Wildmanslots

Yep the company who bought out the majority of Betcom stock have been alternating the sites, I think there are about 12-18 of them dotted around all together, these would have been the original test units. They are hidden gems.!

Hey Mikey. Betcom closing its doors was a decision made by Gauselmann after 6 months of having everyone on furlough, since the original lockdown in March, with no apparent signs of life returning to normal, everyone was made redundant with analogue production no longer part of their roadmap, as all focus shifted to digital. Just prior to the lock down, both Chase and the Vault were released on test, and the first 3 weeks of CLMS data (the performance tracking system used) were absolutely killing it and were top of the tables each and every week. The newer games were designed with the player in mind, by a player, rather than a standard Betcom force. The figures were definitely showing positive signs. In a nutshell, elements of the later chase were influenced by an earlier Bellfruit DOND, The Perfect Deal. The Bankers Vault was a slightly softer profile approach to Powerplay/Power-Up. Neither of these final two units went into full production due to the closure and never really got the full blown test it deserved due to all the pubs (test sites) closing. All that remain today are some of the original test units, which are dotted about and then move about every few months between operators. The standard Betcom clone after clone of the same profile was getting very very stale. It was agreed that a change in direction/game design/profile was part of the 2021-22 roadmap. But it was Covid that had the final say, whether you liked the games or not, it was a bit shit to say the least.

Unfortunately, this would have been wayyy before my time there. My portfolio only contains content from end of 2017 onwards.

If the S5 roms for the later releases ever come to light and can be utilised, I would be more than happy to work with whoever and get some DX's done, no point using screen shots or poor quality photos when I have all my source material. But hey, lets see what happens shall we.

Well I have all the variations and mock ups still in Photoshop, as part of my design portfolio. DOND Bankers Streak and James DOND (lol yes this was its working title ) final layouts do exist, but as they never went to full production, I can only use them for portfolio purposes only, for now at least anyway. DOND Chasing The Deal (H2H variant) was pretty much there graphics wise. But same as above really. The Betcom game was going in a new direction profile wise, the clone after clone was getting silly, they gave me free reign to mix shit up. The resulting games.... Beat the Banker, Chase Is On, Excalibur, Head to Head, James DOND, Bankers Vault, were all new and different one way or another... As I say, its a shame. But Betcoms weren't everyone's cup of tea in the first place, so the change in direction would not have been receptive to all. But hey, you cant please everyone lol.

There were a few more DONDs which were gonna get pushed, if Covid hadn't determined Betcoms fate. DOND: BANKER'S STREAK (Twist layout with profile tweaked for better dond offers and a separate COB) DOND: CHASING THE DEAL (Chase Head To Head profile with DOND board) We also had a prototype ready for production with a James Bond 007 themed game (Unique profile/layout - no clone) to coincide with the No Time To Die film release.... This was one of my personal favourites I was looking forward to... Shame.

I can confirm that all the later Betcom games were released in both Scorp 5 and Scorp 6. I have all the Betcom sims, including artwork, layouts etc. All in photoshop ready to be utilised by an MFME god lol but I do not possess the S5 roms unfortunately. The roms do exist and there should be no issue in getting the S5's to function as expected. There was no change to the code - we just needed to convert all our later S6 releases to S5 for certain operators as door kits is all. If my memory serves me well, there should be ROMS for every build up until Betcom closed its doors. So all of the chase and dond variations: THE CHASE CHASE CASH BUILDER CHASE IS ON CHASE HEAD TO HEAD DOND BEAT THE BANKER DOND HOT BOX DOND BANKERS VAULT The last machine was released on test just prior to Covid sending everything into lockdown. When things started to re open, the cabinets slowly got removed and were glassed in the end. But the S5 roms do exist for them!! Yes the clones got pretty stale in the end, but the more astute out there will have seen that the later releases were not quite the same old clone. But sadly, Covid but an end to any future release. A blessing for some, yeah most likely, but I still enjoy playing the odd one to this day. Lets hope the later releases start to see the light of day soon enough. Have a great 2023 everyone.!

Hello all! Bit of a wierd one is this, my Dad used to have a machine in his house, which he got rid of to make room for me when I came into the world haha! I HAD one photo of him in front of it but currently unable to find it!!! It is called 'Windfall" Does ANYONE remember or have heard of this machine from the past.. it must be early 80s - I have no idea of the manufacturer is. Cheers

That glass looks familiar!! Dont lose it now Matty will you !