Vegas Q&A: Why Do Slots Use Fruit?
UPDATED: 9:20 am CDT August 30, 2005
Question: Since there's a story behind everything, I figure there must be an interesting story behind how slot machines started using fruit (cherries, melons, etc.) as symbols. Do you know what it is?Marie in Joplin, Mo.
Answer: As a matter of fact I do, Marie, and you can thank the folks at the Clark County Heritage Museum for the information.The slot machine was invented in the 1890s, but in the early 1900s the Bell Fruit Gum Company created a special version that dispensed chewing gum when players lined up the correct symbols on the reels. Those symbols represented the various fruit flavors the gum came in, including watermelon and cherry. The machines, used often at carnivals and fairs, were hugely popular. As future slots were developed, the symbols stuck.The Bell Fruit Gum Company's influence on the slots goes beyond fruit symbols. Next to those cherries and melons was the company's logo, shaped like a stick of gum ... or perhaps a bar. That's right, the bar symbols got their start on the same machines.Keep in mind, slot machines were mostly just a novelty in serious casinos until the 1960s or even 1970s. Early Strip casinos had a few, but they were mostly there to entertain the wives of men doing the "serious" gambling at the tables.Today, slot machines take up the bulk of the casino floor and bring in the lion's share of the revenue. But even now, decades later, many are still doing so with those fruit and bar symbols originally created to promote chewing gum.Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it?If you have a question you'd like to submit, click here.
Answer: As a matter of fact I do, Marie, and you can thank the folks at the Clark County Heritage Museum for the information.The slot machine was invented in the 1890s, but in the early 1900s the Bell Fruit Gum Company created a special version that dispensed chewing gum when players lined up the correct symbols on the reels. Those symbols represented the various fruit flavors the gum came in, including watermelon and cherry. The machines, used often at carnivals and fairs, were hugely popular. As future slots were developed, the symbols stuck.The Bell Fruit Gum Company's influence on the slots goes beyond fruit symbols. Next to those cherries and melons was the company's logo, shaped like a stick of gum ... or perhaps a bar. That's right, the bar symbols got their start on the same machines.Keep in mind, slot machines were mostly just a novelty in serious casinos until the 1960s or even 1970s. Early Strip casinos had a few, but they were mostly there to entertain the wives of men doing the "serious" gambling at the tables.Today, slot machines take up the bulk of the casino floor and bring in the lion's share of the revenue. But even now, decades later, many are still doing so with those fruit and bar symbols originally created to promote chewing gum.Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it?If you have a question you'd like to submit, click here.The Full Story
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In Next Week's Column
Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.Plus, don't forget to send your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today!Click here to go to the main page of Vegas4Visitors.com and see all of the fantastic resources Vegas4Visitors has to offer you when planning your next trip to Las Vegas.Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors
