Ever gone on a run on Sigma Derby?

Many of us are a sucker for "old Las Vegas". I consider Sigma Derby a member of that fraternity.
Has anyone ever gone "on a run" and made money on the plastic ponies?

The Kid

 

No. I don't play it, normally, but i once sat down with $10 and played long enough to win my $10 back by betting one quarter at a time, and I got a drink while doing so. That was a pretty good run for me.

There's no reason to think the last playable Derby machine in Vegas is about to go away, but it seems like at least once a year there's a story about how that day will come, and it has me spooked enough to want to sit down with a few bucks and play it again next month.

 

Last December my wife walked away with about $20 extra. We sat at it for well over and hour. Maybe two. We have never seen anybody hit any of the big long shots. I did have quite a few empties piled up before we left. The beer cart girl comes around often!!

 

No, but I've come out wayyyyyy a head so many times with the free drinks. A few quarters every couple of minutes is about as slow a "burn rate" as I can imagine!

 

They used to have this game at the Casino in Montreal. I don't think its there anymore. When I travel to Montreal on business or to see my daughter, I usually go for a couple of hours. I'm trying to turn my daughter into a gambler. Lol.
Anyway, years ago, the longshots would come in on occasion. I'd sit there and bet all the horses with long odds until one would come in. For a 25 cent bet, you could make $100 - $200. I did this for a couple of years.
They must have reprogrammed it because longshots never came in again while I was there.

 

It's always threatened when the manufacturer no longer makes replacement parts. It's over 30 years old...

 

Last week I saw a new version of a racing game at the Linq.... the name escapes me, but it had a video playing along
as the horses went around the track... minimum bet was $1.....

 

It’s called Fortune Cup

 

thanks.... found a blurry picture i took.....

 

I played it. It was fun but I did not come out ahead.

 

Fortune Cup can be fun, like in while you are waiting for a seat at the real Sigma Derby to open up!

 

I never win at Sigma Derby, I normally play $20 a trip, and look at is as a cover charge for playing that fantastic game.

 

Sorry I didn't provide the background for those who haven't read the stories or aren't familiar with the game. I have a bad habit of assuming everybody here is a long timer, and I know that's not true.

 

The first time I ever played it, we stayed for a few hours easily. I don't recall hitting anything super noteworthy, but my boyfriend hit 200:1 with 2 or 3 coins bet. The rest of the (friendly, rowdy) table was VERY excited for him.

 

That's the whole thing about Sigma Derby, back at the old Stardust (where they had TWO tables) and now at the D.

It's like a party at the table. Not nearly as much with Fortune Cup.

 

My wife and MIL spent about 3 hours boozing and playing Fortune Cup at Linq last December. MIL was down to her last dollar, and bet it on a two-horse 190-1 long shot parlay that came in. Made her first ever Vegas experience all the more memorable.

 

I love Fortune Cup! Great way to kill some time, not lose a ton of money and at least at the Mirage is close enough to the bar the drink service is killer.

My last trip I think I tossed $100 into the machine while we waited for my brother to get ready and over the course of about 45 mins had $450 in the machine. No crazy hits, but there were stretches where 4-5 races in a row where I hit from 15-1 to 50-1. Its all dumb luck, but still a ton of fun.

 

Here's the thing about Sigma Derby & why 'Fortune Cup' will never truly replace it:
There's always been an air of 'silliness' about the thing...open-top, cheap-looking metal horses with riders, running along their own individual slot... the sound effects... the ridiculous speed that one horse or another would suddenly switch "on", and the inevitable 'molasses' effect that would infect other horses (usually yours!).
It has always felt like some travelling roadside carnival game, but with the added bonus of being in Vegas, getting comped drinks while playing it & laughing like a lunatic with a bunch of other players, whether you were winning or losing!
Truly a magic formula for any casino - provide a game that players love even when they're losing!

I just can't see Fortune Cup (or any other cheap imitations) ever capturing that same feel.

 

Nice. I haven't been around the machine too much, but witnessed the 200 for 1 come in twice. Once while we were actually playing. We bet the other longshot (~130 for 1) [emoji26]. One other player bet a dollar on the 200 for 1 and had to get a handpay.

 

First rule of sigma derby always put at least a quarter on the 200-1 when it pops up.