Advice please on Aristocrat and others

[maltasteve]

Hi. As a new member of this group, and a very new owner of my first one arm bandit, I'd like to ask a couple of basic questions please which may appear daft but to a totally new user like me are baffling. With my Aristocrat Grosvenor Sweet 'N Sour, can the payout rate/percentage be changed? I understand that it is possible to set it to 'free play' but I wanted to keep the coin play but simply increase the win percentage as it is set very low (great when it was in an arcade no doubt)!

Also, having a front opening cabinet it is easy to access. Are most one arm bandits of all makes rear opening rather than front? It seems to me that any rear opening bandit, if set up against a wall and also given the weight of the machine, is much harder to access/service if it is rear opening? Thanks guys.

[treefrog]

Welcome Malta Steve

Payouts were often mean and sometimes reduced by operators. If your machine has been changed by the operator, then often there are obvious signs that can be reversed. On Aristocrats this would usually be blocking of the pay holes on the pay discs to the side of the reels. Secondly what does your machine pay out on the top payment? Sometimes these were reduced to 10 coin and the parts may be there to increase back to 18. If none of the above, it gets more tricky to change.

On the second point, the reason most later machines were changed to front opening cannot have been coincidence for the hassle operators had on machines made in the '50s and earlier which used the rear….

[maltasteve]

Many thanks, that's really helpful. The top payout is 10, which I think must have been the original top payment as the decals suggest this. I guess they were made to make money for operators, hence the low win/payout rate! Also very helpful to know that age may well play a part in whether the door opening is front or rear.

[pennymachines]

Surprisingly, one arm bandits were almost all rear-opening until 1956, when father and son Casey and Norbe Michaels developed a front opening case for Ace Manufacturing Co. (Franklin Park, Illinois)*. Very soon thereafter Bally, Jubilee, Aristocrat, Jennings et al made only front opening bandits.

* ref. Marshall Fey.

[maltasteve]

Many thanks! I hadn't heard of Marshall Fey before, but now I know of him I can read his books.

[coppinpr]

Welcome,
Let us see photos of your machine, both outside and of the mech inside.
If you really want to work on the machine to change the payouts, as TF says above this is only a practical option if the machine was changed by an operator in the past.

As already mentioned the clue is in the payout discs. These are 3 large discs mounted to one side of the three reel drums and they have holes in them to allow vertical fingers to penetrate through the holes to allow payouts. If some of these have clearly been blocked up or welded full it will be clear to see and means there has been a change. Once again, send photos of these parts. Another clue (although not always 100% proof) is that patches have been stuck over some of the symbols on the drums. This usually takes the form of a lemon placed over a former payout symbol.

[maltasteve]

Hi. Thank you for this. I've got a couple of books coming so that I can familiarise myself with what part is what, and then I can post a couple of photos. I wasn't going to alter the payout if it involves quite a bit of work as it is just for home use/entertainment only. It was only as the machine has a 'free play' lever (or so I've been told) it got me wondering if to alter the payout percentage was as easy to do as that. Clearly not! Thanks again.

[coppinpr]

Most people don't like "free play". Firstly it feels wrong and a bit pointless, but more importantly if you're not putting coins in there will soon be no coins coming out when you get a win.