Slots
History
An American invention, slots have
since become very popular all
around the world. The most notable
places include Europe, Africa,
South America, Asia, and the Caribbean.
As a 29 year-old Mechanic, Charles
Fey manufactured the first reels
for gaming in 1887, a heck of
a long time ago. San Francisco
was the town to be in if you were
a precognitive slots momma at
the turn of century, and what
fun it would be to be there now.
The first machines were manufactured
by hand by Fey himself and placed
in the local gambling palaces
on a 50% rental basis. So in addition
to being the inventor, Fey was
also the first proprietor of the
machines. Somewhat surprisingly,
and against some modern mythology,
Fey's first machine was not any
more bulky or any more crude than
modern day examples. Nor did its
reels carry the fruit symbols
common today. The first slot machine
was actually called the Liberty
Bell, how appropriate a name for
the game that has become a symbol
of American culture and capitalism.
The original symbols included
the standard playing card imagery
we are all used to - hearts, diamonds
and spades- along with bells,
horseshoes and a star. This original
machine can still be seen today
in a collection at the Liberty
Belle Saloon and Restaurant in
Reno Nevada, which is owned and
operated by Fey's own lineage.
Presented in 1887 as a 'New
Nickel Operated Machine', Charley
Fey, machinist and gamer, provided
the world with what would become
a phenomenon. The San Francisco
Chronicle described Fey's machine:
"A machine featuring 3
reels mostly hidden with Horseshoes,
Spades, Diamonds, Hearts, Bells
symbols on reels. The device
is operated by depositing a
nickel in a slot to release
the handle, when the right combination
of symbols stop in the window
the player is awarded coins
ranging from 2, on 2 Horseshoes
to 20 for 3 bells. Most of those
present agreed the machine should
be a great success"
A great success it has been,
without room from disagreement.
The movement of money is an
interesting thing in and of
itself. Just how much money
was fed into the machines in
Nevada and the Caribbean to
get to the $300 million yearly
gross revenue? If we do a little
basic math… working on
the average that 10 cents of
each dollar deposited is retained
by the player, then $3 billion
worth of pennies, nickels, dimes,
quarters, ect move through the
50k machines.
The details of the slot machines
(not online) we're discussing
are necessary knowledge for
anyone who wants to make this
an important part of their day.
Essential, a cabinet housing
contains three or more narrow
cylindrical drums, commonly
called reels, which are marked
with symbols. Vertically disposed
on a common axis, the reels
are caused to revolve freely
when a player activates the
machine and pulls a lever-like
handle affixed in the side of
the cabinet. Payoffs are handled
instantly, based on the horizontal
alignment of symbols after the
reels come to rest. Umm, you
get a line of bells you win.
Simple.
Nickel and quarter machines are
by far the most popular, and account
for about 85% of reel action in
any given year. This popularity
is followed by the dime boxes,
then half dollar and silver dollar
machines. You can now find machines
that accept $5 bills, and some
rather large progressive jackpot
machines that take $100 bills!
The modern, deluxe, single
coin one armed bandits with
a nice shiny chrome finish can
run you as much as $1,700 to
own for yourself. But even if
you're thinking of dropping
that coin, check and make sure
its legal to own a slot machine
in the state or country you
live in.
You may be familiar with the
name 'Big Bertha' when it comes
to the reels. This machine was
designed to accept half dollar
and dollars, and to pay back
about 80% of what it takes in.
The box is made for the most
part to be a propaganda machine,
catching customers imaginations
and desires in one big metal
mental image.
Well it worked, which is proofed
by the appearance of the Super
Big Bertha. This six by ten
foot super slot machine is said
to have cost more than one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars to
produce. A Five horsepower electric
motor is needed to power the
twenty-inch wide chain driven
wheels. With eight reels containing
20 symbols each, there are 25.6
billion different possible combinations.
That's right BILLION. Only one
of which actually pays the 1
million dollar promised prize.
A little more basic math shows
that with these odds, one individual
would have to put about 205
billion one dollar spins to
work to mathematically hit the
million dollar prize. Not the
best return on investment ever
conceived, except from the casinos
point of view.
A long-standing record of $65,093
was won in one slots pull on
a one-dollar progressive at
Harold's Club in Reno in 1973.
Quite recently (in 2001) a woman
won over $1,000,000 in an Ontario,
Canada Casino. It's worth noting
the machine was a progressive
that was $100 a pull.
In addition to being the biggest
revenue producer, our friendly
one arm pals have also been
the single biggest cause of
police raids, legal indictments,
and courts decisions over all
other forms of gambling combined.
Part of the problem is the manner
of play. No other style of gambling
creates such a hypnotic fascination.
The term zombie has been married
to the reels in American popular
culture for years now. It's
seen time and time again that
it is very difficult to resist
the temptation to drop a coin
when given the opportunity.
Even those who have a moral
problem with the concept of
gambling have been shown to
be affected by this phenomenon.
The antecedents of this common
behavior are rather indefinable,
but it can most likely be largely
attributed to two things, one
just stated, the temptation
to drop a coin with hopes of
a massively large payoff for
an insignificant bet, and the
other is probably the mechanical
attraction produced by the machines.
The action of placing a bet
lets you see the light show,
and watch the reels spin. There
is a larger level of excitement
in reel players when they hit
a jackpot than other gamblers
when they win large sums. The
complications behind this phenomenon
are too complex to discuss here,
but rely largely on the mental
expectations and experience
of players in each style of
high stakes gaming.
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