Now from an unpleasant topic to a pleasant one: The oddball casino games that we like to play. For instance, I know we have a few fans of Sigma Derby in the house and MGM Grand obliges us by keeping a frayed, old iteration of the game on its casino floor. But what about others? Desert Companion, the KNPR-FM magazine, wants to do a story about funky and hard-to-find games that nonetheless enjoy a cult following — or at least a few die-hard adherents.
I can’t offer any compensation other than an acknowledgment and free copies of the magazine, but if you have Vegas-located games that you’d like to see brought to wider attention, just weigh in on the “Comments” thread or e-mail me at [email protected]. I promise to go out and play on your behalf. (Think of it as creating our virtual version of the Pinball Hall of Fame, one of the greatest value propositions in all of Vegas.)
Wynn Beantown, Day 2: Maybe it’s the current heat in Massachusetts, but Gov. Deval Patrick (D) and some legislative allies think you can have racinos without slots. If that kind of goofy — or perhaps just snobby — thinking is going around (high-limit games OK, slots not?), I suddenly feel a whole lot gloomier about casino prospects in the Bay State. Somebody give these guys a Reality Pill, please.
As for Steve Wynn, both in Boston and in Philadelphia he’s getting a crash course in what it’s like to be without “juice.” You may be the big man on campus in Nevada but that doesn’t mean jack when dealing with East Coast politicos. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wasted no time in bitch-slapping the proposal sight unseen. The rival Suffolk Downs project has long been “juiced in” with Menino and House Speaker Robert DeLeo — who looks increasingly like the most powerful man in Massachusetts. Call me biased but Wynn brings positive attributes to the table that his competitors lack and a Wynn-branded property would have a more diverse economic impact than would another big-ass racino (better known as “welfare for the horsey set”).
Could you possibly elaborate on the picture that you are using in the Sigma Derby article? It looks like it might be an updated version of the Sigma Derby game used overseas (Japan?).
About “funky and hard-to-find games”, I have a question: What do casinos do with the machines that they retire?
I assume that some are sold locally or to wholesalers, but do some casinos just store them for future use? (Collectors must be salivating at the thought of old time classic machines maybe gathering dust in closets & storerooms in decades-old casinos.)
Good eye! It’s the Mark VI version of Sigma Derby, taken from a site that sells new and used machines to the Japanese market.
What about the game where the coins were pushed over the edge (was it called Flip It?)? I last saw it at slots-a-fun. Anyone still offering it?
One of my guilty pleasures is playing the ancient video poker machines at The Western from time-to-time. But the Eastside Cannery really takes the cake with their old-school “coin in, coin out” video poker games. No bill acceptor on the game.