The El Cortez has some quarter and half-dollar machines, and just getting the coins can sometimes be a problem, Wiesberg said. Finding a slot mechanic who knows how to service the older machines is difficult, and getting replacement parts is sometimes impossible, he said. The coins have to be sorted, and machines have to be refilled multiple times a day, he said. The coin games are much more labor-intensive and thus not as profitable as the modern machines that dispense winnings with paper tickets, Wiesberg said. That history does come with some headaches, though. “Our draw is always our history,” he said. The Skyline has 86, a casino official said, and the California has a little more than 30.Īdam Wiesberg, the general manager for the El Cortez, said the coin machines simply make sense for the El Cortez, which has been open for more than 80 years. The El Cortez has the most coin-operated machines in the Las Vegas area, about 100.

The casino has eight $5 machines to go with 27 $1 slots and eight quarter machines. The machines’ popularity recently prompted Circus Circus to install a bank of $5 coin slots, which required the casino to have a new coin made. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a Friday, a Saturday, a Tuesday,” she said. Shana Gerety, senior vice president of operations for Circus Circus, said the coin machines have proved to be a popular attraction that differentiates the casino from others on the Strip. “When it was coming out, I didn’t realize that I hit the jackpot, then I looked up (at the payout list),” Neil said. The Robisons collected 500 $1 tokens, then a slot attendant came over to handle the rest of the winnings. “That’s a sexy sound, right?” Audra said as the jackpot coins starting falling. Two days after saying “I do” again, the Robisons found themselves shoveling dollar tokens into plastic buckets after Neil hit the $1,000 jackpot on one of the coin machines. (The California Hotel and El Cortez downtown and the Skyline casino in Henderson also have coin machines.) Neil and Audra Robison of Salt Lake City came to Las Vegas recently to remarry and stayed at Circus Circus, the only casino on the Strip still offering some coin-operated slot machines. For one couple, the sound meant their wedding was paid for. That’s the sound of money - metal coins hitting a metal tray - signifying slot or video poker winnings at one of the dwindling number of coin-operated machines still in use in the Las Vegas area.įor some, the sound brings nostalgia for the city’s past. The noise is unmistakable, though it’s heard at fewer and fewer casinos these days. A coin-operated video poker machine at the California Hotel, seen on Monday, Aug.

Used coin operated slot machines