Question about Japanese gaming and ball values.

[deanwaters]

Here's a general question about Pachinko and Japanase gaming: Seems to be pretty common knowledge that when you go into a pachinko parlor in Japan, you purchase balls at about 4 yen per (about 4 cents). Now, at the end of a player's session, they give the balls (if any) to the attendant and they are counted. Trinkets are then given to the player and the player then exchanges them for cash at some nearby window, thus bypassing Japanese gambling laws. Now, is the vaule when a player RETURNS the balls won equal to same 4 yen per ball that the player initially paid for them?

In US casinos, whatever token or chip you use has a denomination specifically stated. The $1 token is always worth $1. But when you change your yen for balls or pachislo tokens, they're only worth something because the parlor says they are. But it is possible that the parlors have a different SELL and BUY rate. They sell them at 4 yen/ball. Do they also give the player trinkets valued at 4 yen/ball? Let's say you buy 10,000 yen worth of balls and immediately traded them in for trinkets and then 'sold' those trinkets for cash at the nearby 'window'. Would you get 10,000 yen?

[luckydog]

they don't sell you the balls, you rent them, the return value is less.

if you rented 10,000 yen in balls and cashed them right back you would get less in exchange.

[owennewton]

If I remember correctly the rent rate is 4 yen and the return rate is about 2 1/2 yen each