Slots a Fun Reintroduces Coin Slots to Vegas Strip

Circus Circus updated its Slots a Fun floor on Friday. Or, more accurately, they downdated it.

The separate casino area, located next to Circus Circus’ main building, now features 85 coin-operated slot machines, many from the last millennium. (Technically, the mix of 25 cents, $1 and $5 machines are operated by tokens that need to be purchased.)

Ticket Out of Here

Coin slots began disappearing from casino floors across the U.S. by the mid-2000s, as Ticket In Ticket Out (TITO) vouchers replaced almost all of them.

For casinos, TITO machines — developed in 1992 by MGM Corporation — eliminated the labor-intensive cost of having to continually empty hoppers of coins. Because of reduced cash handling, they also streamlined accounting procedures.

Paper money and vouchers also put less wear and tear on machines than coins do.

The problem with the newer machines, however, is that lots of gamblers miss the feel of coin slots and the big plastic barrels that got heavier when coin avalanches kerplunked into them.

This is why TITO machine manufacturers still replicate the sound of change dropping into the payout tray during jackpots.

Tokens of Their Appreciation

A Circus Circus press release describes this as a “strategic shift” that “reaffirms its dedication to honoring the essence of vintage Vegas while embracing innovation for the modern-day guest.”

In reality, there was no “American Pickers” rummage through junkyards or estate sales for retired machines. Circus Circus and its Slots a Fun were simply the last bastions of the Strip that modernization hadn’t completely transformed. So Phil Ruffin’s casino decided to flip this from a negative to a positive.

Around 50 of these last clattering icons — until recently found in smatterings across the Circus Circus and Slots a Fun floors — were simply gathered together into one place. Circus Circus then fortified the collection with 35 more token slots it purchased from vendors in Las Vegas and Iowa.

If the coin machines aren’t enough of a time portal to entice a visit curing your next Strip sojourn, Slots a Fun also features $2 beers, hot dogs, and shrimp cocktails. And 20 table games have been reintroduced into its 8,000 feet of gaming space — all with $5 minimums.

What year is this again?