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Slot machines are superseded by new and improved variants at an almost annual rate. Game-makers are constantly bringing out fresh models that either support more games or take up less space on the casino floor — sometimes both. Throw in the games that didn’t catch on with players and you’re liable to find much of last year’s slot inventory gathering dust in the basem*nt of the casino parking garage.
But where do they go from there?
According to the Board of Enforcement of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, “Old machines may be destroyed through local recycling centers or stripped for parts and used on other slots. Non-restricted locations that hold a distributor's license are not required to inform the Board of this practice. However, records of destruction/sales must be maintained for auditing purposes. Non-Restricted/Restricted locations without a distributor's license are required to submit in writing to the Board a request for approval to destroy gaming devices and include their inventory list.
“Slot machines may be sold, per Gaming Regulation 14.180 & 14.330 (available on the GCB website) and the forms are submitted to the Board accordingly.”
But there’s life for slots after Las Vegas and Atlantic City, as Scientific Games' Director of Sales Dwayne Dawson tells us. “We've seen recently that some larger operators will transition older slots to second- or third-tier properties within their portfolio -- for example, moving a five-year-old slot machine from Las Vegas to another market that may not draw the customers the Las Vegas property commands.
“For slot machines that we own, such as wide-area progressives, when they no longer become an asset we can deploy, we sell these to the secondary market. They may use them for spare parts or move them to another part of the world where an older product, to us, could be a newer product for that market.
“And sometimes," Dawson concludes, “we scrap the slot machine when there's no market suitable. The game might be so unique or a licensed product that we cannot redeploy it, so scrapping is the most viable option. We work with companies that specialize in scrapping to ensure all applicable laws are followed in the disposal. That is, we just don’t throw them in the dumpster.”
Boyd Gaming Director of Communications David Strow verifies this. “In most cases, we sell ‘retired’ machines to wholesalers who typically resell them to overseas gaming operators. Other times, we use the machines as a trade-in toward the purchase of new units. And in a few cases, we’ll use the machine for spare parts for older models.
“If we aren’t able to sell or trade in the machine, there is a regulator-approved process in each jurisdiction for destroying it, but obviously, we try to exhaust other options first. The one thing we don’t do is sell machines directly to other operators or collectors — we always work through wholesalers."
Adds MGM Resorts International chief spokesman Alan Feldman, “I think they're all leased [machines] now. The changes in the machines are coming so fast that I think it’s the only way to not be stuck with old technology. Once the machines go back to the manufacturer, I suspect they're either re-leased or sold outright to what I would call the secondary market: smaller casinos in the U.S., international casinos, and racinos in the U.S., among others.”
So old slot machines never die; they just work their way down the food chain. Below the casino industry are machines sold to the public. Google "used slot machines" and you'll come up with plenty of websites for slot sellers, such as usedslotmachines.net. You can also find them on eBay.
We assume you've also checked your state's laws as to the private ownership of gambling devices. In eight states, they're outright prohibited. Other states, they have to be at least 25 years or older.
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