It looks like a slot-machine.
It plays like a slot-machine.
It plays out “medals” (coins) like a slot-machine.
But it’s not “gambling.” Ri-i-i-ight.
Not technically considered gambling, video-game-like slot machines are a booming industry in Japan TOKYO — …Pachislot is a fancier version of the classic slot machine. As with the one-armed bandit, the game starts when you pull a lever, but in Japan’s version, you press buttons to stop the reels, adding an element of skill. … both pachislot and the older pinball-like pachinko game, rakes in about 29-trillion yen ($315-billion) each year from specialized parlours throughout Japan, the government estimated last year. That’s nearly four times the revenue from legal casino gambling worldwide, as estimated by PricewaterhouseCoopers…. …But analysts say the gold rush may soon be over. Under Japanese regulations, pachislot machines must be taken off the market after three years.…
Now I’ve gotta figure out why pachislot seems to be written pachisuro ( パãƒã‚¹ãƒ ) in katakana???
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August 7th, 2005 at 9:26 am
The article is misleading.
The law regulating pachislot machines was changed in July 2004. Machines approved before the change do not meet the new standards on maximum payout ratios, which were lowered to reduce the lure of big potential winnings.
Any machine approved before the new law can still be used until, at the latest, July 2007. That is where the “three years” figure comes from. But pachislot makers are making new machines that comply with the new law, so there will be no sudden dissapearance of pachislo machines from Japan in three years.
And the word “pachisuro” is a Japanese abbreviation of PACHInko SLOt.
August 7th, 2005 at 9:43 am
Ok. So that means, as long as you’re a loser without hope, Pachislot is ok, hee, hee.
Losers without hope….hmmm, is that a Japanese legislative metaphor?
August 19th, 2005 at 9:42 pm
Japanese baby dies in car as mother plays slot games
AFP, August 19, 2005
TOKYO – A six-month-old baby died in Japan after her mother left her in a car in the summer heat to play slot games and did not even return during a major … more …