A Gambling Blog

One of the biggest and most vital attractions in any casino, large or small, is the slot machines. A huge portion of the gaming floor is devoted to these one-armed bandits and slots account for more than 70% of casino revenue.

The Sittman and Pitt Slot Machine

The first slot machine appeared in the late 1800s in Brooklyn, New York. Built by Sittman and Pitt, this early slot machine had card numbers so that gamblers more used to playing poker wouldn’t be as intimidated by the new game. The machine had five reels with cards in each. The two cards that were left out, the ten of spades and the jack of hearts, ensured that a player had half the chance of getting a royal flush, the highest hand in poker, and therefore a big prize. These early machines were loud and heavy, made of cast iron, and the handles were difficult to pull. They were also easy to cheat on by simply manipulating the reels to stop with a stick.

The Liberty Bell

Charles Fey’s West Coast slot machine was born in 1899 in San Francisco. Dubbed the ‘Liberty Bell’, it had three reels with a variety of symbols, including a cracked Liberty Bell. New parts on this slots model included a coin slot, a payout table and a big pull-handle on the side. The first machine went into a saloon and soon after was so popular that Fey quit his job to work on producing the machines full-time. The Fey slot machines monopolized the market for several years.

Mills’ Modifications

In the early 1900s, the Mills Novelty Company stepped in, making many improvements and modifications with an eye towards making the slot machines more desirable. In 1910, they added ten new symbols per reel and made the machine easier to move around and install for the operators. Five years later, wooden cabinets appeared, both lighter and less expensive than the old cast iron machines. The 1930s brought many positive changes, including quieter machines known as ‘silent bells’; the addition of double jackpots, which allowed players to win twice in rapid succession; and themed cabinet designs, both colorful and impressive.

Slots Come to Vegas

Slot machines made their entrance into casino history courtesy of the mob. When Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel opened his Flamingo Hotel & Casino in the late 40s, he viewed slot machines as a novelty, suitable to entertain the wives and girlfriends of the wealthy gamblers who came to the casino for serious play. He filled up space in the casino with the machines, thinking they would simply keep the women occupied, but he greatly underestimated their long-term appeal.

Electronics, Video and Online Slots

In 1964, Bally introduced electronic microprocessors that determined the results of a game, making the machines more secure and more reliable, and larger prizes and jackpots were offered as a result. The first video slot machine debuted in the 70s, but players were initially reluctant to play. Video poker changed this, showing that the video-based games were both fair and trustworthy. Online casinos have benefited from the research and development of the past hundred years and online slots can truly be considered the next stage of evolution for slots play.

Believe it or not, internet gambling has actually proved to be beneficial for the elderly according to a recent study. The increase in activity and the socialization involved in gambling is believed to have a positive effect on the mental and physical health of gamblers who are 65 and above. Those who involve themselves in moderate gambling and not get addicted are generally happy and in better health than otherwise.

Most elderly people prefer simple games like lotteries and slot machines. Though moderate gambling keeps them healthy, they should be watched to see that it doesn’t get addictive. People who involved themselves in gambling were found to be sharper and there were fewer cases of depression. Most female gamblers over the age of 65 prefer slot machines. The number of elderly gamblers frequenting casinos has been increasing steadily in the recent years.

Since most elderly people have very little to involve themselves with, gambling will be one of the few things they can enjoy doing and will not need assistance with. Elderly people cannot involve themselves in active sports but they can stay active mentally as they will need to calculate a lot of things in games like poker, etc. Some of the casinos even offer special facilities for the elderly and people with disabilities.

Gambling in casinos, riverboat casinos, bingo parlors, etc. serve as a fun way to chase away boredom. They find the food, glitz, music and the crowd very attractive. Most of these places offer free bus rides and meals for the elderly. Though there are people who consider this as a trick to get them into spending money, this is probably what they find most joy in, though a little check should be kept on how much and how long they gamble for.

There are many people in the world that have been famous by their love for gambling. If you love gambling, you have a very rich and varied lead to follow. Here are some of history’s famous gamblers:

• John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich: The Earl of Sandwich is undoubtedly extremely famous for inventing the sandwich as we know it today. But, what you may not know is that John Montagu was such an avid gambler that he was loathe to leave the gambling table even to eat food. He ate at the gambling table so as to not waste any time and on one such day, he ordered meat and bread, slapped the meat between two slices of bread, and the sandwich was born!
• ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok: ‘Wild Bill’ Hickock was an American legend known for his dangerous, and many a times violent, cowboy life. The question Hickok’s life came to a poker game. At the game, he was shot at the back of his head at point blank range by an assassin and he died immediately. He held a pair of aces and eights each and since then that particular hand has been obviously called ‘The Dead Man’s Hand.’
• Joseph Jaggers: Joseph Jaggers was an engineer who managed to discover a way to beat the roulette table. On one occasion that he went gambling, at the Casino Beaux-Arts in Monte Carlo, he won a lot of money, but he also realized that each roulette wheel had a particular balance and produced the same set of numbers on a regular basis. He used this knowledge and further research to win over $450,000. When the casino became wise to this, it fixed the table and Jagger lost over $125,000. But, considering the $450,000 he won as well as his other winnings, he did leave the casino a rich man.

The Riverboat Gambler is one of the classic images of the American frontier age. In the beginning of the 19th century, the Mississippi river proved to be an effective method for transporting goods from one state to another and hence became a major trading centre. At the same time as the trade centre attracts people with money, the Mississippi also became home to some of the professional gamblers.

During those times, the professional gamblers were usually ‘card sharp’ and were known as cheaters who manipulated cards in order to get their desired results. In the year 1835, there were five card sharps that were caught in the act of card manipulation and were hanged. From then onwards, the card sharps refused to spend a lot of time on the dry land and most of them resided in the boats that were used to trade goods.

Riverboat Gambling was introduced in the casinos in the year 1989. This form of gambling was incepted in United States since some of the states prohibit forms of gambling on dry land, gaming in water has been used as an alternative. A few of the Riverboat casinos, do not travel in water, instead they are just docked at a considerable distance from the land in order to avoid some legal problems. Some of the contemporary Riverboat casinos have games like roulette, blackjack and a variety of slot machines. In the present day, there are modern games such as Texas Hold’em existing in these casinos.