Pachinko BallPachinko ball is an essential attribute of pachinko. The ball remains unchangeable while the game itself had evolved since the first commercial parlours were opened in Nagoya, midway between Tokyo and Osaka, not long after World War II. Pachinko balls usually fall vertically through the upright machine, in mesmerizing patterns, bouncing off nails and eventually dropping into one of many winning holes or being swallowed back by the machine. Originally, pachinko machines had a spring-loaded lever for shooting the balls, but these days they have a round "throttle" that merely controls how quickly the balls are shot. The balls then drop through an array of pins, and usually simply fall through to the bottom, but occasionally fall into certain gates which make the machine pay out more balls. Most current machines include a slot-machine, called "pachi-slo", and the big winnings are ultimately paid not from the balls falling into gates, but from the slot machine matches that follow. In fact, many modern machines do not use the balls at all to determine winnings; they are based strictly on electronic random number generators. Chance plays the biggest role in how the balls bounce, but concentration, nerves, and skilful strategy also count. Successful players know the sweet spot on the little wheel that launches the balls and know the different machines and their complex layouts: their balls land in cups that release a few more balls or in "tulips"; which open for a short time and disgorge some 10 to 15 silver balls. Pachinko ball is also used as a form of the winnings. In this way, the player may use balls to keep playing or exchange for prizes such as pens or cigarette lighters. Cash cannot be paid out according to Japanese law, but pachinko players can then exchange prizes for cash at small centres located nearby, but separate from the parlours. 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. The pachinko players typically purchase a large number of small steel balls. Sometimes they trade 1,000 yen to 10,000 yen (around US$9 to $95) for a card, which buys a flood of shiny silver balls from a stand-up machine. After a few good games, bins of accumulated balls are swapped back for an electronically labelled card that is used as currency at a booth hawking cigarettes, soap, pulp magazines, and even CDs and software. Despite pachinko is considered to serve as an illegal gambling activity, the government controls two key factors of the system. According to the legislation, the retail value of prize items cannot exceed 10,000 yen (US$95), and the number of balls banked on the cards is not transferable from one hall to another. You may purchase balls in five or one hundred ball increments and can choose $.05, $.25, $1, or $5 balls. When you decide to cash out, you will receive money equal to the remaining balls multiplied by the dollar value of the ball. |
