What's the difference between a Pachislo and a regular slot machine?

[JohnD199]

Why get a pachislo instead of a regular slot machine? Is it a legal issue? Have pachislos been toned down to make them legal in more areas? Are regular slot machines impractical for home use compared to pachislo machines?

Just wondering,

JohnD199

[RKnarr01]

pachislos are entertainment machines while slot machines are for gambling.

gambling is also illegal in a lot of states.

now after having 5 pachislo's i wouldnt buy a regular slot machine if i could.

[luckydog]

a pachislo is cheaper----takes up less space----weights less----is more fun.

and if i bought a slot here it would have to be 25 years old.

not 1 to 4 years old.

[Tulsa]

Certainly legal issues come into play for states like mine that require an (AS) American Slot be an antique, at least 25 years old, like Florida for Lucky. They take coins only, meaning you'll have quite an investment in cash in the machine just to play it. If you have a quarter machine that will pay 4000 quarters for example in a max bet jackpot you'd have $1000 in the machine in just change. That's crazy.

You would have to pay at the very least about $600 for one and more than likely to have a nice one at least double that.

The music vs the themes are generally unrelated as AS tend to all make similar sounds and the lights are incredibly boring if any at all other than the reel lights.

Pachislo's on the other hand require tokens (legal for home use in most states) and for about $200 shipped you can have a very nice, very playable machine in your house with back-lit reels, outside and surrounding lights, up tempo music, bonus rounds, eye shooting capability, interaction, maneuverability (80lbs vs 300lbs).

To me it's a really big no brainer.

[minnesotabrad]

You can also purchase many pachislo machines at the cost of one American slot machine. Even with the addition of LCD screens, LED screens, etc., you always have the three spinning reels unlike the changes to video reels here in the states making them more like what slots here used to be. Also I find it enjoyable to have the tokens payout unlike the ticket payouts you are starting to see on slots over here. As far as the skill stop part of the machine, I think it is programing of the machine when it is going to stop and payout, but that is just my opinion.

[David Wile]

Hey Brad,

I'm with you about that whole eye-hand cordination and sight shooting thing. I do not have a prayer of hitting anything on purpose and have given up on the whole idea. I just sit back and enjoy pushing the buttons without any expectation of hitting a target. Perhaps you and I are too old to do the eye-hand thing. In any case, I also like the Pachislo machines better than American slots.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[gwarzin]

If you are going to get a lot of them, then the scale of the pachislo is also a very important factor. Las Vegas slots are scaled to look good in a gigantic casino. Put more than a few in a typical family room and they dominate that room. Pachislos, on the other hand, are smaller and look better in a domestic environment. And, even though the typical collector ends up with every pachislo being different, because they are all the same size, they tend to look good together.

[JohnD199]

Here's another quick question: Can I buy a pachislo machine in Nevada? I'm going to Reno soon. Maybe I'll just pick one up while I'm there.

[RKnarr01]

I dont believe there are any vendors there. Do you have one of these machines yet?

[pachitom]

JohnD199.. A lot of the older American slots, at least the ones made by Bally are not much bigger than the Pachislos. I bought a Bally series E slot that was made in the mid 80's at an estate auction. It uses a coin comparitor that will allow the use of tokens if a token is put in the coin comparitor or use quarters if a quarter is placed in the comparitor. It is dull compared to the pachislos as the only sound is a bell , much like an old doorbell, when you hit a winning combination. Right now I would not part with my Bally slot but playing my pachislo is more action packed. Its hard to stop buying them. I cant wait till Tue when FedEx is to drop off (I hope they do not drop it) my Super Black Jack.

Happy Slotting

[Tony Junior]

JohnD199, I'm probably one, if not the oldest poster here. I grew up on the Texas Gulf coast when that area was wide open. I loved playing the old "one armed bandits," usually only the nickel machines, and have wanted one of my own for many years.

I finally got a Mills Castle Front nickel machine in excellent condition, for over $1600.00 delivered about 6 years ago. I then bought an antique, non-working Evans Galloping Dominos console --- BIG sucker --- for just under $200.00 to be picked up about 40 miles away. A year later it works, with many, many hours spent figuring out how.

Then I picked up a pachislo about 5 years ago. Only within the last couple of months have I been able to add to the Pachislo collection (see below). They are, without a doubt, THE most fun to play! Yes, you stop the reels, unlike the pure chance of an AS, and like David said, there is skill to it, IF your eyes are good enough.

Don't misunderstand, I love my antique American Slots and I'll never part with them. But for sheer fun, enjoyment, call it what you will, I'll take pachislos!

Bet your boots, the Good Lord willing, and the creek don't rise, I'll be adding more pachislos (and pachinkos) often from now on!

