcade machine, which had grown quickly to rival the mechanical pinball machine. Ainsworth recognized that the same video and computer technology could be applied to the slot machine, and by 1979 the company had launched "Wild West," claimed by the company as the world's first all-electronic game (a claim disputed by SIRCOMA, the predecessor to International Game Technology).

By 1981, Ainsworth's rising sales encouraged it to begin direct exports of its machines--releasing its U.S. sales agent, which was taken over by SIRCOMA, then in the process of changing its name to International Game Technology (IGT), which had already established its dominance in the Nevada and newly legalized Atlantic City markets. Ainsworth was to make its first attempt to enter those markets in the early 1980s, but withdrew its application in 1984 (the company later accused IGT of blocking its entry).

[uniman]

Here's an interesting link; http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/research-and-publications/publications/cjc/report-on-gaming-machine-concerns-and-regulations.pdf/download

A bit lengthy, but interesting views of IGT, Aristocrat, and Universal.

[stayouttadabunker]

wow...what a Report!
I only glanced at it but it's like full of finger-pointing and accusations! 
Commissions and the gaming companies are so mistrustfull of everything! Yuck!

[knagl]

From what I remember hearing, there was a time that IGT was willing to buy competitor's slot machines in exchange for getting some of their own machines on to gaming floors.  They'd buy a bunch of the Aristocrat Esprit machines, refurbish them, and slap their logo on the machines. 

The machines were really Aristocrat machines, but they had the IGT logo on them.

[SolidSilver]

Right, well now you all see why I asked: multiple vague stories, nothing really solid, some shady past in two companies both of which are huge & respected today,
and a large number of interesting machines in the critical transition-era (mechanical to electronic) bought by major Nevada casinos like Harvey's and Fitzgerald's.

Dang, I've got to do some digging, maybe try to find some contemporary employees of either company.
I'll bet the real story would be worthy of an article in Slot Owner's Magazine!

[stayouttadabunker]

I'll bet the real story would end up with someone six feet under... 

[uniman]

NLG member Op-Bell is the expert on these matters. Haven't seen him post in awhile. Met him at an NLG forth of July party and couldn't stop listening!!!

Here is a post where he commented on this subject; http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=485.msg3190#msg3190

[David B Fowler]

There are lots of holes in the desert.