Its operators require hard cash (4,7)

I believe the answer is:

slot machine

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'cash' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.

I don't understand the remainder of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for slot machine that I've seen before include "One-armed bandit" , "2 8 [CASINO GAME]" , "Coin-fed device" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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