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Pachinko (パチンコ)
is a device used for
gambling, described as a cross between a
pinball machine and a
slot machine. It is said to have been invented sometime after
World War II in
Nagoya, though the date is sometimes questioned. They are widespread in
Japan, in establishments called pachinko parlors, which also often
feature a small number of slot machines.
The player purchases a large number of small steel balls
which are inserted, in bulk, into the machine. The only control that the
player has is how quickly the balls are released. The steel balls then drop
onto a sequence of pins, and eventually simply fall through, but
occasionally falling into certain holes where the machine triggers a
three-wheel slot machine. If the slot machine comes up three-of-a-kind, the
machine pays out a jackpot of a large number of balls, which the player may
use to keep playing, or take them to a prize counter where they may select a
prize. Cash cannot be paid out according to Japanese law, but players may
request specially-marked prizes that they can then exchange for cash at
centres located near the parlors. Such pseudo-cash gambling is theoretically
illegal in Japan, and so the exchanges are run by
organised crime. Arrests for partaking in such exchanges are unknown,
however.
Pachinko parlors share the reputation of slot machine
dens and casinos the world over--garish decoration, over-the-top
architecture, the smell of
tobacco, and players entranced for hours in their games. Pachinko has
apparently thrived through Japan's recession of the 1990s, but it may
struggle to attract younger players in future.
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