Pachislo Machines

Pachislo machines are referred to as skill-stop machines because players utilize a set of buttons to manually stop each of the reels.

Las Vegas style slots machines are auto-stop machines. They are purely games of chance.

In contrast, Pachislos are referred to as skill stop machines because the player has to manually stop each of the spinning reels, by pressing the corresponding button under each reel line. This gives the skill player the control of the outcome.

Skill stop buttons predated the Bally electromechanical slot machines of the 1960s and 70s. They appeared on mechanical slot machines manufactured by Mills Novelty Co. as early as the mid 1920s.

These machines had modified reel-stop arms, which allowed them to be released from the timing bar, earlier than in a normal play, simply by pressing the buttons on the front of the machine, located between each reel.

Skill stop buttons were added to some slot machines by Zacharias Anthony in the early 70s. These enabled the player to stop each reel, allowing a degree of 'skill' so as to satisfy the New Jersey gaming laws of the day which required that players were able to control the game in some way.

The original conversion was applied to approximately 50 late model Bally slots and is the first known use of the skill stop on slot machines. Because the typical machine stopped the reels automatically in less than 10 seconds, weights were added to the mechanical timers to prolong the automatic stopping of the reels.

By the time the New Jersey Alcoholic Beverages Commission (ABC) had approved the conversion for use in New Jersey arcades the word was out and every other distributor began adding skill stops. The machines were a huge hit on the Jersey Shore and the remaining unconverted Bally machines were destroyed as they had become instantly obsolete.