3 replies to this topic

[flyer]

when i was a lad my parents took me to margate and there was a machine called big ben the machine was about 7ft tall with a great big handle on it you never won any money out of it only green shield stamps i would love to see a pic of this machine to bring back the good old days.also what old machines do you remember as a lad

[duplu]

I can't remember the machine you mentioned but I do remember the penny arcade which used to be on the peir and then moved next to the entrance to Dreamworld. Used to love those penny machines as a child. There used to be quite a big one which had 4 or 5 reels and featured black and white cats. There were loads of others, too many to remember in detail.

[spice2003]

i can rememeber this machine very well it was in my local arcade when i was about 5 or 6 it was excellent with the masive handle on the side.
it was a beast

[ChrisT1701]

Well, as someone who currently resides in Margate, I can't remember the Big Ben machine you're referring to, but the penny arcade is a different kettle of fish.

They had loads of 'Penny Piece' and 'Nudge Nudge' machines (1p/£2 JP), many old style machines with the traditional handle and finally lots of £3 JP machines (Big Banker is the only one I can remember) converted down to 2p/£2 JP. But the best one was a knackered Pole Position 'sit-in' video game that had the red tube gone from the screen and a bad convergence problem (But what do expect for 2p a go?).

It shifted from the entrance to Dreamland to an old arcade on the fron called Gold Mine.

These days, out of about 8 or 9 there were 10 years ago only 4 remain.