Abstract: A roulette playing device includes a hitting device for releasing a ball onto a circular runway which comprises a first rotatable roller disposed upstream of an outlet, a second rotatable roller opposed to the first roller and spaced therefrom by a distance smaller than the diameter of the ball, and a driver for rotating the first and the second rollers in opposite direction to each other. Such arrangement makes it easy to spin and release the ball and to control the spin of the ball. A release device for feeding a ball to the hitting device comprises a blower for sending forth air to the outlet through a release passage upstream of the outlet, and a feeder for feeding balls one by one to the release passage. Such arrangement enables the ball released on the circular runway to be accelerated thereon.

Abstract: A roulette playing device includes a hitting device for releasing a ball onto a circular runway which comprises a first rotatable roller disposed upstream of an outlet, a second rotatable roller opposed to the first roller and spaced therefrom by a distance smaller than the diameter of the ball, and a driver for rotating the first and the second rollers in opposite direction to each other. Such arrangement makes it easy to spin and release the ball and to control the spin of the ball. A release device for feeding a ball to the hitting device comprises a blower for sending forth air to the outlet through a release passage upstream of the outlet, and a feeder for feeding balls one by one to the release passage. Such arrangement enables the ball released on the circular runway to be accelerated thereon.

Abstract: A roulette playing device comprises a release opening for releasing a ball. The opening is formed in a circular wall at a position higher than the level where the ball runs on the outermost circumference thereof. The circular wall is preferably tilted from a vertical plane toward a roulette wheel. Such an arrangement prevents the ball from running astray and dropping into the release opening. The roulette playing device further comprises ball sensors for detecting the ball running on the circular runway, an average speed detector for detecting the time the ball takes to run between two of the ball sensors, and a control device for outputting an instruction for prohibiting any more betting when the detected value by the speed detector reaches a preset value. Such an arrangement enables the behavior of the ball to be detected accurately and NO BETTING operation to be timed stably, whereby roulette games are made more amusing.

Abstract: A more sophisticated version of the known "crisscross" type of slot machine is disclosed. A screen has a plurality of display zones, usually notional, arrayed in rows and columns. A row of symbols are made to sequentially appear and randomly stop on each of the display zones, either electronically, optically, or mechanically. Thus the player can play for random symbol combinations not only along the horizontal and diagonal lines, as in the case of the crisscross model, but also along the vertical lines, of the array of display zones on the screen. If the display zones are provided in three rows and three columns, therefore, the inventive machine offers a maximum of as many as eight different symbol combinations on a single play, as compared with only five yielded by the crisscross type of machine. A representative slot machine in accordance with the invention is purely electronic, using a cathode ray tube for symbol display.

Abstract: This invention relates to a slot machine which comprises one main machine, and a plurality of subordinate machines connected to the main machine. Each subordinate machine comprises a slot, detecting means for sensing the coins betted in; and coin paying-out means.The main machine comprises control means for starting the game in response to an output of the detection means of the subordinate machine and controlling the proceeding of the game; display means for showing on its screen symbol rows having plural kinds of symbols and movable while the game is going on; and payment commanding means for commanding the coin paying-out means to pay out coins in accordance with a preset payment rate when the result of the game is found won. The slot machine of this type brings forth communication among players thereby to make the game more amusing. This brings about more profit to the installer of the slot machine.

Abstract: For electronically sensing the proper entry of a coin into a slot machine, vending machine or the like, an upstanding chute extending from the slot of the machine has two pairs of opposed apertures formed therein. A coin falling through the chute successively intercepts light beams emitted by external light sources and normally falling on photodetectors through the apertures. The outputs from the photodetectors are used for measuring the period of time required for the coin to pass each pair of apertures and the period of time from the moment the coin starts passing the upper pair of apertures to the moment the coin completes passing the lower pair of apertures. The photodetector outputs are further utilized for detecting a reverse travel of the coin in the chute, as by the stringing of the coin by the customer. Additional embodiments provide for the detection of oversize and undersize coins from the photodetector outputs.