Aristocrat Arcadian Slot Machine

Used Aristocrat Slot Machines
Aristocrat Arcadian 65 Slot Machine
Aristocrat Slot Machine Repair
Aristocrat Arcadian Slot Machine
Aristocrat Slot Machine Manual

Len Ainsworth born 1924

Aristocrat Arcadian Mechanism. Aristocrat Slot Machines- MK4, MK5, MK6, Viridians, Viridian Widescreens. ARISTOCRAT SLOT MACHINES. With over 50 years industry experience and over 2000 staff globally, Aristocrat has built on its Australian market leadership and reputation to become a premium supplier of groundbreaking technologies and services to the international gaming industry. In fact, what many don’t know is that the modern slot machine was invented in Australia. In the 1950s, it was a company Down Under that pushed to produce machines with innovative new designs. Aristocrat Leisure’s first poker machine, the Clubman, changed the face of modern slot machines with the introduction of brand new features.

(there is a wealth of information on the web regarding the Aristocrat company, here we will cover just the basics and look at some of their machines)

Ainsworth industries were founded in 1933 by a NSW dentist to make heavy ,floor standing dental equipment, the dentist's son, Leonard was just 9 at the time. By the time he was 20 Len was in medical school with his father hoping he would follow his footsteps or even become a doctor, but it wasn't for Len, he left college in 1953 with just high school diploma and took over the dental equipment side of his fathers business. An engineer at the company had recognised the similarity between the way the dental equipment was made and that of mechanical slot machines,he mentioned this to Len who then started to look into the possibilities of making slots and if they would sell.

As luck would have it the timing was spot on for the switch, The Johnson act in the USA had all but destroyed the slot makers there while Australia was a booming and expanding market with no manufacturer and undersupplied with machines. So the Ainsworth Dental equipment Co-designed their first machine, the Clubman followed soon by the 'Clubmaster' .Luck was on Lens side again as just as the machine was launched in 1953/4 NSW legalised slots and Len soon had the market in the palm of his hand. Within a few years, the company dominated sales in Australia.

Late in 1954 Len realised he had really become successful when shady rivals planted a bomb in his factory and blew the roof off. When the police asked Len if he had any enemies Len, always a clam quite man, replied that he was beginning to think he had. The police told ' buy a shotgun and put chicken wire on his windows , your in the big time now'

The Clubman (1953) The New Clubman (1954)

The Clubman was made under the name of the Ainsworth Dental supply Co

at Rosebery NSW , initially at the rate of 2 per week

Clubmaster 1956

Very early photo of Clubmasters being played(1956)

In 1960 the company opened offices in the UK and Europe and in 1961 a large factory in Sydney, they launched their Nevada poker machine the same year, this type of machine knownas a 'Pokkie' was the big hit in Australia and the money began to roll in.

Aristocrat Nevada 1964 Kingsway 'Pokkie'

Unlike many slot companies Len was quick to see the advantages of electro mechanical slots and introduced the worlds very first machine of its kind in 1965, the 'Moon Money'this was enough to see off the attack by Bally with similar machines and Len held onto the Australian market (the second biggest in the world)

The Aristocrat 'Moon Money 1965

Len said this machine was the first Electro-mechanical slot in the world,the company said it was the first Electronic slot in the world, In fact it is neither as electro-mechanical slot machines had been around for years and its clearly part mechanical so its not electronic, Bally were boasting of (and are credited with) the first fully electromechanical machine of this kind,the Money Honey but that pre dates the Moon Money by two years anyway.

Jubilee Spotlight

In 1980 Len launched a hostile takeover of rivalNutt & Muddle's Jubilee company , at first blocked by the government it was eventually successful in 1985.

The company had great success with their smaller,cheaper machines,like all Aristocrat machines built to last .

Arcadian Starlite

In 1994 Len was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and handed over control of the company and its income to his wife and seven sons in equal shares worth tens of millions each, in true Len style there was a restriction if any of them sold their share while he still lived he got half the money. This was his way of keeping the business in family hands, the sons didn't like it and it led to a long family feud ,One son sold his share and Len sued him . Six months later, also in typical Len style, he beat cancer and, as yet, it never returned. Len attempted to return to the company but the family blocked him. so ,at 72 years old he formed a new one, Ainsworth Gaming Tech and built it up into another huge company.Len sold his stake in this company in 2016 to Novamatic for $475 million but stayed on as chairman.which as of 2017 he still is. The original company,still 40% family-owned is now the second biggest slot maker in the world, second only to IGT in the USA itself a spin-off from Aristocrat.

When it comes to slot machine success forget Mills, Jennings and the rest ,add them all together and they would be insignificant compared to Aristocrat's $900,000,000 annual turnover and Lens personal wealth of $4 billion (as of 2019). Len himself seems indestructible, still working at 95 and still driving his Porsche. When he received his $475,000,000 payout from selling Ainsworth Gaming Tech in 2016 he announced most of it would be going to charity.

When Len finally received the massive cheque when the deal was signed in Jan 2018 he announced he would be cutting back to only working 4 days a week in the future.He was awarded the member of the Order of Australia in the Queens birthdays honours list in 2018 for“significant service to business and manufacturing”

Late 2020 update:- No Len hasn't died,in fact he's still working hard and is considering a new business venture, storage units!!

