**Video Poker, Keno, Slots, 21** Gaming machines => CEI and Cal Omega Video Poker Games => Topic started by: SolidSilver on April 07, 2014, 10:36:59 PM
Title: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: SolidSilver on April 07, 2014, 10:36:59 PM
Casino Electronics Inc , an early leader in video gaming machine development, was a DBA of CalOmega, a successful arcade-machine company in Carlsbad, California. A later company was Gaming & Technology Inc, same Carlsbad address. Other ownership transfers followed, not all entirely clear; United Coin seems to have wound up with the last major bunch of operating machines in the field.
CalOmega's success with draw poker games, most prominently Casino Poker Jacks-or-Better, often with a DoubleUp feature, led to their entry in the gambling machine market. Like virtually every other company entering that market and therefore seeking Nevada gaming licensing, they found it appropriate to create a new company located in Nevada itself. This was Casino Electronics of Las Vegas, active roughly from 1981 through 199?, the seminal years of video gaming.
CEI gambling machines are most commonly encountered in the upright Casino Mini housing, with 10 buttons: 5 for HOLD or DISCARD, and 5 for DEAL, BET, CASHOUT, etc. Less common are man-tall arcade housings with the addition of payout trays; and quite rare are slant-top consoles and bartop "DropIns." Some of the earliest gambling machines appear to have been built into tall arcade housings that were cut down to slot-machine height; toe-in-the-water units, before investing in chromed steel slot-machine-front tooling?
Except for the very latest versions, poker games with the DoubleUp feature require additional buttons, rare on the Casino Mini housing. While basic Jacks-or-Better is far and away most common, CEIs can be found in DoubleDraw, BlackJack, and even Keno configurations.
All Cal Omega systems are built on the 6502 processor. Most machines encountered use the 904 game board, which is the arcade 903 board with additional RAM for game history, dispute resolution, and credit accumulation. These machines, typically with Mfd dates of 1980 through 1984 use DIPswitches to establish Max Coins playable, and not much else of interest to home owners. They will have 4 internal pushbuttons, one of which will be TEST. Pressing this button sends the machine into a test procedure, ending in a Screen RAM page, at the bottom on which is listed the specific game software and the payout schedule, typically something like V. 23.9 SCH 07-CT 08/09/84 To exit this final test page, simultaneously press the first three HOLD or DISCARD buttons.
Interim machines with more complex games & those requiring special inputs such as Keno, used the 905 board, roughly 1984 thru 1986. Finally, the 906 series boards: I,II, III, Turbo, and EX, were built from roughly 1987/88 through the 90s, perhaps as late as 2005. These all have additional software setup capabilities (a Learning Mode) and additional internal pushbuttons of various nomenclature.
These later systems may ask for User ID and Password for access to setup, game history, and/or diagnostics. The most common pairs are 1492/1799, and 1086/5615. While all these board versions are physically interchangeable, variations in backplane (910 vs 911), presented user pushbuttons & pushbutton wiring, internal control panel wiring, and game-board circuitry assure that virtually nothing is downward compatible. For instance, you can usually use your 903/904-board Jacks-or-Better eproms in a 906 board, but the reverse will rarely be true.
There are only 3 manuals commonly available, all of limited value. One called Casino Mini is very informative, including most payout schedules, but details relate solely to the 906-series boards. Another one is for the 51.0x software version, the very last (906) of the series: also informative, but includes much operational and option-setting details you are unlikely to have. Finally, there is one specifically for the most common early game software, V. 23.9 Jacks-or-Better Discard. Unfortunately it is flat-out wrong in many places, and would have barely earned a D- for English in Mrs. Jones's Third Grade class. Still, there are useful gems of information, including DIP switch settings.
Like all such pioneering products in a whirlwind of rapid expansion and change, there are many many variations in glass graphics, internal pushbuttons and meters, and software. However, CEI machines are noted for reliability and simplicity. There is no separate power supply; everything is built into either the simple backplane (910 or 911) or the gameboard itself. And while CEI's are one-trick-ponies, the Casino Mini upright slot-machine housing is easier to accommodate in a home than later and bulkier big-screen multi-game brethren of the IGT and Bally ilk, and is more likely to keep on truckin for your kids and grandkids lifetimes.
