What is the history of slot machines?

Slot machines date back to 1891 when the first gambling machine was developed in Brooklyn, New York. The machine worked much like a poker machine. 50 face cards were arranged on drums and when the machine spun you had the opportunity to make the best hand out of the five cards it showed. Unfortunately if you were looking to make money, this was not the machine to do so on. It was designed to give out whatever the bar owner wished such as cigars or a free drink.

Later models would incorporate the use of symbols and an internal system that would produce winning combinations. But it was not until 1964 when Bally developed an electronic slot machine that would pay actual money instead of gum, beer or cigars. This new machine was set up so that attendants would not be necessary to award the prizes.

What are some of the terminology used regarding slot machines?

Well, you already know that a one-armed bandit refers to the slot machine itself but there are other terms that you may or may not be familiar with. The coin hopper is the little bucket beneath the machine that catches the coins as you cash out on a win. The coin hopper is becoming obsolete as more machines are turning to bar coded tickets that print out the money. One term you want or hope to become familiar with is “hand pay.” This is when an attendant must personally pay you. Usually this only happens if the payout is too large for the machine to print, the machine is low on funds or the payout is at the point where it is tax deductible.

Can you cheat on slot machines?

In earlier models it was possible to cheat using a variety of methods but with new, electronic machines in place that are computer programmed the likelihood of being able to manipulate the machine is virtually impossible unless you know how to reprogram the machine. Most cases of defrauding a machine in today’s gambling world comes from programmers that work within the casino to change how the software pays out and how often it pays out.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 5:21 pm and is filed under Recreation & Leisure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.