Timor was a portuguese colony, since 1512 until 1975, when Indonesia invaded the territory. During 24 years timor peopple suffered under indonesian occupation, until the independence day that happened yesterday.
There was there an important chinese community,and the gambling was a passion, mainly chinese games, like fan-tan, dice, and cock-fighting.
The legal gambling was introduced in 1969, by STDT (Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Timor) a company owned by Stanley Ho, from Macao-STDM.
There were two gambling rooms where were played PACHINKO and SLOT MACHINES.
Stanley Ho was building a Casino and Hotel when the indonesian invasion, that don´t was finished and stop them it´s gambling activity.
The token I know, was a SLOT MACHINE TOKEN,27mm diameter in brass, and says in both sides S.T.D.T
1,00 DILI ( the capital from Timor).
Now about PACHINKO
Pachinko is the most popular leisure activity in Japan.Between 40-50 million people play pachinko occasionaly, and a many as 30 million are avid player.
Pachinko is a misture between slot machine and pinball. The first action to take upon entering a pachinko parlor is to purchase pachinko balls, wich one may do from a machine. Pachinko balls are small steel balls ( 3/8" diameter).
The player is quite passive while playing. He only control the speed which many steel balls are thrown into the pachinkp machine.Most of the balls just fall down the machine and dissapear, but a few find their way into special holes, activating a kind of slot machine. As is the slot machine you win if the same three pictures appear.If it happens you win new balls.
If you decide to quit and still have pachinko balls you can exhange the balls for prizes in the gift shop, or you can also bypass the law that prohibites gambling in Japan by exchanging the balls first into some special goods and then exchange then for cash as a small window out side the parlor.
I Was in Japan some years ago and I could not urderstand the enthusiasm of lots of people, madly playing pachinko.
I tooke then some small mettalic balls .
WHAT ARE THEY?? TOKENS??? The use is the same