![]() ![]() Because a player purchased a gumball with each pull, the makers claimed that playing did not constitute gambling. Players won different numbers of points - redeemable for drinks or cigarettes - for different hands. With each nickel, this compact machine not only dispensed a gumball, but also spun five mechanical reels printed with playing card values to produce a poker hand. Authorities have tried to ban slot machines almost since they were invented in the late 19th century, and their makers have continually modified the devices to skirt the law. At least that was the theory of many tavern owners. When is gambling not gambling? When you're buying gum, too. Trade stimulator gumball slot machine seized from a Shullsburg, Wisconsin tavern in 1945. ![]() View the original source document: WHI 2288 Here authorities exhibit slot machines seized during a raid in Marathon County, January 1924. Wisconsin officials tried for decades to suppress slot machines. Enlarge Slot seizures in Marathon County, 1924 ![]()
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