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Ed Pace was born in 1877 and didn't enter the slot industry until 1926 when he was 49 years old.
Like Ode Jennings he started a small company refurbishing existing machines but by 1927 was switching to making his own,some of these were to become some of the most sort after machines by collectors. The company thrived for the next 25 years with the introduction of many and varied models but usually with a distinctive 'Pace' look to them.
Between 1934 and 1946 (although the latter ones were pretty much all Evans) Pace collaborated on a remarkable horse racing machine called the Pace's Races.
Slots made before 1951 did not have lighted or plastic fronts, except for the Jennings Sun Chief models. They were metal and wood, not electronic. Most of the slot machines from the 1890's to 1940's were made by only a few manufacturers: Jennings, Mills, Pace, Watling, Caille and Superior. If you're looking for a piece of the past, nothing is as exciting as playing a Pace slot machine that quite possibly has been played by some of history's most colorful characters. Imagine the hours of fun and the stories you'll be able to tell when your guest's hit a jackpot on your classic Pace slot machine! Pace Slots With Character.
We repair Jennings, Mills, Watling, Pace, and other vintage mechanical slot machines. If your antique slot machine is just sitting around not working, call us to obtain a quote or e-mail us at repairs@gameroomshow.com. Our slot machine. RARE Old Antique 1930s PACE Model CAX Bantam 1c Penny SLOT MACHINE. $1,895.00 + shipping. ORIGINAL 5¢ Pace Rocket Antique Slot Machine. $975.00 + shipping. Mills Hightop slot machine. $1,750.00 + shipping. VINTAGE ORIGINAL ( PACE ) ONE CENT SLOT MACHINE. #7 The Coin Slot Pace Paces Races etc Slot Machine Guide Book Bueschel. Item Information. Condition: Used. Price: US $25.00 #7 The Coin Slot Pace Paces Races etc Slot Machine Guide.
The original all Pace version used just one electric motor to run a bellows, this bellows then ran all the functions of the machine pneumatically including the horse movement,odds selection,payout calculation and payout. The running of the race was controlled by a player piano style slotted reel with a random function in the form of a small single pin ball shot advancing horses extra steps.,
The later Evans machines electrified many of these functions. Harold Baker,who was to later take over the Pace co may have also been involved with this venture as his 'Bakers Racer' used an almost identical cabinet.
Pace's Races
View inside this remarkable machine
This 'Red Arrow' version sold for $10,500 in 2008
Pace's Races play table
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With the passing of the Johnson act in 1951 Ed ,now 74 years old, felt it was too much to battle on in a ham strung industry and retired and veteran slot figure Harold Baker took over the making of Pace machines. This was not to last long as Harold died just two years later in 1953 and Ace Manufacturing Co of Franklin Park Illinois took over the Pace products.
This venture proved to be quite successfuland in 1958 the company moved to sites in Reno and Glen Bernie MD. During this period the owners, Casy & Norbe Michales developed the first front opening slot machine.
As with many other slot companies the introduction of the electro mechanical machine by Bally took the wind out of Ace slot sales and the company folded in 1961.
With Bally ruling the roost there was a somewhat misguided attempt to re invent the former Space Co using the remains of the Pace facility in Glen Bernie and they rushed to launch a poorly produced front opening hopper fed machine to compete with the Bally. This was a disaster. The launch at the Reno Palace Club was a farce with most of the machines emptying their hoppers for no reason throughout the evening. As a result the unreliable machine sold in very small numbers mostly in Maryland and overseas.
The last machine made that resembled a Pace machine was the Primadonna in 1964 and the last listed Space Co machine was the Electric in 1968
Many Pace Machines were based on two models,The Bantam and The Comet
Below are a selection of Pace Machines 1927-1967
Bantam Fancy Front
Bantam Fancy Front
Bantam Mint Vendor The '1928'
The Cardinal Trade Stimulator
'8' Star Bell
Comet (all Wood case) Standard Comet
Royal Comet Twin(one pull two machines) Royal Comet Club Console
Chrome Comet Pace Kitty
All Star Comet 25c Double Play
Pace's Reels
The company had high hopes for the 'Pace's Reels' Series and today they are very collectable but their problem in the 1940's was the same as collectors have today..they take up too much room. Floor space in an arcade or casino is money and machines that stood 4 square or took up a whole corner might be good earners but not like the three machines that might fir into the same space. The very rare two player version was even worse. Adds in Billboard started in 1944 for the 2 player at a staggering $550 but after little more than a year no new ones were advertised and reconditioned models were for sale for as little $150
Pace's Reels Very rare 'Twin Reels' two player version
Another rare model incorporating a bagatelle feature
One of the playfields from the 'Twin Reel' A standard Pace mech was electrified for 'Reels Machines
The 'Three Play' (1941) was a monster of a machine featuring a choice of three bets and an unusual award card
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Pace Mech
Harvey's Wagon Wheel Pace Comet(Made by Ace)
ACE made (Pace) Light up Primadonna(the last Pace styled machine)
The Ill Fated Space Co hopper machine 1965
(our thanks to Rick Force, Ontirao,Ca for the photo of his machine)
Ace built Pace Machines on site at 'Bill's'
INFORMATION FOR VIEWING AND DOWNLOADING
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Bally Bingo Green Book -- Parts List and Exploded Diagrams of components.
