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Some History of slot machines.
Choose from the menu on the left or on the top, or
continue reading to learn about the history of slot machines.
The term slot machine was originally used for automatic
vending machines as well as for the gambling devices, but in the
20th century the term became restricted to the latter. The first
such gambling devices in the United States were mere novelties
that did not return coins but presented gambling opportunities,
such as two toy horses that would race after a coin was
inserted. Such devices set on a bar in a saloon attracted
wagering between patrons. By 1892 machines that paid off in
coins were in existence, usually in the form of a circular
display with a spinning indicator that came to rest or pointed
to a number, color, or picture. Early in the 20th century the
slot machine settled into its three-reel form (occasionally
later increased to five) with a window showing coins played into
the machine, constituting the jackpot, or highest payoff.
Forces of morality, and then of law, opposed the operation of
slot machines. Throughout the 1920s, the machines were popular
throughout much of the United States, especially in resort
areas, and they continued to be popular into the Great
Depression years of the '30s. But belief that the distribution
of slot machines was controlled by organized crime led to
legislation restricting their sale and transportation as well as
their use except in private social clubs. Prohibition outside
Nevada, which long had legalized gambling, was virtually total
by 1951, although illegal operation, especially in private
clubs, was widely ignored.
Later, as other states and countries permitted gambling,
moved by the prospect of revenue, the machines came into wide
use throughout the world, both in casinos and elsewhere. U.S.
manufacturers had a prime segment of the market. For the
slot-machine addict, the action of pulling the handle, the sound
of the reels falling into line, and most of all the jangle of
cascading coins when protruding metal fingers in the machine
triggered the coin release, all were part of the attraction. By
the late 1970s, electronic machines operated by push buttons and
having visual displays were in use, especially for the play of
such games as Poker, Keno, and Blackjack.
The slang term one-armed bandit arose
from the single handle and the ability of the operators to
adjust the rate of payoff, decreasing it in times of high-volume
playing and increasing it in slack periods. Some state gaming
commissions attempted to assure a minimum rate of payoff. In the
late 20th century the record jackpot for a five-reel dollar
machine taking one to five U.S. dollars was $1,000,000.
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