[Utopia1dc]

Why get a pachislo instead of a regular slot machine? Is it a legal issue? Have pachislos been toned down to make them legal in more areas? Are regular slot machines impractical for home use compared to pachislo machines?

Just wondering,

JohnD199

Tale of the tape:

Pachislo: Compact, affordable, fun to play

American Slot: Bulky, expensive, not as fun

Advantage: Pachislo

[scooby_doo_m2002]

JohnD,
For me, I am sorta mixed. I agree with every one here, BUT, My eye/hand coordnation(sp) isn't all that great so 9x out of 10 I run out of tokens LESS on an American slot vs. pachislo. Because the most you can win on one spin of the pachislo is 15. the max amount on an American slot you can win on one spin is in the 100's -1,000's so if you are like me, and you get a pachislo, get ALOT of tokens to feed your machine... however, pachislo machines are legal in in most states where as American slots are not. as long as they are token in/token out. But with American slot venders, they will change them to accept tokens only. but you would still need to check with your local laws.... If the pachislo machines paid out like american slots, and didn't rely on YOU stopping the reels to win, I would say pachislo all the way

[_Zaphod_]

The main reason pachislos are legal in more states is because they take tokens, not because of their "skill". And the states where they are legal because of the skill feature are sadly misinformed.

Your typical pachislo has three or four operating modes. one is "stiff the player" mode, where it stops the first two reels exactly where you put them, but will make the third one you try to stop jump up to six symbols forward to deny you your win! (this is legal under japanese law, because the max allotted stopping time is enough for six reel positions) They can be in true skill mode, where it will actually stop where you tell it to on all three (they usually flash a light or light something up as the spin starts to signal that you have a true skill spin. sometimes if you miss with a true skill spin, the machine will make a noise to tell you of that fact). The bonus game can be a game full of true skill spins, or it can have a small number or true skill spins that give you a chance to extend the bonus game more. The third mode is where all three reels jump, and it can set up a win that way (six positions on each reel is generally enough for it to spin in SOME win on SOME payline no matter when you try to stop it). And the fourth mode (if you can call it that) is guaranteed win mode, which is only in bonus games, where it keeps spinning in the 15 coin japots over and over. If they were in true skill mode all the tiemthey wouldn't be slot machines, but people here have investigated the roms, and found this not to be the case.

California is indeed CORRECT in classifying them as slot machines. And even thogh you may be able to get 25 year old pachislos, they are not covered by the spirit of the law, becausse they are not *American* so i suspect they will NEVER be legal in CA. The laws are VERY clear on the spirit as WELL as the letter.

Which is odd, because i saw this Funhouse game room place that actually was *selling* them once for about 2 to 3 hundred each, saying that they are legal. Perhaps they believed that they are true skill games. Perhaps they knew they were breaking laws. Their main business is buying project machines for cheap on ebay, fixing them up, and selling them at exorbitant prices to gouge collectors. Amd they dont' even shop the games that well. for the prices the were easking, the games needed to be MINT, and they were not.

Incidentaly, those who live in UK may have heard of Skill With Prizes machines. they would also be classified as slos under California law, and again, the classification is corrct. these adjiust their difficulty by how much they've paid out. Lets take Monopoly SWP. if it hasn't collected enough mone,y you ill go arouhd the board for AGES and it will never give you a set of 3 properties. It will only offer up the chance on the third in a set when it's got enough money. because that factor influences the outcome in a manner not predictable to the player, that makes it a slot machine.

[Tulsa]

The reels only slip up to four positions not six.

Quoted from Big Bear's Site.

A Secret of Reels

Pachislo machines are manufactured under strict regulations -- they are originally produced as gambling machines in Japan. (1) Reels must spin at less than 80 revolutions per minute, (2) reels must have symbols less than 21 (and symbols are less than seven kinds), and (3) a reel must stop within 0.19 second after the Reel Stop Button is pushed.

Most pachislo machines, therefore, have 21 symbols on each reel and spin the reels at 80 r.p.m. Importantly, they take advantage of the "0.19 second rule" and make the reels "slip." On the one hand, the machine makes the reels slip so that you don't hit a Regular or a Big Bonus, and on the other hand, it does it to let you win (see Winnings Signs and Small Prizes). The reel may "slip" four steps at most. See a chart below.

[monaghj]

Thanks for the info Zaphod. How do you change the modes ? or does it change automatically when you set the odds from 1 to 6 ?

[_Zaphod_]

i think the max rpm law is new. before that was, they were spinning fast enough ot jump six.

And you do not change the modes, the machine does based on how much "money' it has taken in and it's skill setting (also known as it's percentage setting) if it needs to suck in money, it wil run in stiff the player mod eunti l it's gathered enough tokens or played enough spins to decide to change.