by SLOT DYNASTY » Sun Nov 09, 2014 7:07 pm
I have three "Zephyr" machines with 10 stop reel bundles, that have been stashed away for several years.
One with Fortune strips. One with Beer strips, and another with Numbers. Being as most all "Zephyr" models
had either 12 symbol-12 stop Cigarette or 24 symbol-12 stop Fruit strips, I was always wondering if these
odd-ball variations were factory, or aftermarket operator configurations, as I had not seen any others til now.
I also remember seeing one with Candy Bar strips & card a few years ago, but thought it was a made-up model,
as the paper looked too new. If the one with Number strips was factory, I had always figured it was a variation
for the Foreign market, which was fairly common with many different machine models. Most had a checkerboard
pattern behind the numbers. I wonder if any of our other Forum members have "Zephyr" variations that they can
let us know about.
As far as the Fortune strips on the "Zephyr" being the same as the ones on "The Fotune Teller", they are similar,
but not exact. The award card is closer with the symbols, but not in size. The model shown on page 154 of Dick's
book, is mine, and was the only one known at the time. Three others have surfaced since then, and apparently
one of them got into the wrong hands, as the Vegas Butcher has made recasts of the nameplate, to use on his
beloved Phonies, that he makes up, using home-made strips & cards, that never came in that model. I know a
couple of our Forum members that have been snookered with his Phoney Crap in the past, and they are not the
happiest-of-campers.