WHY IT HAPPENED HERE
By Marshall Fey
Unparalleled in world history is the explosion of inven-
tions during the American industrial revolution, 1875-
1900. Emerging during this creative period were
Thomas Edison and his electric light bulb, the phono-
graph and moving picture machine, Bell's telephone,
Eastman's dry plate photography, and the first automo-
biles attributed to American ingenuity. These conse-
quential items were joined by another major group of
inventions consisting of coin-operated machines
designed for amusement, public weighing and vending.
After 1890 this new field had nurtured a notorious sib-
ling - the slot machine.
factories with 15 acres of floor space, a thousand
employees, and the coveted AAA-1 Dun & Bradstreet
credit rating. Mills output was augmented by the hun-
dreds of thousands of other 3-reel machines manufac-
tured by the Caille, Watling, Jennings, Pace and Bally
companies, as well as smaller slot producers.
The sheer number of machines in use throughout the
nation before 1951 resulted in their becoming as
American as baseball and apple pie. From the ubiqui-
tous slots have come such household phrases as "it's a
lemon", indicative of a bad product, and "jackpot", rep-
resenting a big win or abundance. The ready reception
Still gambling on new frontiers, rapidly growing of players of every stripe, manufacturers, and business-
America provided an ideal place for the development of es where they were operated was nevertheless chal-
coin-controlled gambling. The earliest devices spread lenged by equally strong bands of crusading reformers
from the east coast throughout the nation, but it was San which sought to stamp out the devices. The breadth of
Francisco which gave birth to the two most important these movements, together with the state of the nation-
genre of slot machines. During 1893-94 Gustav al economy and the seriousness of enforcing gambling
Schultze built a line of automatic-paying wheel control laws, shaped the destiny of coin-operated gam-
machines which kindled a fire. Just three years later the ing.
pot really boiled when Charles Fey devised the 3-reel
LIBERTY BELL, a device which grew so popular that The early 20th century's strong temperance movement
its name became synonymous with the term "slot which culminated in Prohibition briefly had a negative
machine". An entire industry evolved from this single effect on the slot population. But the tremendous
invention and within 30 years, more than a million of Prohibition backlash which soon developed ushered in
these machines were operating throughout the world.
the Golden Age of Slots, 1923-1950. During the
Depression of the 1930's thousands of hotels, gas sta-
Offshoots of the Schultze and the Fey machines were tions, drug stores, soda fountains and other businesses
produced by many other manufacturers, especially the used slot machine income as their very means of sur-
Mills Novelty Company of Chicago. Its owner, Herbert vival.
Mills, manufactured an extensive line which sold in a
formidable market consisting of saloons, cigar stands, The era of slot machine prosperity ended in 1951 when
pool parlors, bowling alleys and other businesses. In Congress passed the far-reaching Johnson Act which
promoting his coin-operated devices, the young entre- successfully abolished the machines in states where
preneur, Herbert Mills, soon became the "Henry Ford" they were illegal by preventing interstate shipment. On
of the slot machine industry, incorporating mass pro- the momentum of that law, many states passed anti-pos-
duction philosophy with runs in the thousands for his sessions laws and by the 1960's Nevada alone was the
most popular models. His roadmen blanketed the coun- only legal haven for the slot. In 1976 the New Jersey
try, selling machines at low prices; Mills also encour- legislature welcomed them in Atlantic City; also in that
aged sales through extensive advertising and mail order decade state after state began implementing government
catalogs. He opened branch offices everywhere, selling operated lotteries. All through these times overseas mil-
15,000 bell slot machines alone between 1906 and 1915 itary bases generally looked favorably on the slot
and 600,000 in the following 40 years. By 1927 Mills machine and other forms of gaming which were not
continued ...
Novelty Company boasted one of the nation's largest affected by the Johnson Act.