Today The record, read. Every machine keeps count of every game. Now the room can read it.
- 1890s Card drums. Five drums of playing cards dealt a poker hand. Hence ‘poker machine’, then ‘pokie’.
- 1910 Fruit and the bar. Fruit flavours reach the reels; a gum packet becomes the bar.
- 1970s The screen. Video screens arrive, and buttons take over from the lever.
- Today The record, read. Every machine keeps count of every game. Now the room can read it. On the phone: 92.3% paid back, set 91.4%, 7,647 spins.