SLOT MACHINES

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SLOT MACHINES. A slot machine known as a "fruit machine" or "fruities" (British English), "puggy" (Scottish English),[1] "the slots" (Canadian English and American English), "poker machine/pokies" (Australian English and New Zealand English), or "slots" (American English), creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known as "one-armed bandits" because of the large mechanical levers attached to the sides of early mechanical machines and the games' ability to empty players' pockets and wallets as would thieves. The "slot machine" term derives from the slots on the machine for inserting and retrieving coins. "Fruit machine" comes from the traditional fruit images on the spinning reels such as lemons and cherries.

A slot machine's standard layout features a screen displaying three or more reels that "spin" when the game is activated. Some modern slot machines still include a lever as a design trait to trigger play. However, the mechanics of early machines have been superseded by random number generators, and most are now operated using buttons and touchscreens.

Slot machines include one or more currency detectors that validate the form of payment, whether coin, cash, voucher, or token. The machine pays out according to the pattern of symbols displayed when the reels stop "spinning". Slot machines are the most popular gambling method in casinos and make-up an estimated 70% of the average U.S. casino's income.

Digital technology has resulted in variations on the original slot machine concept. As the player is essentially playing a video game, manufacturers are able to offer more interactive elements, such as advanced bonus rounds and more varied video graphics.

Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York developed a gambling machine in 1891 that was a predecessor to the modern slot machine. It contained five drums holding a total of 50 card faces and was based on poker. The machine proved extremely popular. Many bars in the city had one or more of them. Players would insert a nickel and pull a lever, which would spin the drums and the cards that they held, the player hoping for a good poker hand. There was no direct payout mechanism, so a pair of kings might get the player a free beer, while a royal flush could pay out cigars or drinks; the prizes were entirely dependent upon what the establishment would offer. To improve the odds for the house, two cards were typically removed from the deck, the ten of spades and the jack of hearts. This doubled the odds against winning a royal flush. The drums could also be rearranged to further reduce a player's chance of winning. Because of the large number of possible wins in the original poker-based game, it proved nearly impossible to make a machine capable of awarding an automatic payout for all possible winning combinations.

Some time between 1887 and 1895, Charles Fey of San Francisco, California devised a much simpler automatic mechanism with three spinning reels containing a total of five symbols: horseshoes, diamonds, spades, hearts and a Liberty Bell. By replacing ten cards with five symbols and using three reels instead of five drums, the complexity of reading a win was considerably reduced, allowing Fey to design an effective automatic payout mechanism. Three bells in a row produced the biggest payoff, ten nickels (50¢). Liberty Bell was a huge success and spawned a thriving mechanical gaming device industry. After a few years, the devices were banned in California, but Fey still could not keep up with the demand for them from elsewhere. The Liberty Bell machine was so popular that it was copied by many slot-machine manufacturers. The first of these, also called the "Liberty Bell", was produced by Herbert Mills in 1907. By 1908, "bell" machines had been installed in most cigar stores, saloons, bowling alleys, brothels and barber shops.

The first Liberty Bell machines produced by Mills used the same symbols on the reels as did Charles Fey's original. Soon afterward, another version was produced with patriotic symbols, such as flags and wreaths, on the wheels. Later, a similar machine called the Operator's Bell was produced that included the option of adding a gum-vending attachment. As the gum offered was fruit-flavored, fruit symbols were placed on the reels: lemons, cherries, oranges and plums. A bell was retained, and a picture of a stick of Bell-Fruit Gum, the origin of the bar symbol, was also present. This set of symbols proved highly popular and was used by other companies that began to make their own slot machines: Caille, Watling, Jennings and Pace.

A commonly used technique to avoid gambling laws in a number of states was to award food prizes. For this reason, a number of gumball and other vending machines were regarded with mistrust by the courts. The Iowa court cases of State v. Ellis and State v. Striggles are used in criminal law classes to illustrate the concept of reliance upon authority as it relates "ignorance of the law is no excuse"). In these cases, a mint vending machine was declared to be a gambling device because the machine would, by internally manufactured chance, occasionally give the next user a number of tokens exchangeable for more candy. The courts ruled that "the machine appealed to the player's propensity to gamble, and that is a vice."

In 1963, Bally developed the first fully electromechanical slot machine called Money Honey although earlier machines had exhibited the basics of electromechanical construction as early as 1940. Its workings made Money Honey the first slot machine with a bottomless hopper and automatic payout of up to 500 coins without the help of an attendant. The popularity of this machine led to the increasing use of electronic games.

