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Prior to Prohibition and the Volstead Act of 1919, gambling was a mainstay of the saloon. Patrons played card games such as poker, wagered on bagatelle and billiard games, and bet on the outcome of coin-operated, mechanical horse racing and strength testing devices. Payout slot machines simplified gambling and functioned automatically. Played by an individual or in a group, slot machines dispensed rewards for winning bets with minimal oversight by the owner. Early slot machines incorporated a vertically mounted gaming wheel marked by segmented colors. Freestanding models in ornately carved oak and walnut cabinets stood over five feet high and were aesthetically impressive devices. When space was at a premium, saloon owners installed machines similar to the larger slots atop their bars. This countertop model by Watling features an optional music box and is decorated with characters from the Brownies cartoon series by Palmer Cox (1840–1924). "The Automatic Age: Coin-Operated Machines" is on display, pre-security, in the International Terminal. http://bit.ly/CoinOperated This image was posted on January 08, 2018.

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Prior to Prohibition and the Volstead Act of 1919, gambling was a mainstay of the saloon. This image was posted on January 08, 2018. #coinoperated #theautomaticage #coinop #vintage #antique #gamemachines #slotmachine #slotmachines
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Pinball games trace their origins to bagatelle, a fashionable eighteenth-century French table game. This image was posted on January 16, 2018. #coinoperated #theautomaticage #coinop #vintage #antique #gamemachines #slotmachine #slotmachines #bagatelle #pinball #games #tablegame
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