All CEI owners are encouraged to post pictures and notes of their machines here!
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: SolidSilver on April 07, 2014, 10:37:36 PM
More CEI Casino Mini pics
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: shortrackskater on April 09, 2014, 12:17:51 AM
Here's mine! Works perfectly.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: shortrackskater on April 09, 2014, 12:19:25 AM
One more.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: Neonkiss on December 27, 2014, 03:00:47 PM
Less common are man-tall arcade housings with the addition of payout trays; and quite rare are slant-top consoles and bartop "DropIns."
At one time a was asked to post pictures of my slant top CEI poker machine. Due to... weather, laziness, excuses, tropical storms or what not, I have just got around to doing this.
So here are some pictures.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: Neonkiss on December 27, 2014, 03:09:39 PM
One more picture from the inside and one picture of the only Gamblers Choice turbo board I ever owned. I wish I had copied the programs before I sold it.
Also the slant top machine is for sale cheap, but heavy. :cool_thumb_up:
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: Ann-Marie on May 21, 2015, 11:26:40 PM
Some history of Casino Electronics Inc.
I originally formed Casino Electronics about 1972(?). In Las Vegas around 1975 in the days before video games we started manufacturing and operating flip-card blackjack machines which were driven by the Intel 4004 computer. Having spent a number of years running the electronics and arcade division of Bally Manufacturing in Chicago I was not unknown in the Casino industry which helped getting our foot in the door.
After a few years we needed capital for expansion and took in a European partner for 50%. This partner also owned CalOmega creating a source of video machines for us and providing a licensed selling and operating outlet for CalOmega in Nevada.
Subsequent mergers acquired United Coin and Gaming & Technology Inc. More history here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bally_Technologies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bally_Technologies)
I retired from active involvement in 1989 owning 1.8% of the conglomerate, sufficient to buy a 71 ft yacht and go cruising for 14 years.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: Neonkiss on May 22, 2015, 04:04:18 AM
Welcome to NLG and thanks for the history lesson. We always love to hear the stories about how the industry got to where it is today and many of our members are part of that history. I'm sure your feel at home here. Jump in if you can help when members have questions or need assistance.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: arcade_jim on August 13, 2015, 08:18:32 PM
Nice information here.
I created a thread for my journey while trying to repair my stand up poker machine over here: http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=7434.0 (http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=7434.0)
I've been posting pictures there, so feel free to have a look!
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: Badbaud on August 17, 2015, 07:01:04 PM
I originally formed Casino Electronics about 1972(?). In Las Vegas around 1975 in the days before video games we started manufacturing and operating flip-card blackjack machines which were driven by the Intel 4004 computer. Having spent a number of years running the electronics and arcade division of Bally Manufacturing in Chicago I was not unknown in the Casino industry which helped getting our foot in the door.
After a few years we needed capital for expansion and took in a European partner for 50%. This partner also owned CalOmega creating a source of video machines for us and providing a licensed selling and operating outlet for CalOmega in Nevada.
Subsequent mergers acquired United Coin and Gaming & Technology Inc. More history here [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bally_Technologies[/url] ([url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bally_Technologies[/url])
I retired from active involvement in 1989 owning 1.8% of the conglomerate, sufficient to buy a 71 ft yacht and go cruising for 14 years.
Is it true Jay Sarno, whose father owned Circus Circus, was one of your engineers (or owners)?
I remember Jay laying out the Fortune I I/O board and putting a out house on it calling it the Super, Handy, Interface, Terminal.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: Chris-socal on July 04, 2019, 11:47:33 AM
Happy 4th everyone. I wanted to post pictures of my CEI King Derby within this topic in case anyone ever needs reference photos, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information on this game. I wish I knew more about the history,I stumbled across this one at a guys house in Socal, it didn't work and he had no technical knowledge at all. The artwork on this game is beautiful although there is lots of flaking on the monitor trim. If you ever see one please let me know.
I converted it to an LCD monitor because the original tube is necked. I know this is redundant information for many of you that helped through the technical repairs but it seems appropriate to document here.
Chris
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: cardiffman on May 13, 2020, 10:47:55 AM
Is it true Jay Sarno, whose father owned Circus Circus, was one of your engineers (or owners)?
I remember Jay laying out the Fortune I I/O board and putting a out house on it calling it the Super, Handy, Interface, Terminal.
