Re-purposing Slot Machines

[RameGoom]

A few years ago, I sold 24 Jennings 400s to a movie studio that intended to create a "casino" in an upcoming movie, "Bad Times at the El Royale". I kept one machine for posterity, and dressed it up to match the movie theme. These machines were not functional except for spinning reels and moving pull handles - they were modified to look and work like the real thing. The studio had to add special lighting to work with the filming. Good movie, too.

[madmelons]

Thx for sharing with us.

Not heard that story before

[shortrackskater]

I wonder where those machines ended up??

[RameGoom]

According to the prop manager, they are sitting in a vault at the Fox Studio Prop Department. I inquired about purchasing them back, but they told me that they plan to use them in the future, whenever a casino is required.

Originally they wanted eight of them. Apparently they shoot a scene, then reposition the machines for the next flowing scene, to appear that there are many machines. But, with 24 of them, it made filming much easier, so they have "diamonds in the rough" with so many. The won't give them up now....

[shortrackskater]

Oh I know you RameGoom! From that "other" forum!
That's interesting though, thanks! I'm assuming it's for a movie not taking place now, since those machines are quite old. Or they don't think we'll notice?
Someone just won big on a slot machine at the Excalaber. The article in Fox News shows an obviously stock photo showing the back of an older looking man playing a machine at a casino. Well they were clearly all S plus machines! Quite different than what this person won on. I guess they think no one would notice.

[RameGoom]

Bad Times at the El Royale: Yeah, the movie was supposed to be set in the late 60s. It involved a hotel on the border of Nevada and California (Cal-Neva), so half of the hotel could indulge in gambling, the other half couldn't. A line ran right down the middle of the hotel.

The studio tried unsuccessfully to locate early Bally-IGT machines of that era, but since I offered, settled on my early 70s Jennings slots - close enough for the effect and very few people would take notice (well, except us nerds).

Throughout most of the movie, these machines were lit but not played, yet you could see them in the background during almost every filming scene. Then in the end, the action was in "Reno" where many of them appeared to be in use and were all staged nicely. I worked with the studio electrician so he could get the machines to spin the reels since they were motorized. They had to install very specific lighting in each machine to correspond to the filming, since the lighting is highly critical in a movie atmosphere.

It was interesting to see them in "operation", even though they were gutted, no coin mechanisms, no hoppers, no logic control. Amazing how Hollywood can make things appear to be what they're not.

The movie is really good, well-known actors in it like Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson and Jon Hamm, and an interesting mystery theme. I would highly recommend that any of you watch it. The custom made pastry vendor is something to see.

Here's a Youtube preview, check it out between 2:30 and 2:45 and you'll see what they did with some of the props. Later, they were all used in the last 2 minutes of the film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFvkC37vmc0

[shortrackskater]

Late reply here... sorry!
Thanks for the information. That's a very interesting story! You'd think they could have located plenty of Bally EM machines? I don't see them quite as often now, but I did back in 2015/6 when that movie was probably in pre-production. Still they look great, and yes I'd say it's unlikely any of the rank and file public would know!