Think back to the first time you ever walked into the MGM Grand as a gambling-age 21-year-old swinging dicc with a pocket full of money — like $100 to your name — and you saw the Sigma Derby machine like a beacon of light off in the distance calling your name. Then you get closer and see that it’s a 25¢ machine and then word gets around that they serve free drinks while you’re playing and people are cheering, going absolutely nuts and it’s the craziest scene of your life as drunk post-grads are throwing around $20s and women are flocking over to get in on the fun.

Those were the days in Vegas before resort fees, parking garage fees, fees for this, fees for that. Those were the days when the $20 trick would land you in a massive suite and you lived like a king for a couple days sucking down drinks at the bar top pretending to play $20 through a video poker machine while crushing four Long Islands to get the night started.

This is where I snap you out of it and tell you that MGM’s Sigma Derby died November 12, 2018 and won’t be back. There’s only one remaining Sigma in all of Vegas and that’s at The D. Seriously, one left. As of seven days ago, it was in operation.

Instant Racing, known generically as historical race wagering, is an electronic gambling system that allows players to bet on replays of horse races or dog races that have already been run. Some Instant Racing terminals resemble slot machines. Instant Racing is a product of PariMax Holdings, a subsidiary of the Stronach Group. Ainsworth’s patent-pending Historical Horse Racing System (HHR System) has been a true industry disruptor by creating a world-class means of using past horse race information to determine wagering outcomes on innovative terminals. In many jurisdictions around the world, slot-style games driven by random number generators are not allowed.

What are your other options? You could buy this one that’s currently for sale on eBay. The starting bid is $25,500 or Make An Offer.

From the seller, who doesn’t say if this is the one out of MGM Grand, but there are very few known Sigmas in existence:

Antique Horse Racing Slot Machine

Completed with FULL manual copies and parts lists and schematics. Fully working 10 station Sigma Derby. The one, the only. Own this one of a kind machine with the cult following. I did not install all the lights around the top of the unit for the shoot. The system works 100% and has never needed any real overhall besides maybe some switches. It is in as good of condition as possible, works fully and I am still not sure I can part with it. If you know what this is, you dont need more description!

Keep in mind it’s extremely hard to find parts for these games, which is why the MGM Sigma went away. It’s been reported that the house edge on Sigma is between 10 & 20 percent. While that’s huge for the house, it doesn’t matter if you can’t find parts to keep it running.

Horse Racing Slot Machine Vintage

From AtlasObscura:

The brainchild of the now-defunct Sigma Game Inc., Derby offered a fun new take on the average slot machine experience when it debuted in 1985. Instead of inserting your coins, pulling a lever, and hoping that three symbols aligned, you could wager quarters on mechanical horses, watch them race around a miniature track, and win somewhere between two and 200 times your bet if your combination came in. It soon caught on with gamblers and casinos and flourished well into the 1990s. Caesars had a version with chariots. The Luxor had camels.

As of 2016, there were just five playable Sigmas left in the U.S. That number dwindled fast by 2018 and here we are with one left to bet on. Or you can buy your very own and run one with your buddies out of a pole barn in the middle of Iowa without the Feds knowing what you’re up to.

MGM has one of only 5 playable Sigma Derby games in the United States pic.twitter.com/ePhfoVURnk

— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) May 8, 2016