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Date: April 3, 1996

Location: Pleasantville

Title: A.C. Coin and Slots Wins Big in Gaming

Author: Martin Daks

Subject: Making the machines that people use to play is another way of scoring at gambling centers around the world.

Nestled away in a corner of Southern New Jersey is a man who lives in aworld unlike the one familiar to most people. This different world is filled with bright lights and colors that burst into and out of existence like the fanning of a peacock”s feathers. Here there is no distinction between daytime and nighttime; the soft glow of neon lights eliminates the shadings of darkness and light.

The inhabitant in this twilight world is a middle-aged man named Mac Seelig. Tall and broad shouldered, with a deep voice, Seelig is the founder and owner of A.C. Coin and Slot Service. Based in Pleasantville, barely a crap shoot-throw away from Atlantic City, Seelig”s company distributes, designs and services slot machines and peripheral casino equipment, like seats and manufactures signage–the bright, pulsating graphics that line the front and top of slot machines. Gaming machines form a fast-paced, expanding industry, and Seelig aims to capture his share of the action. Part of this strategy was a distribution deal with heavyweight International Game Technology, a Reno, Nev.-based manufacturer.

New Jersey”s gaming center is Atlantic City. Like its sister Las Vegas, Atlantic City sells dreams. People flock to these entertainment capitals for the same reason they pack movie theaters and playhouses–to forget about their daily existence and, for a little while at least, to get a taste of an exotic–even magical–way of life.

The casinos in Atlantic City may lure some visitors with stage shows and premier entertainers, but it is the gaming rooms that define the urban playground. Even as crowds pack the card and crap tables, slot machines are the casinos” growth machines. A recent report by the Casino Association of New Jersey notes that slot machine revenue increased 11.7% to $20.6 million in February as compared with the same month last year, versus a 9.5% increase in overall casino revenue. A.C. Coin and Slot helps to fuel the frenzy, employing a staff of 20 to create images of fast cars and sultry women, etching them onto glass panels that adorn the slot machines. The idea is to draw paying customers to the brightly lit chrome and steel slot machines, rather like the way a moth is attracted to a bright light.

The descent into fantasy begins when a visitor pulls into A.C. Coin and Slot”s gravel-covered parking lot. A sweeping gaze is drawn to, then stops at Seelig”s exotic vehicle, a Hummer. This $60,000-plus automobile, seen on the street about as often as a Ferrari, is a seven-ft. wide by six-ft. high four-wheel drive vehicle suited for traveling through jungles or swamps. It resembles a so-called sports utility vehicle the way a Boeing 757 resembles a child”s glider. Asked about it, Seelig grins and allows that, “It”s fun to drive.”

For the owner, though, fun and games stop at his company entrance. Just as the Hummer dominates the parking area outside, a business atmosphere rules the offices. Seelig oversees his empire from a roomy office filled with leather and polished wood. A large desk, Seelig”s command post, controls the room. Its screen softly glowing, a laptop computer perches on the desk.

Seelig”s three sons, Jerry, Jeff and Jason, file into the office. Jerry Seelig is the general manager of operations; Jeff is the corporate finance manager; and Jason is in charge of Caribbean sales. The convergence of three brothers sharing names that begin with the letter “J” brings an image to mind: a one-armed bandit slot machine displaying a three-of-a- kind winning combination.

Seated in his office, Mac Seelig seems every bit the patriarch as he recounts the origin of A.C. Coin and Slot. Seelig was running a vending machine business in 1978, when he decided to start A.C. Coin and Slot from his home. At first, Seelig simply parlayed his vending machine know-how into the field of slot machines, becoming a distributor.

“We had six people and made $2 million in sales our first year,” Seelig says. The company now employs about 90 people in New Jersey, with another 20 spread in offices from Las Vegas to Puerto Rico. The customer base goes even further, extending throughout the country as states legalize gambling, and across oceans into tourist spots like Aruba, Puerto Rico, Greece and Turkey.

Closer to home, A.C. Coin and Slot recently took the wraps off Project X, a 30-ft. long, 10-machine unit called Bonus Road Rally. A simulated race track, stretching the length of the multi-slot unit, sits atop the machines, and every time an individual slot machine scores a win, a miniature car advances along the track until one wins. In addition to the machine”s payout, cash prizes are awarded to race winners.

Seelig declines to divulge current sales or profits, but says his company has seen business grow by more than 25% in the last five years. The company still sells slot machines through its International Game Technology connection. Seelig”s company has expanded to three divisions: International Casino Supply, A.C. Electronics Supply and A.C. Graphics Images.

The casino supply division provides custom casino millwork and seating. Casino chairs can easily cost $1,500, and custom-designed slot machine chairs can carry even higher pricetags. The electronics supply division, boasting a $1 million inventory, provides maintenance and replacement services for slot machines. Seelig”s customers, the casinos, never close, and A.C. Coin and Slot”s CEO says he has technicians on hand “seven days a week, 24 hours a day” for service calls. Rounding out its offerings, the graphics images division designs and manufactures graphics for slot machine glass. A.C. Coin and Slot also offers consulting services.

Seelig”s company grows primarily through word-of-mouth referrals and trade shows. “We learn from our customers,” he adds. Seelig”s approach earns the respect of executives like Peter Boynton, president of Caesars World in Las Vegas. “I”ve known Mac since 1978,” Boynton says. “He”s very service-oriented and creative.”

The founder of A.C. Coin and Slot pauses when asked about his plans. “We built this company one block at a time,” Seelig says. “We want to be consistent.” Maintaining quality and consistency sometimes means turning down jobs, he adds, saying, “We don”t want to overextend ourselves.” Seelig notes, however, that as the gaming industry expands, A.C. Coin and Slot will continue to expand. “Anybody can rise to any level,” he says.

And you can bet on that.