Slot Machines: The Legend of the One-Armed Bandit
It's been called "The One-Armed Bandit." And befitting its nickname, the slot machine has had a long history of brushes with the forces of law and order, as well as dealings with a notorious underworld figure.
The slot machine's origin can be traced to 19th century New York, with a poker-based gambling device designed by Pitt and Sittman. This incarnation of the machine used five drums that displayed poker hands. And unlike the slot machines of today, it did not have an automatic payout mechanism, so the prizes were paid to the winners by the outlets the machines were installed in.
Charles Fey invented the first prototypical slot machine in 1887. Named the "Liberty Bell," this version of the machine did indeed have a payback mechanism and was fitted with three revolving reels displaying five different symbols: horseshoes, spades, diamonds, hearts, and the eponymous Liberty Bell, which gave a payout of fifty cents (which was worth quite a lot in those days).
Fey followed up with the "Operator Bell," which included the fruit symbols common in modern slots. As such, many slot connoisseurs consider the Operator Bell as the archetypal slot machine.
Just as the slot machine caught on with the gambling public, it soon became a target by the so-called guardians of morality and their anti-gambling crusade. In 1909, the machines were banned in Fey's home state of San Francisco, then in Nevada in 1910 and California in 1911. Forced to go incognito, the slot machines were then redesigned to look like vending machines. Few could tell the difference, and the difference didn't seem to matter to the authorities, who would confiscate many legitimate vending machines along with the slots.
With their livelihood threatened, one legitimate vending machine manufacturer, the Bell-Fruit Gum Company, took matters into their own hands. The company was alleged to have acquired a slot machine, and mass-produced a line of slots re-altered into gum dispensers. The contribution this had to the continued development of the slot machine is the BAR symbol that appears in today's slots, which was actually based on the Bell-Fruit Company's logo.
The slot machine's notoriety would only grow once it established ties with one Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. The legendary mobster who was instrumental in the development of Las Vegas had invested in slots and put them up in his Flamingo Hilton casino, mainly to keep the wives and girlfriends of his casino's wealthy patrons busy. The slot machine has since become a mainstay in casinos all over Vegas, and eventually all over the world.
A Robin Hood bandit who would as much give as take, hunted by the law from state-to state; emerging from humble beginnings in New York to become part of an empire in Las Vegas. Like the greatest gangsters in history, the slot machine has endured infamy and adversity, and has made it to the top of the world.
