FORUM

I loved the old penny arcade machines right from about 5 years old. I remember my fascination when at that age we each year went camping at a little seaside holiday site on the East Yorkshire coast. One time my parents couldn't even find were I was when it was time to go home... They should have looked first in the old penny arcade because that's where I was, busily turning the winning knobs to find unclaimed penny winnings!

Back at home I would make my own penny machines using a piece of wood and putting rows of drawing pins that the downward pennies could fall into. I even connected them on either side with two wires and a battery, so that the small bulb would light up once a sixpenny piece fell in the row. It was a way of copying machines like The Challenger. Do you have any penny slot machine memories that are similar?

Exactly similar, except further North, on the Durham coast.

Grew up in South London so not far from Brighton, my father loved the beach and we spent almost every summer Sunday in the Brighton area. The roads were so busy on those Sundays we would drive into Brighton in the late afternoon and spend the evening there allowing the traffic to thin out. That was my signal to attack the arcades on the piers (never wanted to use the on shore arcades for some reason ) The West Pier's older style machines were my favourites, that arcade had a great atmosphere.

Its all my dad's fault.
He used to make formica cabinets for pushers and bandits in the 60s.
I picked up my love of american made bandits after seeing them in the "antiquities" stores in the shopping malls whilst working in US in early 90s.

brigham wrote: ↑Tue Jul 31, 2018 6:49 pm Exactly similar ........

I love that!
As opposed to inaccurately identical

As opposed to inaccurately identical

your 100% close there BP

Pennies in machines
Butlins by the sea,
Flashing neon lights and jukeboxes
Arcades full of hopes and dreams.

The sounds , the arcades all now long gone
But then I look at my machines
I am transported back, a lifetime ago
To those happy innocent days of my youth.

I was obsessed in the seventies when the fair came to Reedswood Park Walsall and I used to play the Jennings Tic Tac Toe machines hoping to empty the jackpot! If only I knew then what I do now it was never going to happen! Then in 2016 I went to the Elephant House for the first time and the rest is history as they say - I was hooked. Never knew there where so many models and brands. The shed's bursting to capacity almost!

1) The ability to make at least four times weekly pocket money by waiting for coin pushers to have hefty stack teetering over the shelf and jumping in when player left.
2) Waiting for the Tooty Fruity to have nearly every pay line lined up just waiting for one coin to trigger hefty profit.
3) My dad shaking the crane machine vigorously so the crane sank deeper into sweet stack picking up two packets of fruit polos (often stuck together and been in machine too long.
4) Winning the gold awards on Bally's, or the tooty fruit and exchanging for 10 Embassy cigarettes (selling to dad for profit). Cigs were often stale and dried out.
5) Playing the Peter Simpner machines in the Police Club House with my dad and winning ten quid in shillings jackpot.
6) Pinball machines with small flippers and no power, or finding somebody left a credit by walking away not paying attention to the lucky number replay.
7) Winning tokens, changing them for goods or prizes that were actually half decent.
8) Hands stinking of coppers, coin pushers suddenly releasing their load without a player present and running over to grab the swag.
9) Smell of candy floss, bingo callers, finding coins in return slots and general racket.

Happy days.