Las Vegas
About This Machine
The Mattel Electronics Company's 1977 pinball machine, Las Vegas, is a home model with four flippers supporting up to four players sharing a single score display. The machine's design and features demonstrate an ambitious approach to home pinball, tailored around a gambling theme.
At its core, Las Vegas is a game that rewards strategy and skill. Players choose from three different Game Versions at the start of each play session: Beginner's Luck, Cool Hand, and High Roller. This feature allows players to tailor their experience to suit their level of expertise, making it accessible to newcomers while still providing a challenge for seasoned players. The Ball Handicap Switch is another standout feature, letting each player choose 3, 4, or 5 balls per turn, enabling competitors to give each other a handicap advantage.
Standup targets and slingshots add to the gameplay, while the Double Or Nothing option - usable once per game - lets a player double their score on a ball by lighting all four targets, at the risk of losing all points earned on that ball if they fail. Unfortunately, there is limited information available about the machine's designer or specific design choices, but its distinctive multiplayer and handicap features make it an interesting piece of late-1970s home pinball history.
Images (12)
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Gambling
- Model Number:
- PJ2442YL01
- Notable Features:
- Flippers (4), Pop bumpers (2), Slingshots (2), Standup targets (4). Up to 4 players can play at once, sharing a single score display. At start of game, a choice of Game Version must be selected for all players: Version 1: Beginner's Luck Version 2: Cool Hand Version 3: High Roller Before the very first ball is shot into play, each player uses the Ball Handicap Switch to select a choice of 3, 4, or 5 balls for their turn at play. This feature allows competing players to give any player a handicap advantage of one or two extra balls, if desired. In this arrangement, all players who selected 5-ball play will go first, to alternately play their first ball, then be joined by players who had selected 4-ball play to alternately play the next ball, then be joined by players who had selected 3-ball play to alternately play the remaining three balls of the game. Each player can use the Double Or Nothing option only once during a game. Before shooting a ball into play, the player presses a button on the cabinet front to activate this option for that ball only. Then, lighting all four targets doubles the player's score. Failure to light all four targets penalizes the player of all the points earned on that ball.