and paid out in tokens to be used at the grocery store.
When his uncle's father passed in the 1930's the gro-
cery store was closed. Then the two brothers, Sam and
Leslie, started the Frank-Rich Distributing Company
that distributed all types of coin-operated machines.
That is when they met a local mobster, Tony Lociano,
who started the Fort Worth Vending Company. Later,
Sam and Leslie with the help of mobster Tony Lociano
opened up a few bars and taverns that grew to a total of
7 that operated up until the 1960's, and also operated as
speakeasies. The DOMINO machine was converted to
accept quarters when it was moved to the speakeasies.
pictured with Jackpots, Bells, Venders and Puritans, the
DOMINO was not widely advertised as a slot machine
or game of chance. For most of the time it was mar-
keted, it was predominantly classified along with novel
trade stimulators and even arcade-type of amusement
machines. Both were in demand in the late 20's and
30's; the DOMINO may have suffered from an identity
cns1s.
It is possible that confusion over the precise charac-
ter and behavior of the DOMINO led to an unpopular
poll by players and operators. Perhaps the biggest prob-
lem was the lack of a big name manufacturer like Mills,
Watling, Cai lie, or Jennings backing it up. Whatever the
reasons, the DOMINO apparently was sold in relatively
limited numbers. Even trade stimulators, which share
many characteristics with the DOMINO, were far more
popular for longer periods of time. In the late 1920's
and 30's this country was dominated by the mint, gum
and candy vendors, jackpots and revamped machines.
The DOMINO, by comparison, was still somewhat a
confusing machine but accounts for its rarity. It is not
known how many were actually manufactured or how
many were exported to other countries. Nevertheless,
what we do know about the machine and its marketing
past indicate that the DOMINO was not ever produced,
sold or distributed in any great number and that makes
every new discovery an especially significant one.
This particular DOMINO machine is very rare be-
cause it has the circular coin entry. During many hours
of research, I have been unable to locate even a pic-
ture of one of these machines with the circular coin
entry. Most of the machines that had this type of coin
entry were exported from Germany to France so only
a very few examples exist here in the states. In Tom
Gustwiller's new book "Reel Amusement", on page
62, it is stated that the machines that have the quar-
ter play entry are rarer. According to correspondence
with Bill Whelan of Slot Dynasty, he stated that in all
of his many years of being in the coin-op hobby he has
only seen 1 other DOMINO with this circular-type coin
entry; that was over 30 years ago. This new-style coin
entry was designed to detect slugs by having all coins
played visible. These machines that had the new-style
coin entry were first exported to France and were made
to accept the French 25-centime coin. Then either the
manufacturer or The Domino Company discovered that
the 25-centime is the exact same size as the US 25-cent
piece, so a few of them were exported to the US. The
DOMINO machine was manufactured in Germany by
a company named "Jentzsch and Meerz ", located in
the city of Leipzig, which was the European equiva-
lent of Chicago. The majority of all coin-operated ma-
chines were made here. They exported machines to the
UK, France, and the USA. A company in Philadelphia
started carrying this machine in the late 20's; they even
went as far as to name their company, "The Domino
Company". They changed their name in 1929 to "Key-
stone Novelty". They continued to carry this slot for
several years. Although this machine was listed and
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The DOMINO was at one time a model with many
faces. Even among recovered examples the scenery
behind the large window differed. Some are quite ob-
viously of British heritage, having soccer scenes and
themes, such as "Treble Pools" with its high kicking
athletic and specialized soccer oriented reel symbols.
I myself do not consider these machines to be in the
same category as the DOMINO. The British machines
don't pay out on the same schedule even if it is themed
as the original DOMINO machine. The pay is 2, 4, 6
(with 6 being the largest). My research lead me topic-
tures of many German-made machines including 2 or 3
variations of the DOMINO which the German's called
this version I have "Lucky Dice" (viewable at www.au-
tomatix-club.de). The DOMINO pictured with this arti-
cle is the one with which we are most familiar, however
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