Even that pull lever that inspired the name “one-armed bandit” is simply an aesthetic mirage with no real use other than to initiate a random number generator that ultimately determines if a player chalks up a win or strikes out.

Today’s slot machine is largely an electronic experience– a mix of random number generators, video and light displays, computer processing, card readers, and every technological gizmo imaginable. The only problem is that they are quickly running out of Morgan and Peace dollars and they are being replaced by American Eagles.Editorial Staff | Posted on Aug| Want to beat back those nostalgia blues and play slots like in the good old days – with coins, buckets, and levers? Here’s where you can go By Sean Chaffin It costs 25c to play, and if the 'silver dollar' symbol comes up on the payline, it dispenses a real silver dollar. I know of one casino in Reno, Cal-Neva, that still has a few slot machines that pay out silver dollars. As for the appeal of hearing the coins come out of the machine, the slot manufacturers synthesized that sound so you can still hear the 'jingle' when you cash out. Most people disliked the idea of having to lug big, heavy tubs of coins to the cashiers' window, not to mention the fact that your hands would turn black from scooping the coins out of the tray. The new technology is and has been a huge success. The first machines were penny slots, but the other denominations soon followed. The (cashless) ticket in/ticket out technology was developed in Australia at the same time that the Aussies came up with the idea of muilti-line video slots. All of the coins that you could see were mostly Morgan and some Peace dollars. All of the silver dollars were housed in a glass case atop the machine. The Riviera Hotel & Casino had one machine with a jackpot of $100,000 in silver dollars until about 6 or 7 years ago. However, there were still many slot machines in use that dispensed 1c, 5c, 10c, 25c, 50c and even $1 coins.

The new owner found bags and bags and bags piled up in a basement, and they contained not only silver dollars but many vintage casino chips as well.

The Fitzgerald Hoard wasn't discovered until several years ago when the heirs sold some of his warehouses in the Reno area. The well-known Binion and Fitzgerald Hoards were the accumulations of all of the silver dollars that were removed from the machines at that time and then stored away only to be (nearly) forgotten. The switch from silver dollars to $1 gaming tokens began in the mid-to-late 60's when the government changed to clad coinage.

Old coin vegas slot machines