Dear Mark,
My first day gambling was in Reno the day President Kennedy was
killed. An unlucky day to say the very least. I remember which
casino I was in, Harold's Club, but I'm not quite certain what
type of slot machine I was playing on when I heard the grim news.
I believe, though not 100% sure, it was a triple-line machine
by Bally's. The maximum jackpot was $7.50, which I hit, and I
remember it having an owl near the top. Surprising what you remember
the day Kennedy was shot? Does any of this help?
I am asking about this machine because I am in a position to purchase
(for sentimental reasons) a Bally's triple-line, sight unseen
from a friend of a friend. Would this be the machine I played
40 years ago? Clark R.
You gave me three nice clues,
Clark, and they absolutely rule out Bally's triple-line slot machine.
The leads were, the timeline, the $7.50 jackpot and the owl, which
tell me that it was a Mills Hightop, manufactured by a Reno company
called Mills Bell-O-Matic.
Bally's possibly did have a machine on the casino floor that day,
(though I believe its debut was more like somewhere in 1964 than
in November of '63), that model was the Money Honey, the first
slot machine to have a hopper as part of its innards. This machine
was the first to have electronic circuitry to read the reels,
a hopper, relays for protection against slot cheating, and a brightly
lit front end. The latter, mind you, was not for esthetics but
for inducing play. Who'd a thunk it?
So, why is this important? Because the older slots like the Hightop
could only pay as much as their stacked coin tubes could hold.
A Mills slot could only guarantee a $7.50 jackpot on a nickel
machine. But with a hopper, jackpots could be increased a hundredfold.
Besides, Clark, it was not until 1968 — your 10th trip to Reno?
— that Bally's introduced their first machine that paid on more
than one line. Bally's three-line pay machine had a three-coin
option. The first coin activated the middle line, the second the
top line and the third brought the bottom line to life.
So, no, your friend's friend's machine was not the one that painted
your young palm with nickels, but it might go nicely in your den,
anyhow, and help out with party costs.
Dear Mark,
I have a question regarding the history of slot machines in Vegas
and Nevada. I am working on a story for the Travel Channel called
Made In America, and am doing a short piece on Vintage Vegas and
gambling. Do you know where the first slot machines were manufactured?
L. L.
Ja wohl! A Bavarian immigrant
named Charles Fey, a San Francisco mechanic, invented the first
mechanical slot machine, which he astutely named the Liberty Bell,
in 1895. Fey linked the three reels to the slide payout mechanism,
creating the first, exclusive, reeled gambling machine, and as
the saying goes, "'twas the clang heard around the world."
His reel symbols were playing-card spots, and each spinning reel
was decorated with diamonds, spades, hearts and one cracked Liberty
Bell. When the bells lined up, they produced the mightiest payoff:
10 nickels. WOW!
The original Liberty Bell is on display in Reno at the Liberty
Belle Saloon & Restaurant, on 4250 S. Virginia. I believe
Fey's family still runs the Saloon. If I'm wrong, well, some reader
is bound to correct me.
Fey eventually made a deal with the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago
to manufacturer his machine. Mills re-engineered the game as its
own Liberty Bell in 1909, which was quickly copied by Caille Brothers
Company, then by Watling Manufacturing Company. By 1925, a whole
slather of companies had sniffed the wind and begun making similar-type
slot machines.
Gambling quote of the week:
"Every time I see someone writing down past numbers at a
roulette table, I want to grab his pen and notebook and yell in
his face, 'It don't mean diddly squat!'" -VP Pappy
