I own it and I think it's a cool machine. Love the theme, love the music. Can't go wrong with poker. Feels more sturdy than other DEs IMO (those pop bumpers seem way less lazy than on other machines I've seen, and machine has a general better feel I think).

I modified the settings to make it harder to lock balls so they don't go as often in the paddlewheel. I have to disagree with you about the modes though. It seems to me that they're all pretty much irrelevant besides the one that allows you to get free balls (forget the name, the one that makes you do the loops).
The scoring is unbalanced as making your poker hands pays a whole lot more than anything else (multiball included), unless you're good enough to hit that captive ball repeatedly.

Nonetheless, I still think this is a pretty cool game.

Yep, the Lauren Belle - that's the one I meant. If you want to do a high score you have to go through that one. You're right that the Coop's Cash isn't too bad either. Multiball jackpots aren't worth going for though IMO.

Well, bad choice of words I guess, but I still think it's unbalanced when your poker hands are up in the 140 Millions and the jackpot pays 25.

I like the artwork, and even the cabinet if you can believe that.
I own Fish Tales too and I hate the busy artwork, the Maverick cabinet is sleek and looks just nice in my fake wood paneling basement

Makes sense... I barely get anymore multiballs though, since I thought they weren't worth it and to limit how often I go in the paddlewheel, I changed the settings.
Actually that is one way to solve that paddlewheel issue. Make ball locking harder in the settings - then you do go in there just often enough so that it's not annoying anymore.
It would have been nice if they had put the opto at the bottom of the wheel instead of the top to speed it up.

I guess that wheel is no crowd pleaser, but I certainly wouldn't call it a deal breaker to get the machine.

You mean the cable modification helps prevent outgassing?

Well I think some people replaced it successfully with an LCD screen and I think it costs below 350$ in material to do that.
The Homepin guy was talking about making a replacement too at some point but I'm not sure what happened with that.

I have the DE version.
I read about the widebody to regular conversion. I'm not a fan of widebodies, so I'm glad they did this, but that 3rd flipper and the captive ball always felt odd to me. Like it made more sense in the widebody version but they still found a way to make it work int the regular.
It's still fun to drop the three of a kind in one shot from there. Or just keep it up to have the ball gently bounce to your last card at the bottom left (I forget what hand this is... straight?)

I think it's some kind of conspiracy why this machine doesn't get any more love. Not sure who's behind it all, maybe ol' Mel would know.

Nice!

Yeah, my DMD is starting to outgas which has kept me from selling the machine as I'm such a good guy and don't want to sell somebody a dud. I'll do that poor man's color DMD fix somewhere down the line, but even though I'll probably have to downsize sooner than later ol' Maverick isn't too close to the chopping block.

The paddlewheel ain't so bad but I'm not a big fan. I don't know if that's a DE thing or not, but I think the multiball comes way too easy on both machines I own (this and TFTC) so I made it a little harder to qualify, so the ball doesn't go in there quite as often and it makes in pretty much a non-issue.

I was playing my Maverick for the first time in months as I was away from home and had been playing mostly newer Sterns in bars in the meantime - I had never noticed before, and it would make sense since it's one of the last (or the last) DE/Sega machines, but it really feels much like a newer Stern, much more so than other DEs I have played (I own TFTC as well, played Star Wars and WWF too).
The small slingshots, the flipper angle, the pop bumpers... I think it feels almost more like a Stern than it feels like other DEs.

I think it goes on the topper. I'd need to double check at home, I think I have it.

Here's how it looks on mine. Thats how it was when i got it but the holes do seem to match.

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That's usually how I play too, although I do try to go through the modes even though I still think they're too risky for the reward, except of course the Lauren Belle mode which you have to do very good at to hope for a great game.
I'm not that good at consistently hitting the ramp though, so maybe for someone better than I am it does make sense to pursue the multiball.

My #1 focus is the poker hands. Atomic Boy, I've never been too sure about how many poker hands it takes to get the modes started, are you saying it's less and less each time?

You could try first to clean it with windex or some other product and then use belt conditioner that you can get at an auto parts store.
I had a Hurricane with a slipping belt and that fixed it.

I put in a stiffer spring and it works like a charm. I'd need to check what color it is when I get home.

When it trickles down from the pop bumpers into the third flippers it's a possible hit, but still pretty hard.
I love Maverick, but far from a perfect game, and this is one of the things that are a little off... I know it was supposed to be a widebody at first and there was supposed to a hole for the ball to go through here instead of a captive ball. Maybe that worked better, but as it is the third flipper doesn't have much use, and that captive ball is way too hard to hit.

I agree, but that third flipper still seems like an artifact of something that once was more useful, or an afterthought to qualify the game as a 3 flipper game to me. Much more so than, say, TFTC.

Let it go man...

I was kidding. I'd help you out except that's what I did, I got a couple burnt bulbs back there...

Did you do a switch matrix test?
I don't think that the flippers go through the switch matrix, so the flippers could be working and a row/column be out.

You have to complete all the modes.

Never could figure out the pattern either... Clearly more than one sometimes gets handed for a completed hand.

Oooooh so that's how it works...
So then you get a to start a mode each time your winning streak hits a multiple of 5? Is that how it goes?
Man I love that game even more now, such clever rules, truly captures the gambling theme.

If you're actively looking for something you have to expect to pay a little more. Plus, you're describing an hypothetical machine in great shape.
I'd say more like up to 2500 in this situation. I can't see a maverick going for more than that though.
BTW, still my favorite machine in my collection present and past. A great one player and also fun for multiplayer with the simplicity of the basic goals and moderate ball times.

Yep, second that. Easy to install, cheap, and still unsure about how much more life it helps you squeeze into your DMD but at the price point worth a shot.

My 3 year old wouldn't come down in the basement, she seemed scared of something...
I had to ask her a few times and she finally told me she was afraid of the man with the gun.

Now my Maverick doesn't have a translite anymore

Sounds like you should replace or clean the belt. I had a hurricane that had a hard time with its wheels too. I cleaned the belt with Windex then used "belt conditioner" which you get at Auto parts stores, and that fixed it.