Introduction to Bally Flipper Games.
Bally Broadway Bingo Pinball Operating Instructions. A schematic is available but must be commercially reproduced.
Pace Slot Machine Award Cards, Hi-Res Scan.
Autobell Circus Schematic.
Bally Sportsman Flasher Slot Machine operating instructions, pay tables, etc. A schematic of the machine is available on request.
For Amusement Only sign furnished with Bally bingo pinball machines. Print on cardstock and put one on your machine.
Mills Bell Machine Parts and Service Manual HiTop 7-7-7 Model.
PAR sheet for Fourth of July.
Example of a Bally Bally SMI Sheet (PAR Sheet) in PDF format.
PAR Sheet possibly for a Double Bucks machine in PDF format.
Coin Mechanisms, Inc. See National Slug Rejectors and Coinco below.
Bally V-1088 and V-1090 Operator Instructions Manual.
Bally V-1297 Instructions and Bally V1297 Parts.
Bally Double Progrressive Operator Instructions using version 6 for use with Series 1000, E-2000, V-2000, S-5000 and V-5000.
Bally Deluxe Draw Bell Instructions and Award Cards. The award cards provided different values for the Special and Super Special for both Replay and Automatic Payout operation. Operators could tailor the payouts to the location. These cards are scanned at 300 dpi for quality reproduction. For other similar Bally machines, these cards can provide a guideline. Edit them with a photoshop-type program.
Two Mills catalogs from the early 1900's: The Mills Commercial trade stimulator and Mills Amusement, Skill & Vending Machines.
Keeney's Super Bell Operators Manual in PDF format. 1941 document.
Keeney's Bonus Super Bell Instruction Manual. This is a copy of a manuscript and is not the final manual, however it may assist you to understand the operation of the machine.
Mills Vest Pocket Slot Machine Operators Manual, 16 pages in PDF format.
Evans Consoles This is the 1941 Instructions and Parts Catalog for Galloping Dominos, Pacer, Bang Tails and Lucky Star. Much of this information can be applied to machines into the late 40's. The wiring diagram shows how it is laced together. This document is in PDF format. Adobe's free Acrobat Reader may be obtained Here.
Evans Winterbook Parts Manual in PDF format.
An Introduction to Bally Slot Machines, Manual 6000 1979. This is a good primer for Bally electro-mechanical slot machines. Page 22 corrects the myth of how the slot machine got its name--it certainly wasn't what I thought. This manual, in PDF format, is 45 pages in length and it is broken down into five parts for easier downloading. Adobe's free Acrobat Reader may be obtained Here.
National Slug Rejector and Coinco Service Manuals in .PDF format for some older equipment. Coin acceptors normally operate transparently, but they can surely be a nuisance when needing service or adjustment.
Mills Story and Catalog, Late '40s, an issue of Spinning Reels, has a brief history of Mills Novelty Co. with descriptions and depictions of then current Mills products. Ancillary equipment is described such as jack-in-the-box safes, regular safes, coin changers, coin counters and a bell machine tool set. In its day, the tool set cost about as much as a bell machine.
Jennings Chief Parts and Service Manual in PDF format. The scanned doucment was a poor copy so this is possibly just better than no manual at all.
Bally Slot Consoles parts list and description including Triple Bell and Deluxe Draw Bell. This includes pictorials of the reel assembly. A schematic for the Triple Bell is available from Internet Direct.
Bally Reflex Unit With Snap Switches used in Champion games through Serial No. 9053. They were not used in the companion game, Kentucky.
Buckley Track Odds 1938 Machine description, troubleshooting, partsand diagrams. About 80 pages. The file number = page number.
Buckley Track Odds Circuit Tracing Guide for machines 12,000-12,500.
***Some electrical drawings are available for the Buckley Track Odds machines on request. They must be commercially reproduced.
Buckley Track Odds Remote Control installation instructions.
