Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone, just a quick note to tell everyone to have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  Christmas is around the corner, we have plenty of gift ideas and we would be glad to work with you on getting things in and delivered before Christmas, Pool table, Pinball, Jukeboxes, Slot machines, Arcade games, Foosball, Air hockey, and Antiques, let me know!

Picture is courtesy of whats cooking america!

We got four new slot machines in yesterday check them out!

A Breif History of Pinball Machines

Pinball machines have a complex history. The roots of the modern-day pinball machines that you use in your local café come from games such as croquet and billiards, which constitute of guiding a ball to a precise location by hitting them with an instrument. However, the real spiritual ancestor to modern pinball machines was the game of Bagatelle. Developed in France during the 18th century, the game consisted of getting balls into the holes on one side of the board using a stick or a cue. The surface of the board was inclined, and obstacles were set in front of the holes to provide a more challenging experience. Many of these features have been adapted and can be seen in modern pinball machines.
In the 19th century an inventor named Redgrave took the design of the Bagatelle game and improved on it. One of his additions, still visible today, is the plunger: a device which launched the ball up an inclined field. However, once the ball was released from the plunger the user could not interact with the ball further, as flippers for the pinball machine had not yet been developed. This lead to individuals gambling on the outcome the ball would face. As a result, pinball machines were banned in many parts of the United States, including in New York City from 1940 up to 1976. The ban on the machines was ended in a famous case where Roger Sharpe claimed that the balls could be controlled by skill (with the addition of flippers) and were not solely based on luck. On a pinball machine present in the courtroom, he announced where he was going to hit the ball and proceeded to do so successfully.
The 1930s saw much innovation in terms of the design of pinball machines. The machines now included limited electronic functions such as basic sounds and the ability to propel the ball without the user's force. Several new features were introduced at this time as well, such as the tilt mechanism and free games. These new features were groundbreaking for those days and sparked a renewed interest in pinball machines. The "Humpty-Dumpty" pinball machine was the first pinball machine to include flippers. This meant that users could now play a ball for a greater period of time and introduced the whole aspect of skill and controlling the ball while playing pinball.
However, with video games being developed in the 1980s, they were quickly set aside in arcades to make way for the innovation provided by the video game sector. Many companies which had made their fortunes on manufacturing pinball machines were forced to close. It was only in the 1990s that pinball machines made a comeback, bringing exciting innovations to the machines such as a complex displays and sound systems.
Yet the turn of the millennium was a turn for the worse for pinball machines, and the sales reported by many manufactures were falling dramatically. Most manufactures were once again forced to close. Today, Stem Pinball is the only remaining manufacturer in the industry. We will have to wait and see whether they are able to bring innovation to an industry which has had so many ups and downs.

Article courtesy of ezinearticles.com

Red Bull Cooler Special!!!

$$$250$$$  A used Red Bull Cooler, holds a couple cases of red bull!  Includes Stand, work great, nice and cleaned up!  Great for a college dorm as a mini fridge, great for a bar, home game room, or a shop!  Contact me if you are interested, 801-364-8879, Joe.

The History of Slot Machines

According to Legal Slots, the term slot machines was originally used for all automatic vending machines as well as for the gambling devices, it was not until the 20th century that the term became restricted to the latter. A "fruit machine" is one British term for a slot machine. The one-armed bandit is another popular nickname.

Charles Fey & Liberty Bell

The first mechanical slot machine was the Liberty Bell, invented in 1895 by car mechanic, Charles Fey (1862–1944) of San Francisco. The Liberty Bell slot machine had three spinning reels. Diamond, spade, and heart symbols were painted around each reel, plus the image of a cracked Liberty Bell. A spin resulting in three Liberty Bells in a row gave the biggest payoff, a grand total of fifty cents or ten nickels.

The original Liberty Bell slot machine can still be seen be at the Liberty Belle Saloon & Restaurant in Reno, Nevada. Other Charles Fey machines include: the Draw Power, and Three Spinde and the Klondike. In 1901, Charles Fey invented the first draw poker machine. Charles Fey was also the inventor of the trade check separator, which was used in the Liberty Bell. The hole in the middle of the trade check allowed a detecting pin to distinguish fake nickels or slugs from real nickels. Fey rented his machines to saloons and bars based on a 50/50 split of the profits.

Demand for Slot Machines Grows

The demand for Liberty Bell slot machines was huge. Fey could not build them fast enough in his small shop. Gambling supply manufacturers tried to buy the manufacturing and distribution rights to the Liberty Bell, however, Charles Fey refused to sell. As a result in 1907, Herbert Mills, a Chicago manufacturer of arcade machines, began production of a slot machine, a knock-off of Fey's Liberty Bell, called the Operator Bell. Mills was the first person to place fruit symbols: i.e. lemons, plums, and cherries on machines.

How The Original Slots Worked

Inside each cast iron slot machine there were three metal hoops called reels. Each reel had ten symbols painted on it. A lever was pulled that spun the reels. When the reels stopped, a jackpot was awarded if three of a one kind of symbol lined up. The payoff in coinage was then dispensed from the machine.

Age of Electronics

The first popular electric gambling machine was the 1934 animated horserace machine called PACES RACES. In 1964, the first all-electronic gambling machine was built by Nevada Electronic called the "21" machine. Other all electronic versions of gambling games followed including ones for dice, roulette, horse racing, and poker (Dale Electronics' Poker-Matic was very popular). In 1975, the first electronic slot machine was built by the Fortune Coin Company.

Article is from About.com

Just a reminder for Christmas, its coming fast!

We have something for everyone!  Pool Tables, Foosball Tables, Arcade Machines, Slot Machines, Ping Pong Tables, Air Hockey, Shuffleboards, Stick Dome Hockey, Jukeboxes, Pinball Machines, Neon Lights, Dart Boards, Blackjack Tables, signs for your game room, Antique Coolers, Billiard Lights, and the list goes on, come down and check it out.  351 W. 400. S Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101.  801-674-8879