Slot Nostalgia
24 November 2003
By Mark Pilarski
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
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