Location
Owing to these factors it was always important to
both manufacturers and operators to maintain the
machine's pseudo image as a giver of wealth, lest
a player's increasing familiarity with such
machines ultimately became an attitude of
contempt. In this respect the introduction of the
jackpot in the mid-1920s was the most significant
development to happen on the three-reeler since
1909.
The device, known as the drop jackpot to
distinguish it from other varieties, consisted
essentially of a metal container attached to the
machine. The front of the container was made of
glass so as to display the coins it contained. The
operator partially filled the jackpot container
with coins, and then set the coin handling
mechanism to divert a percentage of the coins
played into the machine. The traditional
alignment of the symbols for the jackpot was
three 'bars' which delivered 20 coins as well as
automatically opening the container which
dropped its contents into the payout cup below.
Its use greatly enhanced the play stimulus of the
three-reeler.
Not a new idea
The jackpot was not a new idea. As noted in a
previous article its use in automatic machines
dated back to the 1880s. It was a main feature on
some of the free-standing pin wheel machines of
the early 1900s, most notably on the Mills Dewey.
Despite this its use as a feature on the three-reeler
was a relatively late departure. The Watling
Manufacturing Company of Chicago was
probably the first to try out the idea. In 1920 they
added a jackpot to one of their models. However,
its introduction seems to have been mistimed and
the idea was soon dropped. In 1926 the Caille
Brothers Company tentatively introduced it as an
accessory, but failed to pursue the idea. This
failing on the part of the major manufacturers was
soon taken advantage of by David C. Rockola,
then a slot machine operator and scale
manufacturer in Chicago. He developed the idea
and introduced it as an accessory in November
1927, known as the Rockola Jackpot Front. It was
designed to fit onto old Mills (and later Jennings
and Watling) machines. Due to his adept
promotional ability it met with a quick success
both with players, who were suckers for the
XLIV
higher payout potential, and with operators
because it revitalised their old machines.
In October 1929 Rockola further improved upon
the idea with the introduction of the Rockola
Reserve Jackpot Front. Like the earlier Jackpot
Front it was sold separately or operators (in
America) could send their old machines to
Rockola for conversion. The Reserve Jackpot
proved to be a necessity, because a player would
avoid a machine that had just paid out a jackpot.
This was due to two factors. Firstly, the
superstition that after a large win a slot machine
'slows down' and yields only small wins for a
period of time (this is a fallacy, since chance has
no memory). Secondly, an empty jackpot
container, or container showing only a small
number of coins was ample evidence that even if
the three 'bar' alignment came up, the player
would not get his full quota of coins.
However, this is not the full story. Both Caille
and Rockola jackpots were in fact predated in
England by Lawrence Pollard, an operator who
carried out a great deal of conversion work on
Mills machines. By 1925 he had developed a drop
jackpot of his own design and had begun
marketing it. In 1927 he was granted a patent for
the device. Despite this, it is at present unclear as
to how influential he was. There is an apocryphal
story which states that news of his idea reached
the Mills factory in America in 1925 through two
Mills representatives who had gone to Lloyd and
Hillmans of Clerkenwell in London to obtain
castings for coin chutes capable of taking the
English penny, as a consequence of their
discovery Mills readily adopted the idea.
I have been unable so far to find any
contemporary written evidence to back up the
story, although in later years Pollard had acquired
some measure of notoriety in that he was
frequently referred to as being of 'Jackpot' fame.
There is certainly some truth in the story,
although contemporary references mitigate
against the Mills Novelty Company's ready
acceptance of the idea in 1925. Advertisements by
UK firms for the wholesale conversion of slot
machines to English penny play do not largely
appear until 1927. The first American made
English penny play machines were not imported
until 1928-e.g. the Jennings Penny Play
Bell-and the first jackpot machines were not
imported until 1929----e.g. Mills, Pace and
Jennings Jackpot Bells-by which date a number