An aside to Don Teach's great notes about race horse pianos.  The idea
was to add value to the money for a play of the piano, and the race horse
tracks allowed patrons to bet on the outcome while the music played.
Great speakeasy piece.

Other tricks were tried.  H. C. Evans and Rock-Ola took Operators pianos
and added A.B.T. gun games to shoot for score.  Only one of these exists
to my knowledge, and it is in a Southern California collection.

Jimmy Johnson, the last CEO of Western, took the race horse component
and made it into a trade stimulator as well as a payout console
slot machine on legs as WESTERN SWEEPSTAKES.  (Western had a patent on
the game, and its connection to the piano.  Seeburg, who owned Western,
used the patent on their later GREYHOUND piano.)  Johnson did so much
better with the console than he did with pianos, that he bought Western
and turned it into a slot machine -- and later pinball machine --
company.

Dick Bueschel

( Robbie: Painstakingly double-spaced.  But for you -- anything! )

[ You're a prince, Dick!  :)