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Prior to the predominance of the three-reel, automatic-payout slot machine, early mechanical gambling devices employed a variety of clever actions to induce patrons to drop their coins and try their luck. The Clawson Slot Machine Company in Newark, New Jersey, founded by industry pioneer Clement Clawson in 1889, was the first firm to produce a diverse line of gambling machines. Clawson’s “Latest and Best,” the Lively Cigar Seller, operated on the simple principle of heads-or-tails and presented a prominent patent warning on the face of its cabinet. One can only imagine the techniques employed by players attempting to affect the course of their coins in Kelley’s simple coin-in-chute device, the Loop-The-Loop or E. D. Parker’s Spiral. All objects are courtesy of Joe Welch American Antique Museum in San Bruno, California. See "#GamesofChance: Gambling Devices of the Mechanical Age" and the accompanying photography show, "The American Saloon: Historical Photographs from the Collection of Roger E. Kislingbury", on display, post-security, in Terminal 3. http://bit.ly/GamesofChance
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