The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-09-30
Slot Machine Shows One Chance
 In e, Thousand To Win Jackpot Professor Takes It Apart Passes Tip On To Suckers
BY PAUL HARRISON NEA Service Writer

New York,-Are you one or the millions of gambling Americans who like to watch the wheels go around the slot machine. Do you sometimes drop your nickels, or even quarters into these mechan- istic marvels of small-time suck erdom and wait expectantly for a gratifying shower of little brass slugs to reward your venture? Do you really think that you can beat those madly whirling, gaily colored wheels?
 If you do, a New York university professor has given you something to think about.
 His name is Dr E. E. Free. but he has proved that there Is nothing gratis about slot machines. For the enlightment, or perhaps the disil- lusionment, of his science classes. he has taken apart one of the ubiquitous jitney juggernauts to see what makes it click.
 This was a nickel slot machine with a better-than average reputa- ton for generosity. It was essen- tially like the hundreds of thou- sands that are scattered through cigar, candy and drug stores in scores of American cities. But 1t was so arranged that players chances would be slightly better than on some.
 It has been estimated this year that there are about 25.00O slot machines in New York city alone. many of them located where school children can operate them. The same estimate places the total rev. enue of the machines at more than $1, 1,000,00O a week.
 Numerous legal battles in this state finally have resulted in high court decision that the ma chimes are within the law as long as they vend candy or gum and as long as they occasionally return slugs which are stamped as-being "Of No Value"
 Machines Widely Distributed
 In most cases. however, 1t Is known that these tokens are re- turnable for cash. Also. there are very few of the devices which even pretend to give the customer a small package of cheap candy Tor his money. So the police now and then seize few hundred Of the proved gambling devices, and glee- fully wreck their complicated in- teriors with sledge hammers.
 Muck the same conditions exist in many other cities and towns. Gam bling goes on, and the slot tery" industry Is so lucrative that machines which are destroyed are soon replaced by new ones.
 Lotteries. pools, C punchboards and the like all are enjoying prosperity which reflects some. thing of desperation on the part or needy persons.
 But few. of these schemes offer such a small gamblers percent age" as does the snug and glisten- ing slot machine, with its three whirling wheels of painted cher ries. bells. plums. bars, peaches and highly symbolic lemons.
 Half of Symbols Phoncy For instance, here is what Dr Free found out about the particu- lar machine he dissected:
 There were 20 symbols on each wheel, but every alternate symbol was quite meaningless because the machine could stop at only ten of them. Half of them, therefore, were alluring decorations to make a player think his chances were better than they were. In conjunction with each wheel was a steel disc, invisible within the machine. containing holes cor responding to the symbols on It's wheel. If the discs, by an extreme ly remote chance, happened to stop SO that certain holes coincid- edi steel plungers would drop through the perforations and trip q release mechanism which would send down Q shower of brass tok- ems.
 CTS and holes determined the mum. Der of tokens returned. Thus. If one plunger dropped through two discs, the machine paid two sIugs; If through all three. four slugs are returned. If q second plunger penetrated three discs. eight tok- ems arc paid. The third pIunger dropped twelve, q fourth sixteen, an da fifth tho "jack-po".
 One in . Thousand Naturally, however. such com. bInations seldom occurred, sinco the slot -machine racket is in no sense philanthropy. h fact, pr
 Free discovered by matbematienI calculation that the chance Of get. ting two sliiss for one inserted was exactly eight and one-third t0 one. That was the highest percentaEe offered by the hard.hearted device. The combinations jpayins sixieen sIuEs occurred onse Go every DUO
 times,
 Tho barshaPsbar eembInatoIp, whl0h is the hepe of every "HlotS tsfy" fan, was found to pay a jnelts