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According to Legal Slots, the term slot machines was originally used for all automatic vending machines as well as for the gambling devices, it was not until the 20th century that the term became restricted to the latter. A "fruit machine" is one British term for a slot machine. The one-armed bandit is another popular nickname.

The first mechanical slot machine was the Liberty Bell, invented in 1895 by car mechanic,Charles Fey (1862–1944) of San Francisco. The Liberty Bell slot machine had three spinning reels. Diamond, spade, and heart symbols were painted around each reel, plus the image of a cracked Liberty Bell. A spin resulting in three Liberty Bells in a row gave the biggest payoff, a grand total of fifty cents or ten nickels.

The original Liberty Bell slot machine can still be seen be at the Liberty Belle Saloon & Restaurant in Reno, Nevada. Other Charles Fey machines include: the Draw Power, and Three Spinde and the Klondike. In 1901, Charles Fey invented the first draw poker machine. Charles Fey was also the inventor of the trade check separator, which was used in the Liberty Bell. The hole in the middle of the trade check allowed a detecting pin to distinguish fake nickels or slugs from real nickels. Fey rented his machines to saloons and bars based on a 50/50 split of the profits.

MORE INFO HERE>>http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/Slot_Machines.htm

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Detroit has 3 casinos. It's the  Las Vegas of the east. Yes, we are east of the Mississippi. And the Misourri. Anyway,, across the Det. River is Windsor Ontario, where there are 2 more casinos and a race track !

 Slot Machines are fun if you can find one of the older  2 cent slots, b/c it gives you so many free spins, and some of those free spins generate other free spins . If you decide how much you can afford to spend for an evenings entertainment, and you leave after that, there's no harm in playing the slots.