First visited Las Vegas in 1967 when on a cross-country teen tour. We stayed at - The Sands, I think - for a couple of days. One afternoon we kids were walking by the slot machines. The machines then were taking quarters, mostly. Maybe tokens, but I don't remember any silver dollars circulating. One of the guys found a quarter on the carpet and idly dropped it into a nearby slot. Our chaperone saw it and went ballistic! He chewed us all out royally. What saved us all was that the security guard apparently didn't notice; and the slot machine didn't "hit."

My next experience with Las Vegas wasn't until 1977 when I was a roadie driving a look-alike band (The Blues Project and then the same guys as The Coasters) from L. A. to a casino (Stardust maybe), every two weeks, for their two-week engagements. Had a day job so I'd drive my van all night long to get there. Nope, I didn't gamble and didn't buy a single chip. The thought that anyone would ever want one never crossed my mind.