Three One-Ball Pinball Machines v. Commonwealth

COMBS, Justice.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky has obtained judgment authorizing confiscation of the three pinball machines referred to in the caption. The style of the case is a misnomer. Although the machines are designated as the appellants in the case, it is their owners who argue so forcefully that the lives of the ingenious gadgets should be spared.

The machines are so constructed that when a nickel is deposited in the appropriate slot the machine automatically registers certain odds. The player may accept those odds, or he may continue to drop in nickels until he obtains the odds he…