Slots history: an outlaw culture

If you are not familiar with a lot of the early slot machines, they were pretty heavy and cumbersome to deal with, made with a casing of cast iron, and hard to move around. That was soon about to change.

In 1915, the Mills Novelty Company made machines that were contained within a wood cabinet, representing a much lighter product that could be moved around a little easier. Mills was by no means the only company in the business; there were also other entities that were using the slot machine for their own ends.

One of those companies was the Bell-Fruit Gum Company, which produced a slot machine that was used, to a considerable extent, as a marketing vehicle. The company's logo was the "Bar" symbol, and it is no coincidence that it was on that machine, although it may surprise some that it still appears commonly on many slot machines to this day. Legend has it that the fruit symbols that were on the reels represented the different flavors of chewing gum that this company had. As an interesting twist, every time the lever was pulled, a stick of chewing gum was dispensed, which not only turned out to be a great way of promoting the "brand" but also allowed them to make the credible claim that the machine was merely an amusement device, rather than a gambling apparatus.

Slot machines were still looked down upon government and law enforcement. The original Liberty Bell slot machine designed by Fey is now on display at the namesake Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant in Reno, Nevada - an establishment that is actually owned and operated by Fey's grandchildren. Even though these machines have evolved into American landmarks, and seem a relatively benign thing, they were representative of an "outlaw" culture in the minds of many at the time.

In 1902 (or 1909, depending on which story you want to believe), slot machines were actually made illegal in the city in which they were allegedly invented - San Francisco. In what was an anti-gambling wave, the ban extended to the entire state of California in 1910, and the state of Nevada followed suit in 1911. Although gambling certainly existed, and thrived in many circles, it was considered taboo in the minds of the general public, right through the time of the Great Depression, and they became a symbol for reform among those who wished to imposed a certain moral "code" on society. Populist politicians like New York City's mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia, for example, dumped slot machines into the ocean to demonstrate how "tough" they were on crime. The same was done by politicians in California who wanted to shut down gambling parlors and cruise ships.

Interestingly enough, many of those machines were nothing more than simple vending machines, so the whole thing was just for cosmetic purposes.

Of course, the theme of politicians was that here was a "criminal" element that was profiting from the machines, and in some cases, that was perhaps true. Yet as we look at where the game of slots is today, it is also an inescapable truth that these so-called crime figures also contributed greatly to the level of respect slot play eventually received.