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I have a 1931 War Eagle and that model as well as others and other slot makers always had such small payout cups. The question is WHY. It took many years for the machines to come out with a large area for payouts. My War Eagle is a 25 cent machine and hitting a jackpot you have to really have nimble fingers to get the coins out. I don't have big hands and I can only imagine with my difficulty getting the coins out it must be hell for guys with big hands.

Totally guessing at this, but perhaps it was just due to the fact that most payouts fit in that cup, with the jackpot going to another? Or maybe that kept productions costs down with simply less metal used, especially during war times.
I always wondered this too. Hopefully someone else will chime in.