THE
SLOT
Coin Slot COIN
Magazine - #003
- 1974 - November NOVEMBER
[International Arcade Museum]
1974
Watling Slot Machines, Circa 1910
The illustrations on this month1 s cover and center pages are
reproductions of ads printed by the Watling Scale Co, Chicago ,
Illinois, circa 1910. We are able to print them by the courtesy
of Mr. Russell, 2404 W. 111th St., Chicago, 111. 60655, who was
kind enough to lend us the originals.
The Watling Scale Co. was started in 1889 by Tom Watling,
and by the time the early 1900fs came around, it was well into
the manufacture of all types of coin operated machinery. Their
slogan was: "Good in 1889, better today." If you have ever put
a penny into a scale at a train, subway, or bus station, the odds
are it was a Watling Scale.
Notice that two of the three machines illustrated (numbers
6 and 24) are designed to vend gum, and that all three machines
can be played with either coins or checks. This was an attempt
to circumvent to anti-gambling laws of the period. The theory
was that the player was not gambling if he got a packet of gum
for every coin he put in the machine, and that the machine was
actually a gum vender, and not a gambling device. In practice
it did not work this way, for a number of reasons. Two separ
ate actions were required to get the gum, first pulling down the
arm of the machine to get the reels spinning, second, pushing
a slide in the side of the case to release the pack of gum. An
other deterrent to getting the gum was that the machine held on
ly a small amount of gum inreiation to the amount of play the
machine would get. When the short gum supply was exhausted
the players would ofcourse continue to operate the unit. Then
again, the gum was not of the highest quality, and often those
who chose the gum did not do it a second time I
It is impossible to tell from the illustrations, but I believe
that numbers 24 and 25 are of the variety called "10 stop" ma
chines. On all but the earliest slot machines nine symbols are
always visible in the reel window. Part of the excitement in
playing is seeing the symbols just above and below the center,
or pay-line. How often have we heard said, or said ourselves,
"Look*. If that bell had just been on the next line I would have
won.n Well, the early manufacturers were no dummies. They
.com
m
:
u
m
e
knew that if a desireable
symbol
be made to show up just
us could
d fro de-m
e
above or below the
pay-line,
the
player
would be encouraged to
d
loa one .a more
rca timeM. So, they would print twenty
n
play again, w njust
o
ww
w
symbols D on a :/ reel
that could only stop on ten of theml 11 Ten of
/
http were there just for looks; needless to say, they
the symbols
were all desirable ones. As far as I can tell, this practice end
ed about 1915. The old Watling machines were very well built,
and are considered prized collectors items today.
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