In both Hong Kong and California, the arcade management had ties to organized crime. There have been fights at the California slaphouses too-earlier this year, an escaped convict shot a man outside an a underground den in Santa Ana. Westminster, California police moved on the house in Little Saigon after watching a man exit the building and draw a three-foot machete out of his pants. Honolulu police shut down one secret Kalihi arcade only after neighbors complained that it was attracting "undesirable elements" that would fill the parking lot at 4:30 AM. In all these cases it was the exchange for money-not the game itself-that made the operation illegal.īut even then, police moved on these businesses not only due to the gambling, but the crowd that coalesced around these underground venues. The Hong Kong arcade functioned similarly, but the house also took a 10% cut during cash out. Gamblers would belly up to the prize booth and turn their credits back into cash. The illegal "slaphouses" in California-a police slang term, stemming from the noise of fingers hitting buttons-and arcades in Honolulu allegedly worked on the receipt model. The coin prizes obviously recall the old image of casino slot machines-but underground gambling dens tend to prefer the lower-profile receipts and arcade cards. And that's where these games run afoul of gambling laws.ĭepending on the machine's redemption process, players that press the "Cash Out" button either get prize tickets, a printed receipt showing their credit, points on an e-credit card, or simply a shower of coins. Every time you catch a fish, its point value gets added to your credit pool-meaning you can build up more credits than you started with. There are also random jackpot events, like crabs that trigger minigames, or creatures that explode or grant bonuses. The fish have point values, though the largest ones-orcas and whales-can soak heavy amounts of damage or travel with a host of lower-point bodyguards. While a standard shot might cost 10 credits, it's not unusual for a maximum shot value to be 500 credits, or $5 per button press. However, you can also tap the "Weapon" button to enhance a shot, making it more powerful, and-theoretically at least-able to catch bigger fish or score more points. To play, you feed money into the cash slot to buy credits, which also double as ammunition-$1 might buy you 100 credits, for example, with your gun using up 10 credits with every shot. Even though this is a "fishing" game, it more closely resembles a large, multiplayer turret-shooting arena Six or eight control stations are situated around the edge of the screen, and each station has a joystick that controls a traversing gun turret, as well as "Shoot" and "Change Weapon" buttons.
Unusually for a video game, the machine is especially popular with seniors.Ĭolorful fish school across the a glass screen inset into a table-like a the cocktail arcade machines of the 80s and 90s. Walk into any arcade in Hong Kong and you'll see them ranked up in clusters with players sitting around the edge, slapping their cigarette-burned control panels. The game appeared in China about a decade ago, and immediately blew up due to its simple mechanics and addictive play. Cambodian authorities arrest 14 people and seize three Fish Hunter machines.įishing games go by many names- Fish Hunter, King of Treasures, Dragon Hunter, Ocean King-but they all share the same basic mechanics and objective: feed in money, kill the fish, win big. Military Police storm an illegal casino housed in five apartments near Angkor Wat. Hong Kong Police strike an arcade in Kowloon as part of a citywide anti-Triad operation codenamed "Levington." They arrest forty people and confiscate nearly $2,000 in cash-along with six games, including fishing games. Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro hails the operation as the latest blow in his ongoing crackdown on a chain of gambling arcades, and hands down 414 felony indictments on nine individuals-initiating the largest anti-gambling case in state history. Honolulu Police confiscate Ocean King and Fish Huntercabinets in the operation, games nearly identical to Dragon Hunter. Patrons enter through a locked back door speakeasy-style, with only trusted customers gaining admittance. The Honolulu Police Department raids an arcade after local residents complain that the business-already shut down by police-has secretly reopened to gamblers.
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