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First “Slot” Was Poker-Based

Slot machine enthusiasts owe a debt to Sittman and Pitt. Have no idea who those gentlemen were? Well, back in 1891, this New York-based firm took out a patent on the prototype for what would become the first slot game. This nineteenth-century permutation of the gambling device we all know and love was a machine containing five interconnected tumblers holding fifty card faces total. The rules of this game were based on poker – players would drop a nickel into the machine and pull on a mechanical arm (the first “one-armed bandit!”), which would spin the tumblers and all the cards. The player in question aimed for a good poker hand. Just to keep things interesting, the ten of spades and the jack of hearts were removed from the drums, to halve the potential of a player scoring a royal flush (this would be the first-ever “house advantage”). Bars could also re-arrange the tumblers to give the “house” an additional edge.

These slot machines were explosively popular. By the end of the year, many bars throughout New York City had installed one of the machines. Back then, slot games had no payout mechanism. The nickels they collected went directly to the establishment housing them. Consequently, a free beer, cigar, or shot was the most-common prize doled out for a good spin – not to mention bragging rights. It would be several years before the first-ever contemporary slot machine was invented. Back in the time of Sittman and Pitt, these “slots” were merely a diversion to accompany drinking, like the TV trivia games we play today at the local hangout.

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