I worked at Cal Omega from 1979 to the end of 1986. Jay was not the original head of Cal Omega, but he was the head (subject to the various layers of control) for several years up to 1986. The corporation as a whole decided that Cal Omega needed to be in Vegas and some of us decided we wanted to move on. Some of Jay's work continued to have the mentioned logo for some time, at least.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: shortrackskater on May 14, 2020, 03:16:43 PM
Happy 4th everyone. I wanted to post pictures of my CEI King Derby within this topic in case anyone ever needs reference photos, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information on this game. I wish I knew more about the history,I stumbled across this one at a guys house in Socal, it didn’t work and he had no technical knowledge at all. The artwork on this game is beautiful although there is lots of flaking on the monitor trim. If you ever see one please let me know.
I converted it to an LCD monitor because the original tube is necked. I know this is redundant information for many of you that helped through the technical repairs but it seems appropriate to document here.
Chris
Thanks for posting that video! And sorry it took me so long to comment. That's a great machine. I have a regular old CEI draw poker but I like your horse race game much better. :yes:
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: Chris-socal on July 23, 2020, 05:50:53 AM
Thanks, i tend to like eclectic machines but along with that goes all the issues like no parts, very little collective knowledge and usually very heavy power supplies! Lol Does the 5-card machine have the same 40 pound PS unit? Its great to hear from a fellow CEI owner, we protect gaming history! Lol BTW, shortly after filming this the machine stopped booting again and was down until this week. I consulted with Alan again and followed his advice of re-setting and cleaning legs on chips. It worked! He says it is the most common issue on CEI machines.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: HorseGame1986 on April 23, 2024, 11:25:27 PM
Hello my 2 cents,,
I live in Bangkok, Thailand. I live local, among the Thai people. There is a Thai snooker center and there they have a :
1986 Casino Electronics horse racing game. They have a setup with a number of buttons where you place THB 10 coin bets on the odds for 2 horse combinations. I Googled a bit more and it is the King Derby game. It is not in a professional game enclosure/box setup, but dismantled. Fantastic!
Below the button-board is a vault. The money drops into the vault and at the lower right in the vault is a wooden box where they pay out and drop the winnings.
I play there 2 times per week. Great simple fun.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: shortrackskater on April 24, 2024, 08:17:43 AM
I live in Bangkok, Thailand. I live local, among the Thai people. There is a Thai snooker center and there they have a : 1986 Casino Electronics horse racing game. They have a setup with a number of buttons where you place THB 10 coin bets on the odds for 2 horse combinations. I Googled a bit more and it is the King Derby game. It is not in a professional game enclosure/box setup, but dismantled. Fantastic! Below the button-board is a vault. The money drops into the vault and at the lower right in the vault is a wooden box where they pay out and drop the winnings. I play there 2 times per week. Great simple fun.
Thanks for that information. Great that something so old is still in use! Can you post a photo of the machine?
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: Chris-socal on April 24, 2024, 10:17:37 AM
Wow, thanks for sharing that, it sounds fantastic. I agree with Shortrackskater, I would love to see pictures of that recreation center and that game specifically. Thanks for sharing. My machine still works, on it's own terms, meaning it takes about 20 minutes for the CPU to come to life. It plays great once it wakes up.
Chris
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: HorseGame1986 on April 24, 2024, 06:21:56 PM
"Thanks for that information. Great that something so old is still in use! Can you post a photo of the machine? "
"Wow, thanks for sharing that, it sounds fantastic. I agree with Shortrackskater, I would love to see pictures of that recreation center and that game specifically. Thanks for sharing. My machine still works, on it's own terms, meaning it takes about 20 minutes for the CPU to come to life. It plays great once it wakes up."
Hi. Thanks for the replies. I will be there tomorrow and sunday. I will try to take 1 or more photo's of the game. They are not fond of people taking pictures, since gambling is highly illegal in Thailand. A pic of the facility is therefore out of the question sorry.
Title: Re: Casino Electronics CEI CalOmega General Information
Post by: HorseGame1986 on April 26, 2024, 09:48:32 PM
Here are the pics I promised. Yesterday I played about 15 minutes and went from thb 400 to thb 600. Is there a way to beat the game all the time? There has to be :-) :-)