
Time Running Out for Beloved Mechanical Horse-Race Game in Vegas - bcaulfield
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-sigma-derby
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elandrum
> Stevens and company eventually tracked down a machine in “either in northern
> Nevada or northern California,” although he no longer recalls the specifics.

They removed one of these from Montbleu Casino in Stateline, NV / Lake Tahoe a
couple of years ago for a remodel. Everyone I knew was really upset about
it... Even if you weren’t playing, it was a blast to grab a drink and stand
around cheering folks on. There was never any word what was happening to it,
many people hoped it would come back just in a different part of the casino.
Unfortunately it never did. I wonder if this is its new home?

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sf_rob
I was once at the poker tables nearby and a group came in at 1:00 in the
morning dressed head to toe in derby viewing apparel. They proceeded to play
the mechanical horses and it was absolutely hilarious.

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joezydeco
_" Stevens and his team are determined to keep those hooves pounding for as
long as is physically possible."_

Gee, and I thought he was trying to sell it... =)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbfmkna8Yh4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbfmkna8Yh4)

~~~
handedness
Curious to see whose price was closer to the mark, I just found one listed for
$27.5K asking, so the $80K ask seems like a way to get free publicity for the
casino without having to sell it, or _appear_ to sell it, which would defeat
the purpose.

~~~
joezydeco
You'd have to think between this show and Storage Wars that they've run out of
interesting things to put on TV.

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bitxbitxbitcoin
The second floor of The D is a magical place. It is also the location of the
first Bitcoin ATM in Las Vegas if I recall correctly.

~~~
Sommer
Bitcoin atm has to have the worst odds in the entire place.

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BEEdwards
Why don't they just make a modern version that emulates the function?

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abootstrapper
They have, but I don’t think they can resist trying to sex it up. Part of the
charm of the old machines is their simplicity.

~~~
BEEdwards
I guess this is what I don't get the most about the future that was, we can't
just do things anymore. We have to "sex it up."

Could we easily make horses race around a track, sure an arduino and a 3d
printer will do it, but we need to add flashing lights and lcd screens that
display bullshit.

~~~
chongli
Amen. One of my favourite movies is Labyrinth [1]. From 1986, the entire movie
is live action with puppets and practical effects. Plus David Bowie, of
course.

I could imagine one day somebody might try to remake this movie. They'd shoot
it entirely in front of a green screen. The music would be compressed and
auto-tuned to oblivion. I'd see it and sigh at the death of another little
piece of my faith in humanity.

[1]
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/)

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meggar
Didn't the casino in Montreal have one of these?

