We've all heard some of the phrases and the stories behind them.

"Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" has its roots at a craps table in downtown (and someone please feel free to add details) and what I heard is that a passline bet when won was enough to pay for the casino's chicken dinner special.

Earlier today I was visiting with a client who has a huge collection of vintage slot machines. I have never before seen such a collection! He had several hundred, all in working order, many in pristine condition, and it was suitable for a museum display. I told him that I would have paid to see what he had collected over more than 35 years.

When we came to the room with the first slot machines ever made (yes he has the first slot machine ever made -- the "Liberty Bell") he showed me a small machine and told me it was the origin of the phrase "close but no cigar."

Here's what he told me:

This small slot machine was a bar top device that featured symbols of playing cards. When the reels stopped to show "two pair" the barkeeper would award the player a cigar. As the player put in his coin and triggered the reels to spin, if only one pair showed the barkeeper would say "close but no cigar."

Of course there are different stories, different folklore, about casino terminology.

Do you have some stories to share?