Breaking the Habit- Giving Up Pachislos For Good

[reho33]

I have decided that pachislos, a great hobby unto itself, are not going to be a part of my hobby going forward. Now that the prices on S2000's are as low if not lower than pachis, I have decided to donate my only one that I fixed up to a worthy child (to corrupt him/her you see) and to to absolve myself of that hobby forever. So with the help of my family here on NLG, I have succeded.

[stayouttadabunker]

aw man! 
I was just going to get into them!      

[slot monkey]

yeah it's tough to get that pachislos monkey off your back.......... cold turkey is the way to go

at least you know that you have helped someone else with their crack like addiction to slots

[Frank A]

Where are you finding S-2000 machines for Pachi prices ? Give us all a heads up as to what vendor ?

[poppo]

Where are you finding S-2000 machines for Pachi prices ?

Yeah, that's what I would like to know. Of course pachislos around here are way overpriced.

[FORDSBS]

I started with pachislos about 10 yrs ago & best move I made was to get rid of them. I don't care if 2000's are 10 times price I
don't want anymore pachislos around.

[jay]

I got into this hobby by buying two pachislos. I have given them both away as I moved into a smaller house.

I still think they are great little machines but you need to accept them for what they are.
1. They are Japanese skill stop. Adding in auto-stop like a US machine is not doing yourself any favors.
2. They don't have slot handles. The ones you can buy for them are spring loaded junk. Unless you plan to bolt the machine down I really suggest you don't.
3. They were made for tokens, converting them to quarters or other coins is not recommened primarily because the hoppers jam with other sized metals.
4. Game changes and replacement parts are out of the question. Even lightbulbs are sometimes molded into the fasade,
5. Don't even think of a bill validator. I have seen some people integrate change machines.
6. Progressives.....non existant.

I was hell bent on going down all these roads until one of my buddies said if you wanted a Vegas machine why not buy a Vegas machine.
It was like Duh !! why didn't I think of that.

Once I got the american casino machines I found I spent a lot more time explaining the differences between a Japanese gaming machine and the american ones.

[Frank A]

We are talking about totally different types here. Pachislos are great for what they are. I have 16 Pachi machines, 14 with auto stops and full size IGT arms. All operate with tokens. A Pachi for $ 100 or $ 150 is not a bad investment for anyone on a limited hobby or entertainment budget. Both IGT and Pachis are good entertainment but are very different in what they are designed to do. Both will keep you and the grandkids busy and smiling. Live and let live.

[slotsteve]

When we were in  nj  I bought a load from a guy in ohio  for 65 bucks  a pop to my door  sold them thur our auctions got as much as 350  as low as 75 , We were happy with that then I took a shot and bought a 20ft cont full to my   loading dock  with keys tokens for 60 bucks a pop sold those fast around 125 each, Them found a honest guy  in japan  that ran auctions on them   he sent me a list of 1000 games  , he told me  what the high bid was and asked me to bid a dollar high per unit, dam i won the auction  he told me to pick 430 of them, sent off the$$$ within a few days they were loading my games  told me that they fitted 460+  on loaded  cont but any thing over the 430 was on them , we did this 2x,  When we were in nj in 2007 the market was so loaded we were selling for 99 bucks each no keys or locks or tokens, Now I move to va were you can buy a real slot for 350 and up, and they buy a cheap jap slot for as high as 300  ,That I,ll never under stand they are great fun if they are the only slot you can have in your state but other wise they get boring kinda fast

[reho33]

I was not "bashing" the idea, I just want to move on. I think it is a great hobby for those who see it for what it is. I was there and now I'm not. Of course there are really great titles like Spin Luck (WOF) and Gamera (great video and sound). I just don't understand how a parlor could turn a profit as the hold is really low. A "fever" round will pay you 400-800 tokens. I know some people, not personally, that placed machines in clubs and modded them for quarters (illegal). I just don't know how a club owner will profit with payouts like that. One fever round will wipe them out. Not to mention risking a liquor license and jail for the gambling.

[jay]

In Japan gambling for Money is illegal. So the they redeem pachislo tokens or pachinko balls for prizes.
So they sell you 10 tokens for 100yen (about a buck). You need 1000 tokens to get a Pen. 10,000 to get a toaster or cell phone.
Next door or by the end of the block you will find a prize redemtion center who just happen to be in the market for Pens and teddy bears.
You can trade your 1000 token Pen ($10) for 300yen cash ($3.00).

This means that they are selling tokens at 0.10each and buying them back at 0.03each.
If you set your machine to a 1 (on a scale of 1 - 6) the hold on these things is 30% in the house favor. 

While this sounds like a license to print money you need to consider they can't have the machines on the floor for more than 2 years. So there is a fair bit of upfront investment as these machines cost in the neighborhood of $1500-$2000 new from the manufacturer.

Also unlike NorthAmerica which is really stringent with their gaming regulations these Pachi parlors are not nearly as regulated. Ie to Open a casino in Vegas you need to pass a criminal background check and they closely monitor your associates. In Japan you will find a fair bit of the criminal element makes a living in these places. This is either a regular shake down of the owner, forging tokens, loan sharking, side bets on sports and other numbers games that you would never know was going on around you.

[reho33]

I heard North Korea holds the ownership in most of those parlors. I also read that pachislo and pachinko take in more than all the slot gaming combined in the world? (I could be wrong about)