| Slot Machine
History
Today the largest group of casino players
are playing slots. It wasn't always
this way, as late as the mid-seventies
slots were not thought of serious games
of chance. They were often played by
the female companions of male table
players, husbands were often seen giving
their wives money to play the slots
with while they went off to play the
more serious table games. In those days
a "respectable" table player
wouldn't be caught playing the slots.
The original slot machines were mechanical
devices and some cheats tried various
ways to beat the house. People tried
everything from the use of magnets to
drilling a hole through the side of
the machines, all in an attempt to influence
the mechanism. There was even a legal
method discovered by a few that involved
a style of pulling the handle that controlled
the drop of one or more of the reels.
This increased the players odds greatly,
and caused the casino operators some
concern until a method was devised to
remove this advantage. The manufacturers
have kept modifying and refining the
machines to keep the games honest.
Today the vast majority of slot machines
are electronic and computer controlled
so that outside manipulating of the
machines by cheaters is now just a part
of slot machine history.
It was the introduction and rapid acceptance
of video games that changed the slot
machine forever, the casino operators
developed a new line of electronic slot
machines, ones that offered vivid graphics
and exciting sound effects. The casino
operators also added further refinements
such as connecting several machines
together and taking a small percentage
of every play and adding it to a jackpot
total. If no one hits the jackpot for
some time it can grow into a huge amount,
and although the odds are small it will
payoff and one lucky player will win
big. These "jackpots" also
helped to increase slot popularity to
where it is today.
Today slots are the most popular form
of casino gambling, with up to 40% of
casino revenue originating from these
"one armed bandits".
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