Slot Machine

By Jason Coote

Slot Machine

Slot Machines have now become a traditional part of gambling. In any given casino, slot machines are one of the major attractions and also generate most of the casino’s income. They are simple to play and winning or losing completely depends on the luck. Moreover, there is no limit to how much you can play as long as you have the tokens to play it. It is a one man game and so, is a perfect way to gamble. 

One of the first slot machine manufacturing companies was the Watling Manufacturing Co. established by Thomas Watling in the year 1889. From the beginning, the Watling Company was interested in manufacturing gambling machines that were similar to the machines manufactured by Caillie and Mills. However, the company started gaining popularity only after the year 1902, when its coin operated weight scaling machine became famous.  Think how these early years compare with the modern age of aussie online pokie. Exceptional game play on a platform you can trust.

Through the 1920s to 1930s, the company was manufacturing slot machines which had similar design to the slot machines manufactured by other big companies. The only difference was that the Watling Company decided not to make any major changes to the design, but to stick to minor changes while basing all their models on the Blue Seal design.  This contrasts remarkably to top online casino action.

However, this policy started hurting their sales drastically and the company profit was going down. This is when Thomas Watling, the founder of the company, came up with his new spectacular slot machine design known as the Rol-A-Top. This unique slot machine design featured a coin escalator on the top of the machine and this unique design became the crown of the company till the time it was finally closed. Although, enthusiastic slot machine collectors are eager to get their hands on a Rol-A-Top slot machine even today.  

One such popular Rol-A-Top slot machine model created by the Watling Company is the 25 cent Watling Rol-A-Top Bird of Paradise Slot machine. This machine features an amazing front board design that has the theme of a beautiful bird flying free. The theme art is extremely beautiful and is one of the main features of the machine that makes it truly an antique piece to collect. This unique slot machine features twin jackpot slots along with a mint vendor and a gold award token vendor. The front board is uniquely designed with the three reel spinning slot display positioned right where the eyes can see comfortably, just beside it is the list of winning combinations and the corresponding prize money the machine offers, and on top is the Rol-A-Top coin escalator.  

This machine is made with oak ribbed side cases and comes with the original Watling coin box, original metal reel strips, original side decals and an original heavy back door. It is a strong machine which can sustain a good amount of damage without causing any internal damage to the mechanism.  

Playing this slot machine is as same as playing any other slot machine. All you have to do is insert a coin through the coin slot attached to the coin escalator and pull the slot machine handle attached to the side. Once the handle is pulled, the metal reel strips will start spinning and when they stop, the combination that is aligned with the arrow on the side is the combination you have scored.  

Another amazing feature this machine has is the anti-coin jammer button that is placed behind the Rol-A-Top coin escalator. If in case, the coin gets stuck after inserting it into the coin escalator, then pressing this button will unjam it and will also help you retrieve the coin for the next turn.  

Anyway, if the combination you have scored is a jackpot or any other winning combination, the machine will automatically dispense the corresponding prize money accurately. However, if you score anything but a winning combination, then you will win absolutely nothing, also losing the coin you have inserted. This slot machine model was designed in the year 1935, which makes it more than 80 years old now. Since Rol-A-Tops were extremely popular before, they are regularly hunted by the enthusiastic collectors. Even this antique slot machine model is hunted by many, but finding it is not that easy considering how rare this slot machine is today.  

An original Watling Rol-A-Top Bird of Paradise Slot Machine preserved in good working condition can cost you more than $10,000 considering how unique this slot machine is and also depending on how well it has been preserved. However, a fully restored version of this slot machine would significantly cost less when compared to an original, say around $6000, more or less depending upon how much of it has been restored. 

In any case, the real problem is finding this rare machine. Since the company itself was based in Chicago, the chances of finding this slot machine model there are very high. Also, the state of Nevada has the highest number of casinos in the world, so it is highly possible

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About the Author

Jason Coote is the founder of many horse racing websites and known British gambler.