Pachinko Fever Takes Hold and a question

[websherpa]

OK, I just ordered a New Sea Story with 2000 pachinko balls for CDN$160, pick up on Thursday, that makes 2 modern machines and counting. Guess I'm hooked. Still love my Pachislos best though.

Is there any way to adjust the odds (besides adjusting the nails - which I did on my Sakura, and it helps keep me playing longer between re-fills) on these Pachinkos?

I won 2 fever rounds in a row on Sakura and man that baby pumped out balls, no wonder you guys like cyclic machines. Me, for the moment, I'm a purist and enjoy the sheer volume! But I was wondering, if when you stop to reload the machine whether you are losing time (i.e. could you have won more if the machine's ball hopper hadn't run out)?

And lastly, those ball lifters, do they work fast enough to keep the hopper filling during a fever round? I assumed they were primarily for the older machines.

Thank you!

[slotter]

One answer to the refilling question is to put the machine in a case that holds additional balls on top and will store the spent balls at the bottom so it can be easily dumped back to the top again. I never have a bit of trouble keeping up with the fever rounds.

[websherpa]

One answer to the refilling question is to put the machine in a case that holds additional balls on top

Yes, this is what I planned to do in the meantime, but then I don't have a willing attendant to pass off my full trays to stack behind my chair.

I rather like handling my balls, but then there are those who prefer to keep them tucked up and rolling around on the inside. I was just thinking about using a machine so I don't get so tired out from all that lifting.

(that joke was for Dattia)

[websherpa]

Oh drats www.slotsdirect.com is out of pachinko ball lifters! (Darn I was going to buy one months ago, I should have at US$149)

Does anyone know of any more local sources, or a reasonable Japanese source?

Many thanks in advance.

[drcrippen324]

japanease are like gold dust at the moment i been quoted 20000 yen best offer at the moment if you find any please let me know

[dishpan]

I must appologize, as I picked up the last units at Slots Direct. (Makes me feel like an eBay sniper.) As far as I can tell, they were the last units in N.A. They were a little rusty but work well.

I've put them on a number of my modern machines and for the most part they keep up, even during fever rounds. The ball feed mechanism jams up now and then but a quick jiggle fixes that. They don't eliminate ball handling but they do prolong playing times without interuption. If the machine stops paying out, I do have to go into the back or top to get more balls. A quick tweak of the nails to loosen the payouts minimizes that problem. The perfect solution here is a cabinet with an overflow resevoir, open bottom tray and a lifter.

My vintage Sanyo is the least likely to benefit from one of these lifters. The ball through put is a lot less than the modern "Fever" machines. A cabinet with a tray below and a funnel above would be perfect, so I have one on order.

Slot machines need tokens and Pachinkos need balls! They are an integral part of the experience. The noise, the rush, the pick-up, balls and tokens on the floor, may be inconvenient but keep me involved. Plastic cards and bar code printouts leave me cold. They are convenient in a casino but have reduced everything to a neutral shopping trip to a mall. It's like playing pinball on TV, convenient yes, but a lesser experience.

[compirate]

They come up on YJA every once in a while, usually for about 7,000Y.

Just remember shipping!

Hopefully, the locals will be getting more. I have seen units that were brand new-never used. Leads me to believe they're still being made. The over flow and ball dump mechs were factory dissabled/blocked off (no melting of plastic or zip ties).