State-Side Pachinko Halls

[TheRaz]

OK. I know from searches that it's been asked before, but I just wanted to ask for myself and get an updated answer.

Are there any operating Pachinko halls in the US?

I travel a lot for work and it's about that time of year to hit the road again.
I go through LA, Fresno, and Palm Springs twice each year. Also, Daytona Beach on the East Coast. If there is anything of note in/near these towns that is Pachinko related, I'd love to know about it.



Thanks!

[mxfaiman]

I don't know of any.

[candyflip]

We all wish... <sigh>

I really thought Vegas would have got in on this by now, but no... they can't see the advantages.

MGM can have a horse racing game on their floor for years - but can't take a chance on even pachi-slo machines?

sad...

[TheRaz]

Well, for work I basically live in casinos for 30+ weekends a year, and I don't think you could find a casino in the US that would be willing to take a chance on pachinko. It just doesn't have enough up-side for them compared to what they already have.

I'm more expecting one to pop up as an arcade style setup, or maybe as some themed bar in vegas or the more lax states where they can actually set it up as gambling and pay out cash. It would have to start grass roots. The big wigs need to see a large fan-base to capitalize on or know people are really clamoring for it and I don't hear people walking in every weekend asking, "Why don't you have any Pachinko machines?"

Just my two cents.

[candyflip]

Fair enough - and very reasonable argument. Couldn't agree more.

Are people walking in every weekend asking the MGM where the vintage penny horse racing machine is though?
They can't take a chance on a small section of 2 machines to see how they fly?

[emmadog]

I think it would be a hard sell in the US due to lack of interested people and people that even know what pachinko is. However, if a casino were to be set up, I think it would become popular.

[candyflip]

I think it would be a hard sell in the US due to lack of interested people and people that even know what pachinko is. However, if a casino were to be set up, I think it would become popular.

Yes, exactly my thoughts.

Pachislo machines can be converted to use real coins, and or/$ bills, easily.

Then, you have a machine that handles just as much currency as a Vegas slot machine, with far more user-pull.
The attract modes alone would pull passing punters in from far and wide (just as they do in Japan).
The gameplay would keep them right there in their seats.

I think it's one of those 'crazy' ideas that no-one can quite get their head around, but because we've seen it working in it's native environment, understand intimately and therefore can't see how it wouldn't be a runaway success!

I wish I knew somebody locally at Aristocrat - they produce both Vegas slots and pachislo machines, for the North American and Japanese markets.
I'd love to sit down with them and see where their heads are at on this one.

[TheRaz]

Are people walking in every weekend asking the MGM where the vintage penny horse racing machine is though?

I've never been to MGM when we hit Vegas, so my guess would be that machine has some history or tradition behind it for that casino. But after watching a few videos, I kind of want to check it out.

BUT, yes, people are walking into US casinos wanting to know where the "old slot machines" are. Every casino here has at least 25% of it's slot machine space used up by old, three to five reel, one arm bandits that have been retrofitted to take cash and players club cards, but no money payouts(tokens/coins) at a machine. Just a slip of paper for the cashout machines or the ladies at the cage. Being younger and loving video games, I go for the modern machines myself.

Pachislo would be a much easier sell for the older regulars and the casinos, but I just don't think that an industry that has spent the last three decades or more taking tokens out (and keeping them out) of slot machines is suddenly going to invest in machines that bring them back.

Make it so no customer handles tokens or pachinko balls, and you might take a big step forward in convincing them, but then isn't that supposed to be part of the whole experience?

Don't get me wrong, I'd be the first one in line if any casino in the country put a bank or two on the floor, I just think you could talk until you're blue in the face and still not convince them.

[daverob]

BUT, yes, people are walking into US casinos wanting to know where the "old slot machines" are.

The same thing happens in the arcades over here. We've got standard British 'fruit machines' with reels and feature games on the top glass, and we've got video-slots of all descriptions. But there's a lot of players who just want a machine that spins it's reels and pays out if they match, nothing more, nothing less.

I do get contacted every so often by people who are thinking of setting up a pachinko hall and want to know if they can interface my dongles to coin mechs or note acceptors. As far as I know most of the American attempts have fallen at the regulatory hurdles, as all of the gambling regulations are written for the casinos and they make it harder for new entrants.

The most interest seems to come from Russia and the ex-Soviet states, where I believe the gambling laws are quite similar to those that brought the rise of pachinko in Japan. I believe that there are a few places in the eastern bloc where you can play pachinko, but I'm not sure how legal it is!