The first video slot machine was developed in 1976 in Kearny Mesa, California by the Las Vegas–based Fortune Coin Co. This machine used a modified 19-inch (48 cm) Sony Trinitron color receiver for the display and logic boards for all slot-machine functions. The prototype was mounted in a full-size, show-ready slot-machine cabinet. The first production units went on trial at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. After some modifications to defeat cheating attempts, the video slot machine was approved by the Nevada State Gaming Commission. Fortune Coin Co. and its video slot-machine technology were purchased by IGT (International Gaming Technology) in 1978.[citation needed]

The first American video slot machine to offer a "second screen" bonus round was Reel ’Em In, developed by WMS Industries in 1996. This type of machine had appeared in Australia from at least 1994 with the Three Bags Full game. With this type of machine, the display changes to provide a different game in which an additional payout may be awarded. (1)

Slot machines were not originally associated with gambling. In 1891 the Boston Traveler reported that slot machines were being used to dispense candy. (2) In 1891 the Dubuque Daily Herald reported that there were an estimated 12,000 nickel-in-the-slot machines in use across the country. English postal authorities had altered the machine for the sale of postage stamps. Beating the nickel-in-the slot phonographs found two people dropping in one nickel and then each holding a tube to his ear. (3) The Dubuque Daily Telegraph editorial writer reported that hardly "a railway station or place of popular resort" was not furnished with one or more of the latest products of mechanical genius offering various wares in exchange for a trifling fee." The writer continued that "certainly the low-working expenses incurred should conduce to render them a food investment for their proprietors." (4)

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, the editor of the Dubuque Daily Herald of January 1, 1892 informed readers that there were 72,800 pounds of pennies in the vaults of the sub-treasury in New York. They weighed 36-tons and were secured in 10,400 bags weighing seven pounds each. This was due to "the general establishment on the penny in slot machines. (5)

Humorous editorials and glowing forecasts did not lessened attempts as early as 1900 to rig the machines for someone's gain. A Dubuque resident was arrested for boring a hole in a slot machine, inserting a needle, and stopping the dial wherever he desired. (6) By 1902 it was noted that some men were seen in Dubuque standing a long time feeding nickels into machines which "sold cigars." While there were no reports as of July of problems in Dubuque, Chicago leaders were hearing similar stories and it was alleged that some of the slot machines were "geared up" to yield a return for the owner of as much as 500%. (7)

The municipal election of 1900 brought the slot machine issue into the political realm. The Democrats led by former Mayor Charles SAUNDERS campaigned against licensing slot machines by the Citizen's (Republican) administration led by Mayor (BERG, Christopher|Christopher BERG]]. The Citizen's Party responded by saying that the marshal the Democrats renominated had power under the ordinance to suppress slot machines and did not. (8) Berg won the election.

Prior to 1905 a grand jury in Dubuque ordered all slot machines shut down. While the order was carried out in the city, no attention was paid to the county where they continued in business. In Dubuque the machines were again opened and ran openly for chips. Called "trade machines," they were soon resuming the play for money. On July 1, 1905 a fine on the machine owners was instituted by the city council. By October an estimated thirty machines were shut down with the city receiving fines totaling $4,800. Once the county realized that the city was receiving money, another grand jury was called. (9)

Iowa casinos have some of the tightest slot machines in the country, holding back one-third more money than they did a decade ago, a recent study shows. A slot machine hold percentage is the amount a casino can anticipate earning from a machine over the long run. The study of data from 16 states found Iowa casinos had an average slot hold of 9.37 percent in 2014 — far more than the average 6.4 percent hold in Nevada, the smallest hold in the study. The machines have software that monitors what money goes in and out. The machines are tested before they are put on the casino floor and monitored by the Racing and Gaming Commission. Individual casino managers decide what the average hold should be, and that can range from 0 to 20 percent. (11)

FACILITY AND PAYBACK PERCENTAGE AT IOWA CASINOS

   Prairie Meadows in Altoona: 92.1%
   Wild Rose in Jefferson: 91.9%
   Wild Rose in Emmetsburg: 91.4%
   Catfish Bend in Burlington: 91.2%
   Riverside Casino in Riverside: 91.2%
   Rhythm City in Davenport: 90.9%
   Wild Rose in Clinton: 90.9%
   Grand Falls In Larchwood: 90.8%
   Mystique Casino in Dubuque: 90.7%
   Diamond Jo in Dubuque: 90.5%
   Lakeside in Osceola: 90.5%
   Ameristar in Council Bluffs: 90.4%
   Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City: 90.4%
   Diamond Jo Worth In Northwood: 90.3%
   Isle Casino in Bettendorf: 90.2%
   Lady Luck in Marquette: 90.1%
   Isle Casino in Waterloo: 90.0%
   Harrah's in Council Bluffs: 89.5%
   Horseshoe in Council Bluffs: 89.2%

Source: Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission

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Source:

1. "Slot Machines," Wikipedia, Online:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slot_machine

2. "The Society Slot Machine," Dubuque Daily Herald, January 23, 1891

3. "Nickel in the Slot," Dubuque Daily Herald, April 5, 1891, p. 6

4. "Wonderful Mechanism," Dubuque Daily Telegraph, January 8, 1891, p. 2

5. "Fresh Cullings," Dubuque Daily Herald, January 8, 1892, p. 1

6. "News in Brief," The Dubuque Herald, February 13, 1900, p. 5

7. "Cigar Machines," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, July 31, 1902, p. 5

8. "City Briefs," The Dubuque Herald, April 3 1900, p. 5

9. "Mayor Makes No Denial," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, October 27, 1905, p. 3

11. Rood, Lee, "Iowa Slots Some of the Tightest in the Nation," Des Moines Register. December 10, 2015, Online: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/investigations/readers-watchdog/2015/12/10/iowa-casinos-slots-some-tightest-nation-study-released/76988428/