The Legend of Slot Machines

So you've heard about the fairy tales of Cinderella and the Little Mermaid, the legend of Paul Bunyan and the others but have you heard about the long-lost (well, okay, it's not that lost) legend of the slot machines? If not, listen well because what you're about to be told is a well-kept secret.

Once upon a time, in the late 1880's if you have to know, the land of milk and honey was enveloped in boredom as the poor people of this land couldn't afford to buy tickets to watch plays in the theater or travel far to other countries for entertainment. All they could do in fact was to go to the church, read the tabloids, walk in the park, drink in the saloon and the cycle goes on and on.

But one day, a magician who goes by the name of Charles Fey had a brilliant idea that would provide affordable entertainment to the poor people. He himself was a poor man, a simple machinist in the California Electric Works, so he was certainly well-acquainted with the mundane quality of the lives of the poor.

Anyway, because of his firsthand experience of the painful boredom that accurately described his lifestyle, Charles Fey decided to invent the first slot machine and he named it the Liberty Bell.

The Liberty Bell of Charles Fey is not like the slot machines that we see today. But that doesn't mean that the prototype was fey - it was just different. To operate the Liberty Bell, one would still have to insert coins. It was how the game was played that makes it different.

The Liberty Bell more closely resembled a poker machine. It had five reels and each reel contained a deck of cards. More often than not, two cards - Jack and a 10, usually - were removed from the game to decrease the chances of players spinning or hitting a royal flush and naturally, increase the odds in favor of the house.

The Liberty Bell was then introduced to the masses for the first time in a saloon in San Francisco. And guess what happened?

It became an instant success, of course! It was such a success that Charles Fey, along with a colleague of his, decided to quit his work at the electric company to set up his own business and concentrate on producing lots and lots of slot machines.

Since then, everybody lived happily ever after because everyone knows that when you get bored, all you have to do is go to the nearest slot machine and your wish for entertainment is instantly granted