An explosion if inventions during the American industrial revolution (1875-1900) were joined by another major group of inventions, coin operated
Slot Machines and other machines designed for gambling and amusement. This category offers a few of these early
Casino Collectibles and items from the 1950's Casino's in Las Vegas, Nevada to modern times. From the 1950's until the mid 1970's most of Casino collectibles were from Nevada.
A tremendous growth in Casino's occurred in 1988 with the passage of the Indian Gaming Act. Later government operated lotteries started.
In the 1990's there was rapid growth of new Casino's and there were 300,000 slot machines operating. This increase in gaming from the 1970's to the 1990's and up to today allowed the hobby of collecting Casino collectible to grow very rapidly.
Casino Collectibles
Some of the more popular collectibles in eBay's Casino caterogy include
Playing Cards
which are typically hand-sized rectangular piece of heavy paper or thin plastic
used for playing card games. A complete set of cards is a pack or deck. Playing
cards are often used as props in magic tricks, and a number of card games
involve gambling.
Card Dealer Shoe is a container that hold several decks of playing cards. A
deck of playing cards is randomized by a procedure called shuffling to provide
an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to
ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome. A
Card Shuffler is a mechinical device use to shuffle playing cards and they
can be found on eBay.
Dealer Buttons are used on the playing table in card games such as Texas
Hole'em poker.
Dice
are small cubes 1 to 2 cm along an edge, whose faces are numbered from one to
six patterns of dots called pips.
Gambling
Manuals and Strategy books are available in this category.
Roulette Wheels
are used as a casino and gambling game (Roulette is a French word meaning "small
wheel"). A croupier turns a round roulette wheel which has 37 or 38 separately
numbered pockets in which a ball must land. Many American casinos offer free
memberships in "slot clubs", which return a small percentage of the amount of
money that is bet in the form of complimentary food, drinks, hotel rooms, or
merchandise. These clubs require that players use
Slot Cards
that is inserted into the slot machine, to allow the casino to track the
player's action.
Table Layouts are mats that look just like a Casino gaming table but for use
on home tables. If you can find what you are looking for in the above categories
try
Other Casino Items.
How about a beautiful
Sign
from one of the best casino's in fabulous Las Vegas, NV. Still can't find what
you are looking for, then try eBay's
Other Casino Memorabilia category. It may have just what you want. You may
just find a rare item at a bargin price.
Casino Chips, Strikes and Tokens
There are two types of tokens used in casinos: multicolor tokens of various
denominations called
Chips, used primarily in table games; and
Metal Tokens, used primarily in slot machines.
Money is traded for the tokens or chips in a casino at a cashier station (the
cage), at the gaming tables, or at a slot machine. The tokens are
interchangeable with money at the casino, but have no value outside of the
establishment. These tokens are employed for several reasons. They are more
convenient to use than currency, and also make theft more difficult. Because of
the uniform size and regularity of stacks of chips, they are easier to count
than paper currency when used on a table.
One of our favorite chips are the ones used in
Illegal Gambling Clubs of the 30's 40's and 50's.
Silver Strikes
are a prize token housed in a round two-piece hard transparent plastic case that
is dispensed from a slot machine in lieu of coins or redeemable tokens. Silver
Strikes are highly sought after items.
Slot Machines and Trade Stimulators
A
Slots Machine
is a certain type of gambling machine. Classically, a slot machine is a
coin-operated machine with three or more reels that rotate when a lever on the
side of the machine is pulled. The machines include a currency detector that
validates the coin or money inserted to play. The slot machine is also known
informally as a one-armed bandit because of its appearance. The machine
typically pays off based on patterns of symbols visible on the front of the
machine when it stops. Modern computer technology has resulted in many
variations on the slot machine concept. Today, slot machines have become one of
the most popular attractions in casinos.
The
Antique Coin Slot Machine
was invented in 1895 by Charles Fey of San Francisco, California. The first
machine, known as Liberty Bell, had pictures of diamonds, hearts, spades, and
cracked Liberty Bells on three mechanical reels. The Antique Slot Machines has
to be the Most Popular collectible of all the Casino Memorabilia.
Trade Stimulators were designed to stimulate business either by attracting
customers into a specific store or by giving the customer another reason to
spend his loose change when paying for merchandize. Even though trade
stimulators were extensively used in the 1890s, they weren't called trade
stimulators until 1907 when the Mills Novelty Company used the term in one of
its catalogues. The bartender or store attendant paid winners over the counter
since trade stimulators did not automatically pay out cash like slot machines.
Winners usually received free merchandise, such as a cigar or a pack of
cigarettes. Many trade stimulators, especially those made in the 1930s and
1940s, also dispensed gumball. The gumball feature allowed operators to claim
that the stimulators were vending machines and not gambling devices.
