We got a few of these dud texas holdem type poker cabinets that haven't so much as made us our money back from purchasing them. I decided to take one of them and convert it to a multi-in-1 cabinet.
For those that don't know, these are "Pokertek" branded "Heads up poker" game. there is 2 small LCD's on either side that show your cards and a large 20 something inch monitor in the middle that displays the pot of chips and the river/turn/flop cards dealt out. great idea...but problem is, nobody played it. we purchased an update that also added bocce to the cabinet, to try and drum up plays. nothing.
machine was making ~$4 a month
so here they sit. a real marvel of engineering they are... 3 video screens (all DVI)... USB trackballs.... nobody playing it.
1st problem.... The main monitor only accepts DVI. The multi-in-1 only outputs 15k RGB or VGA.
i can do this. start pricing out monitors that will fit in the cabinet. settle on 1 or 2 that might work. then, I notice the video interface board of the original monitor has a spot for a VGA connector, it's just not populated. Couldn't be that easy could it? Solder one on there...yes. yes it is.
so I gut the machine and pull the 2 small monitors, gut the control panels and install joysticks little too long. nothing a hacksaw can't fix.
add additional buttons. peel off the poker artwork. looks good. paint everything up...
plays good... think people will enjoy it better than the poker game.