A casino owned by Soboba Casino in California joined John Glenn, Ham the Astrochimp and Laika the space dog in a first last week: sending the first slot machine into space.
Well, not exactly space, because that doesn’t actually begin until about 70 miles. But it is higher than any slot machine has ever gone.
The casino celebrated its 20th anniversary by hitching a ride aboard a weather balloon launched from Lovelock, Nevada for a two-hour trip. Because the machine didn’t need to breathe air, it wasn’t even inside the craft, which was built by JP Aerospace.
The craft went about 19 miles above the earth. The slot machine was recovered 16 hours later after it landed in a fairly remote location that required some off-roading and a 12-hour hike to locate.
The slot machine was actually a miniature version of a casino model, standing less than a foot tall and weighing 2.5 pounds.
The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians opened their casino on June 1995. Their “space slot” will now be put on display at the casino.
