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They Took Gamble on Slots--and Won

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Sixteen years ago, Greg Falletich came home, and the adult baby-sitter for his children mentioned that she had bought a slot machine for $700.

“I was a machinist then, and besides liking to play the slots, I was fascinated by the way they worked,” he said. “I figure if she could afford one, so could I.”

So he bought one and later bought two others and a couple of years later, Falletich, 47, hit the jackpot, so to speak.

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He quit his job in Garden Grove and opened a slot machine store in Westminster where he now sells reconditioned machines for amounts ranging from $2,600 to as much as $12,000.

His wife, Judy, 45, who was a supervisor for a medical electronics manufacturer, also quit her job to join him and learned to repair and recondition the machines.

She likes to say that both of them went into the slot machine business because they were tired of working.

“We figured succeeding in the business was a million-to-one shot,” said Greg. “We started with $8,000, and by the time we rented a store, advertised and set everything up, the money was gone and we were concerned.”

But almost from the beginning, “our business was in the black,” he said. “It was a day-to-day gamble, but we got through it and here we are.”

From the beginning “the business was an engineer’s dream come true for me to rebuild, redesign and re-engineer machines to make them perfect,” he said.

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“You know, it’s kind of funny, but after I got through overhauling that first slot machine, which was 45 years old, all the parts looked brand new and it ran like new. I wish I could buy a car, overhaul it and have it run like that.”

Despite the Garden Grove couple’s knowledge of the mechanical aspects of slots, “When we play them, we’re just like other players. There’s no such thing as inside knowledge.”

He pointed out that “if we could tell how and when a machine was going to pay off, we wouldn’t be here talking with you.

When they venture to gambling centers in Nevada and elsewhere, “we go with the idea that we’re going to get away and relax and enjoy ourselves. The amount of money we take is about the same as most folks.”

But unlike many, they once played a $100 slot machine. “I put in the $100 chip and didn’t win anything, but Greg put in a chip and got $200 back,” Judy said. “Investing $100 for one pull on the slots makes your heart beat real fast. We stopped after playing the two chips.”

The machines sold at their store, called Falletich Slot Machines, are considered antiques, ones made in the United States before 1956. They are not illegal to own, Greg said, but they can’t be used for gambling.

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He said that if the police catch anyone using a slot machine for gambling, it will be confiscated and destroyed.

“Just like other collectibles, people buy a machine as an investment and to decorate a game room,” he said. “I’ve also seen people buy one and put it at the foot of their bed.”

He said some people tell him they use the slots for therapy.

Regardless of where the couple buy their slot machines, or for that matter their pinball machines and coin-operated record players, “we keep the police aware of virtually everything that comes in and out of this store,” he said.

An estimated 1,200 spectators, mostly women, watched firefighters from throughout Orange County strut around in tuxedos and bathing suits earlier this month during a competition to appear on the annual Firefoxes calendar for 1991. (The 1990 version of the charity fund-raiser is already in print.)

The Anaheim Fire Department placed the most men among the 15 winners. They were Mike Rachunok, John McPhillips, Dave Reed and Paul Lagace, who called themselves the Hazmat Team since they are on the department’s hazardous materials disposal squad.

Other Firefoxes are Richard Viviano, John Acosta, Skip Hawkins, Rich Merrit, Roy Paige, James Drummond, Dan Clearwater, Jeff Backlawski, Tony Hawker, Glenn Banks and Charlie Hawker.

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