The pickpockets are gambling machines: flashy, tarted-up devices guaranteed to separate suckers from their money.

Officially this event is called the Global Gaming Expo, but it feels more like a pickpockets convention - albeit, one with beautiful women. Bikini-clad women toss T-shirts to attendees and silver-dipped beauties twist as if it were 1960. Most coin-operated video games consoles and other amusement arcade games are aimed at teenage and young adult males, although of course women of all ages and men outside the target age group can also be drawn towards coin-op poker machines and other arcade games.In the gargantuan room at the Las Vegas Convention Center is wall-to-wall slot machines, poker machines, gimmicky table games, video roulette and novel forms of blackjack. Locations of convenience include machines found in airports, convenience stores, restaurants and bars while destination locations include theme parks, family entertainment centres, carnivals and arcades. Poker machines and other coin-operated arcade machines are typically found in two types of locations: locations of convenience and destination locations. For some, the appeal of a coin-operated poker machines is in the physical sensation of inserting a coin and pulling a lever. Similarly, some reports indicate that the introduction of Space Invaders in Japan caused a countrywide shortage of the ¥100 coin. In fact, in the early 20th century, demand for coins to operate a coin-op poker machines was so high that the design of the Liberty Head nickel in the United States was briefly delayed. Card-operated poker machines have taken over from the more traditional coin-op poker machine, though there is still a lot of interest in coin slot machines and other antique slot machines from gaming enthusiasts. Today, most poker machines are card operated, with value being added directly from the user's credit card. Excluding Western Australia, statistics suggest that between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of adults use a poker machine at least once a year, with a large proportion of those people using a poker machine once a week or more.

Australia has more poker machines per person than any other country in the world, except for Monaco and Macau which are considered 'gambling destinations.' Poker machines are legal throughout Australia, except in Western Australia, where they are only permitted within a casino.

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