Pace Slot Machine Parts
Bally Electro-Mechanical Slot Machine Manual. Covers Money Honey up to the 'computers' took over. The file numbers = page numbers in the manual.
Need more than a manual? Bally Electro-lMechanical Video Guide is available at nominal costs.Bally Electro-Mechanical Troubleshooting Reference. File 0000 is the index.
Limited Bally Coil Reference in a zip file for quick download.
The Last of the Bingo Kings -- Not exactly the Sopranos.
Bally Victory Special Setup Instructions showing some adjustments available to the operator.
Be sure to check the Links page for additional resources.
Pace Slotmachine Manual. Print sheets 1 to 10, turn paper over and print sheets 11 to 20. Fold to make booklet.
Bally Citation and Lexington One Balls A schematic is also available, but too large to scan. Documents for Bally Trophy, Jockey Club, Turf King, Grandstand and Futurity are available on request.
Directions for Operating Mills Operator's Bell COK and FOK Mint Vender.
Bally Triple Draw Bell adjustments. Schematic and Relay/Switch chartsare available from Internet Direct Also available from Internet Direct are documents forBally Triple Bell, Bally Spot Bell, Bally Turf King and Kentucky.
Williams: An Introduction To Coin Operated Amusement Games This document is long --66 pages in .PDF format. Amusement machine components are discussed however many aspects apply to gambling machines. Schematics are explained. There is a lexicon of coin machine terms. Adobe's free Acrobat Reader may be obtained Here.
Metal Forms Products Company I have not seen this company referenced anywhere on the WWW, however they manufacture hard to find mechanical slot parts for Mills, Jennings, Caille, Watling, etc. Their inventory includes vendors, springs, reel tins, discs, disc plugs, cash boxes, back doors, decals and back door paper for restoration. If you have been looking for a hard-to-find part to get your project working, you may find it here. The file number = catalog page.
Mike Munves catalogstill missing 4 pages. Here is a look back in history to 1956 and the machines available. All these games were before video games. The pricing is interesting. Keep in mind that a very good job in 1956 paid $500 monthly. There are 6 files in PDF format to facilitate downloading. Adobe's free Acrobat Reader may be obtained Here.
Pace Slot Machine Repair
This is a 16-page Mike Munves 1940 Catalog. The catalog was scanned from a b/w xerox copy of original (or perhaps another copy) and does not have very good detail. It does give a feel for what was then available. This file is in PDF format.
This Ray Oakes & Sons Amusement Trade Catalog from 1960 is of interest to our outdoor amusement friends. I do not believe that they are in business any longer.
Keeney Big Tent Manual. This is a flasher slot. I have the schematics but they are too large for my scanner. I can have them reproduced on request.
K. C. CARD CO CATALOG, 1960. This catalog is a textbook all its own in controlled gambling equipment. An 8-page supplement added near the middle of the catalog offered devices manufactured by H C Evans Co or their successors. The original H C Evans Co was liquidated in 1956 following the death of its owner. PDF format. Adobe's free Acrobat Reader may be obtained Here.
Tax Matters.The operators were not without their hassles. From my experience with bingos, it is hard to believe the payoff percentages of the machines discussed. This document is in PDF format. Adobe's free Acrobat Reader may be obtained Here.
H C Evans Co Catalog. For those who have never seen a copy, this catalog is a tell-all of controlled gambling and carnival equipment. If you ever thought that you were fleeced at a gambling game, you may find the answer here.
Evans Club, Park and Carnival Equipment with 1961 price list. This catalog was issued by the Evans Park & Carnival Device Corporation, successors to H. C. Evans & Co. I do not believe any catalogs of Evans equipment were published after this one. I do not know how long the company remained in business after 1961.
More for our outdoor amusement friends -- A collection of Wurlitzer Band Organ Music.
Games, Inc WILDCAT Service Instructions and Parts Catalog in a 10-page .PDF format document. Adobe's free Acrobat Reader may be obtained Here.
H C Evans 1909-1910 Catalog. This Evans catalog includes pages advertising sporting goods such as baseball gloves, firearms (a shotgun for $5) and fishing rods, reels and tackle.
Bally Series E Link Progressive System Operators Manual.
Mills Automatic Money Makers, a catalog of early Mills machines.
Caille Brothers Catalog of early slot machines and trade stimulators.
Mills Trade Stimulators catalog, early 20th century.
PEPLUS video poker machine info.
Program Summary Reports examples for some S Plus machines.
IGT Program Index.
Pace Slot Machine Models
Williams Upright Video Slot information.
Pot Of Gold manual.
