Holy top box, batman!

[Paladin]

I just picked up my first project for 2010 - a 10 Times Pay Deluxe.  The chop top cabinet has a 1 and 1/4" hole in the top box on the same side as the handle.  A short while ago I picked up a Triple Diamond that has a 1" hole in the same area.  Both cabinets have other smaller holes around the large one.

I'm curious what the holes were originally for.  Another clue is a very thick green ground wire that's only a few inches long located near the hole on the 10x pay.

[knagl]

I'm curious what the holes were originally for.

External player tracking boxes.  Back before it was standard to have player tracking built into the machine, many casinos used external boxes that had a card reader and display that would bolt on to the right side of the machine (presumably, because more people are right handed).  The cutouts in your top boxes would allow the wiring to go between that external box and the inside of the machine (to tie into the machine for coin-in pulses, and out to other machines and the central player tracking computer on the network).  The extra holes around the large hole were likely for the bolts to secure the box to the machine.

Casinos would sometimes remove them prior to getting rid of a machine, as the box could be re-used on a replacement machine.

[Paladin]

My Money storm has the player tracking area below the top glass, and these 2 new games dont.  It's all so obvious - once someone points it out!

Thanks for the info!