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Just been having a play with an idea to make the MPU3 'clubbers' a bit more exciting. Here I've done a couple of ROM hacks to make the reel spins much faster, and also the 'skill stops' (I'm sure they are actually fixed predetermined stops lol) much faster. At around 0:50 in the video, I have a gamble, and you can see it going up on the alpha display, when I hit Double... until I get to £4.80. At that point the gamble sequence continues, but I no longer have the flashing start button to continue gambling, so I have to collect some of the win. Is this the infamous 'Gamble block' people have mentioned to me before? Apparently there were these blocks to stop you gambling up to say £100... but also in early ROMs that are not dumped, these blocks didn't exist, and were only introduced later. So yeah, is this definitely the 'gamble block'? I may try to figure out how to remove it if so...

Stake Up is actually a very early MPU4 game I believe (not MPU3). But anyway, yes, early Barcrest clubbers would not permit gambling past £10 on 10p play or £5 on 5p play (unlike similar vintage BFMs or JPMs). IIRC there is a dipswitch setting on MPU3 roulette wheel gamble games which doubles the gamble limit (£20 on 10p and £10 on 5p).

There are clubbers that didn’t have a gamble block but then received updated software to implement a gamble block. I imagine to balance gameplay, pros targeted clubbers and on lots of Barcrest club machines I know of, you could just force out the gamble to the jackpot. I wasn’t a big club player personally so I can’t really comment on other manufacturers. J

Thankyou mate. I still have another to hang on to for now but I just have no room for this one now.