Expert: Rodger Knutson - 6/20/2008

Question
Topic : slot machines

"When was the first slot machine able to give a free (bonus) game and which slot machine was that?  Does your 1981 slot machine have this capability?  

Answer
Hi Anthony,

By the sound of your question I would venture to guess you know the answer. But, it sounds fun so, I am not going to research it, instead I am going to shoot from the hip and tell you it was the 1923 Mills Goose neck Torch front, A.K.A. Mills JACKPOT "Torch" Bell Machine. This had one symbol on the reels that said "free play", There was a special slot in the reel disk for a lever to fall into and thus blocked the coin sensing rod to make the machine believe there was a coin inserted in it, and allowing the player to pull the handle one more time. I seen this also on a dutch boy once. Part two of you question asked about my 1981 slot machine? Which machine are you asking about. I know of no Ballys doing this also but there could be a special model that I don't know about. I could really work this out better if this was a game show and I could win something, but it's not and I got to get back to work. If you have something on this please respond, I would like to know.
Thank You Anthony
Sincerely
Rodger Knutson