5 ms·

Time Running Out for Beloved Mechanical Horse-Race Game in Vegas

76 points by bcaulfield 8y ago

meggar 8y ago
Didn't the casino in Montreal have one of these?
joezydeco 8y ago
"Stevens and his team are determined to keep those hooves pounding for as long as is physically possible." Gee, and I thought he was trying to sell it... =) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbfmkna8Yh4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbfmkna8Yh4
- handedness 8y ago
  Curious to see whose price was closer to the mark, I just found one listed for $27.5K asking, so the $80K ask seems like a way to get free publicity for the casino without having to sell it, or appear to sell it, which would defeat the purpose.
  - joezydeco 8y ago
    You'd have to think between this show and Storage Wars that they've run out of interesting things to put on TV.
bitxbitxbitcoin 8y ago
The second floor of The D is a magical place. It is also the location of the first Bitcoin ATM in Las Vegas if I recall correctly.
- Sommer 8y ago
  Bitcoin atm has to have the worst odds in the entire place.
BEEdwards 8y ago
Why don't they just make a modern version that emulates the function?
- sithadmin 8y ago
  They exist, but they just don't have the same charm. You can find them pretty easily in places like Japanese arcades.
- anigbrowl 8y ago
  Because it would be fake, and nostalgia is an emotional quality that depends on authenticity.
  - bartread 8y ago
    On one level I agree with you, but then I look at the retrogaming scene, and how much of a part emulation plays there. There's obviously good emulation and bad emulation, although for some neither is authentic enough. Still, one day all my discs will rot, and all my physical hardware will fail, yet I'll still be able to play and enjoy the games - and get that same nostalgia kick - through emulation. (There's also the fact that some games are now so unbelievably expensive in physical form that the only way I'm ever going to be able to afford to play them is emulated with ROM or disk images.)
    - anigbrowl 8y ago
      That's a good point and I'm OK with things like synthesizer clones. But those are semi-commodities, plus the originals will always have some special cachet. Maybe part of the appeal of this gambling machine is that the capability of failure is linked to the potential of paying out.
- abootstrapper 8y ago
  They have, but I don’t think they can resist trying to sex it up. Part of the charm of the old machines is their simplicity.
elandrum 8y ago
> Stevens and company eventually tracked down a machine in “either in northern Nevada or northern California,” although he no longer recalls the specifics. They removed one of these from Montbleu Casino in Stateline, NV / Lake Tahoe a couple of years ago for a remodel. Everyone I knew was really upset about it... Even if you weren’t playing, it was a blast to grab a drink and stand around cheering folks on. There was never any word what was happening to it, many people hoped it would come back just in a different part of the casino. Unfortunately it never did. I wonder if this is its new home?
- sf_rob 8y ago
  I was once at the poker tables nearby and a group came in at 1:00 in the morning dressed head to toe in derby viewing apparel. They proceeded to play the mechanical horses and it was absolutely hilarious.
- tribeofone 8y ago
  You remember the 1-5 guy? 1-5!!! 1-5!!!

76 points by bcaulfield 8y ago

Didn't the casino in Montreal have one of these?

"Stevens and his team are determined to keep those hooves pounding for as long as is physically possible." Gee, and I thought he was trying to sell it... =) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbfmkna8Yh4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbfmkna8Yh4

handedness 8y ago
Curious to see whose price was closer to the mark, I just found one listed for $27.5K asking, so the $80K ask seems like a way to get free publicity for the casino without having to sell it, or appear to sell it, which would defeat the purpose.
- joezydeco 8y ago
  You'd have to think between this show and Storage Wars that they've run out of interesting things to put on TV.

bitxbitxbitcoin 8y ago

The second floor of The D is a magical place. It is also the location of the first Bitcoin ATM in Las Vegas if I recall correctly.

Sommer 8y ago
Bitcoin atm has to have the worst odds in the entire place.

BEEdwards 8y ago

Why don't they just make a modern version that emulates the function?

sithadmin 8y ago
They exist, but they just don't have the same charm. You can find them pretty easily in places like Japanese arcades.
anigbrowl 8y ago
Because it would be fake, and nostalgia is an emotional quality that depends on authenticity.
- bartread 8y ago
  On one level I agree with you, but then I look at the retrogaming scene, and how much of a part emulation plays there. There's obviously good emulation and bad emulation, although for some neither is authentic enough. Still, one day all my discs will rot, and all my physical hardware will fail, yet I'll still be able to play and enjoy the games - and get that same nostalgia kick - through emulation. (There's also the fact that some games are now so unbelievably expensive in physical form that the only way I'm ever going to be able to afford to play them is emulated with ROM or disk images.)
  - anigbrowl 8y ago
    That's a good point and I'm OK with things like synthesizer clones. But those are semi-commodities, plus the originals will always have some special cachet. Maybe part of the appeal of this gambling machine is that the capability of failure is linked to the potential of paying out.
abootstrapper 8y ago
They have, but I don’t think they can resist trying to sex it up. Part of the charm of the old machines is their simplicity.

elandrum 8y ago

> Stevens and company eventually tracked down a machine in “either in northern Nevada or northern California,” although he no longer recalls the specifics. They removed one of these from Montbleu Casino in Stateline, NV / Lake Tahoe a couple of years ago for a remodel. Everyone I knew was really upset about it... Even if you weren’t playing, it was a blast to grab a drink and stand around cheering folks on. There was never any word what was happening to it, many people hoped it would come back just in a different part of the casino. Unfortunately it never did. I wonder if this is its new home?

sf_rob 8y ago
I was once at the poker tables nearby and a group came in at 1:00 in the morning dressed head to toe in derby viewing apparel. They proceeded to play the mechanical horses and it was absolutely hilarious.
tribeofone 8y ago
You remember the 1-5 guy? 1-5!!! 1-5!!!