Prompted by yesterday’s New York subway token mention, reader Mike P. wrote in to relate his recent Las Vegas experience where he had to use bills instead of coins in the video poker machines. And it isn’t just paper in, paper comes out too. The payoffs are printed out on tickets that you can give to the cashier or continue to use in other machines. An article from May 2001 reveals some reluctance on the part of casino executives to roll out cashless machines. But financial analysts predicted that casinos would eventually turn away from coins. Many patrons prefer not to get the hands dirty on coins, and the turnaround time is better for business. More recently, Las Vegas Life reported that MGM Mirage is acquiring 7,000 new slots and video poker machines with the new “ticket in, ticket out” technology, and retrofitting 11,000 existing ones to accept it as well. The other major casino companies are in line, with mogul Steve Wynn opting for a completely coinless operation for his planned 2005 opening of La Reve. One day, people will wonder why slot machines generate a strange electronic clinking noise when they pay out.