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New Jersey and Atlantic City have a rich heritage when it comes to entertainment. Stemming from the famous boardwalk, the state and city have housed everything from funfairs to world-class casinos during their tenure. The city's past as an entertainment spot can still be revisited and relived in many mechanical objects and ephemera in museums and collections. Below, we discuss the history of mechanical entertainment in New Jersey.
Atlantic City allowed casino gambling in 1977, and the first casino opened in May 1978. Its first slot machine is still visitable. Hiding behind a plexiglass case, it remains in operation, although it is not available for daily use. Occasionally, the casino will take the shield off and show people how it operates.
The machine itself represents a very different time when slot gaming was in its infancy. Modern online real money slots now use random number generators to determine outcomes digitally, and the ability to play them online has brought them to a new audience, many of whom have never set foot in a casino before. The franchises loved by these online gamers can now be found on computerized screens within Atlantic City casinos, and they are becoming the preferred way to slot game. Of course, you can find the old mechanical ones if you prefer to play like they did in the old days.
Before gaming consoles, and long before the age of the television or recorded sound, people would turn to music for entertainment. The problem was that you needed someone in your household who could play. Unless you had an automaton to do the work for you.
The Morris Museum is in Morristown, New Jersey, and features a host of automated machines that create music. Its exhibits are somewhat sparse, but it has a fantastic collection of these musical machines. Even more astonishing is that they all belong to one collector who donated them to the museum. They are exhibited alongside a selection of dolls that also operate using mechanical means. Any that are too fragile to be used regularly are exhibited with videos, so you can see them in action.
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At 1000 Ocean Avenue sits the Silverball Museum Arcade. It is filled with a host of mechanical pinball machines and arcade cabinets. These range from vintage pieces of years gone by, right up to modern-day arcade machines.
This is not just an excuse to play, either. The machines have a detailed history with them, discussing their importance and how they operate. Classics include pinball games themed with The Beatles, rock band Kiss, and boxing legend Muhammed Ali. For $10 entry you can easily lose an afternoon to this nostalgic throwback to the Atlantic City of yesteryear.
From slot machines to pinball, Atlantic City and New Jersey have always been a spot for entertainment. Yet, you don’t have to visit its most modern attractions or read up on its history to get a feel for the place. Blend them both by visiting these machines of the past, and you will see a side to New Jersey seldom experienced by residents or visitors.