A selection of Aristocrat Machines

1960's 'Mad Melons' console 1970's Regal 'Honey Bee' four reel

1956 Clubmaster 1960's Olympic

Kingsway 'Geronimo' Grosvenor

Arcadian Sheerline

Nevada rare 1980'e Silver Cloud 5 reel

Clubmaster(open) Clubmaster(top )

Regal 'Bobby Dazzler 4 reel aristocrat mech

Flyer

Most people assume that after Charles Fey created the first slot machine in the last decade of the 1800s, the development of these machines followed a natural course in the United States. In fact, what many don’t know is that the modern slot machine was invented in Australia. In the 1950s, it was a company Down Under that pushed to produce machines with innovative new designs. Aristocrat Leisure’s first poker machine, the Clubman, changed the face of modern slot machines with the introduction of brand new features.

Used Aristocrat Slot Machines

Tracing the History of Pokies

Before we look at how Aristocrat Leisure contributed to modern day pokies, we need to head back around 130 years. In the late 19th century, somewhere between 1887 and 1895, a Bavarian immigrant to the United States invented the first slot machine.

Features of Charles Augustus Fey’s Liberty Bell:

It allowed automatic payments
The existing five drums were replaced with three
Playing cards were replaced with five symbols – hearts, diamonds, spades, horseshoes and, naturally, the Liberty Bell

Slot Machines Come to Australian Shores

Aristocrat Arcadian 65 Slot Machine

Australia started importing slot machines based on Fey’s model as early as the late 1890s. Although they were illegal in theory, they became an instant hit with players. For the next fifty or so years, Aussies couldn’t get enough of these US-supplied slot machines. The country soon became the world’s second largest slot machine market.

All this came to a head in 1951 when the US passed the Johnson Act of 1951. Suddenly, casino gambling was restricted to Nevada and the effect was felt immediately. Most of the major slot machine manufacturers saw their businesses collapse. The effects were felt in Australia where the supply of slot machines from the US had already experienced trouble keeping up with the demand. Less suppliers meant even less poker machines for Aussie players.

Ainsworth Steps in to Save the Day

In the early 50s, Leonard Ainsworth, realized that the company his father had started in Sydney could take an entirely new direction. Until then, Ainsworth Consolidated Industries was producing large-scale floor model-type equipment. It dawned on Ainsworth, however that some of the machinery in use could easily be converted into the production of poker machines.

With such a high demand for pokies, exacerbated by the passing of the new laws in the United States, Ainsworth stepped in to save the day.

Bringing Innovation to Modern Slots

Leonard Ainsworth could easily have continued building slot machines based on the classic Liberty Bell. However, he was not content to use existing designs. As such, the modern slot machine was born thanks to the innovation and creativity of the Australian company. In 1956, Ainsworth launched its first poker machine. Known as the Clubman, this machine brought with it many industry firsts, including multiline and scatter payouts. It was succeeded a little while later by the Clubmaster machine.

The Spread of the Modern Day Slot

Ainsworth’s timing couldn’t have been better. In 1956, with the launch of Clubman, New South Wales decided to legalize poker machines. Literally overnight, the Australian public lapped up Ainsworth’s new slot machines. The company grabbed a significant part of the NSW games market and then went on to supply most of Australia’s slot market.

Ainsworth went on to conquer the world market. In 1960, only four short years after its first slot machine went live, the company entered the European market.

Evolution of Slots Using Electronic Technology

In 1963, the words ‘Money Honey’ would change the world of pokies forever. This was the name of the first fully electronic slot machine brought out by Bally. Money Honey took the world by storm, bringing the first ever bottomless hopper to slot machines.

Ainsworth soon latched on to this idea, releasing their own electronic slot entitled ‘Moon Money’ in 1965. Tis was lapped up by the Aussie market and soon, Ainsworth began churning out electronic machines like clockwork.

Enter Video Slots

Another game changer in this line was the first ever video pokie to be created; Fortune Coin. Created by Fortune Coin co. this video slot was released in 1976. However, it wasn’t until 1980 that the first video slots made their ways to the shores of Australia. Keeping up with the times, Ainsworth again proved its excellence in innovation with the release of its DACOM 5000 system in 1982. This system allowed electronic accounting and player tracking.

Innovations After 1990

Even in recent years, the Australian company has continued to bring new and innovative features to the slots market. In 1996, after going public on the Australian stock exchange, it officially changed its name to Aristocrat Leisure Ltd.

Aristocrat innovations in the 90s include:

1995 – the launch of the MK gaming system.
1997 – the launch of the Hyperlink gaming system (which helped make the company the second most successful slot producer in the world.

Aristocrat Slot Machine Repair

The Top Three Land Based Pokies In Australia

Throughout the years, Aussies have developed a taste for various pokie machines. We will take a look at the top three choices for you and what spoils each holds:

King Of The Nile
The King Of The Nile pokie was released by Australian gaming legend, Aristocrat Gaming. This pokie offers you 5 reels and 20 paylines. There are a total of 8 bonus features to enjoy in this riveting game, including wilds and free spins.
The minimum bet is $0.02 per line. The maximum wager you can make is 120 credits per line. Furthermore, this game is only available through the Aristocrat Xcite slot machine range. As the name suggests, the theme of this pokie is featured around ancient Egypt.
More Chilli
The More Chilli pokie is also produced by Aristocrat Gaming. This game brings you the opportunity to win up to $4000 in its bonus round, and can be played both online and in land based casinos.
The minimum wager amount is $2,00 with the max being $65. The game is centred around the rich and vibrant Mexican culture. This is not a progressive jackpot game.
Rainbow Riches
Rainbow Riches is a leprechaun themed pokie with the luck of the Irish in tow! You will be able to enjoy 5 reels, 10 paylines and a total of 18 winning combinations. The maximum winnings you can land per line is 25, 000.
This incredible game can be found in most Aussie casinos and comes to you from creators, Barcrest. Be sure to try it out for yourself and who knows? You could finally land that pot of gold you’ve been hoping to for so long!
for you.

Conclusion