LEGENDS OF GAMING “Long hours are the norm as far as I am concerned
however I have a number of other interests and sensible diet is a help to anyone.”
RCM: You always seem like a guy with few problems, but
there is the suspicion that not everything is always hunky- dory with most people at the best of times. Do you wish that you had carried on with your medical studies? LEN AINSWORTH: “I have no regrets not carrying on with medicine but I have always been medically inclined, my father having been a dentist and I have great interest in medical research and the kind of organisations involved – I guess it’s the temperament one is born with.”
RCM: I read in the Roy Masters article that while living in England some doctors and lawyers friends called you ‘The Ferret’, and also that under other circumstances people called you ‘The Professor’. Although they might seem like opposites, both nicknames are tempered with the nuance that one drives to search with intensity. Would you also add creativity among your attributes? LEN AINSWORTH: “It is correct that I was
christened Ferret by one of my friends who was one of the first to realise I always read what’s on the other side of the paper and, indeed, on the other side of every proposition. “As for being called ‘The Professor’ I have, in fact,
been asked that a number of times by strangers perhaps because of my professional associates and my conservative attitudes – creativity is very certainly among my good fortunes – I always say yes! And get a smile in return.”
RCM: Finally, you are credited with the invention of the poker machine and are indeed Australia’s poker machine
king. Now, this is not the only thing you have invented, and we would like to know which part of your work or creation has ever given you most satisfaction. LEN AINSWORTH: “My creativity has been largely
involved in the development of slot machines as, after all, that has been my business for 60 years and I have been responsible for a lot of developments and new features – it is fair to say that I turned the world to five-reel machines as the standard, the reason being the versatility of jackpots that could be provided. I was also at the forefront of the introduction and recognition of the qualities of video slots especially dual screen and features. “It is not generally known that in the 1950s and
‘60s we were substantial manufacturers of vending machines/juke boxes and scientific equipment. “There is little doubt that the manufacture and
marketing of slot machines along with their development in terms of features and the pleasure derived by their players gives me more satisfaction than anything else other than my family including some 16 grandchildren, with more to come!” “I consider myself as most fortunate to have fallen
into the machine industry by chance and to have had talents that suit it well, especially over the period when gaming has progressively gained recognition and, in particular, adequate licensing regimes in most cases. In that connection Nevada and New Jersey are to be thanked for the controls they progressively introduced for the benefit and integrity of the gaming industry worldwide. “Finally, I’ve had the good fortune to have had
literally thousands of wonderful employees without whom I could not have provided those many things that have been achieved – and there are more to come.”
26 JULY/AUGUST 2013
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