Loosens his machines
but won't tell players

     Years ago, driving back and forth from Las Vegas to Reno, I could always count on a forest of outdoor boards to spring up as I neared the next town. The message that predominated was "Loose Slots." I used to shake my head. Even if the slots really were "loose," only an amateur would advertise such a thing. "Loose" is just a claim--and a weak one at that. A "loose" machine can wipe you out just as fast as a "tight" machine. And if a player believes your "loose" claim and loses, he won't be back. What's more, he'll knock your store to everyone. But now comes an owner who actually did "loosen" his machines and vowed never to advertise it. I wasn't surprised when I read about South Point's Michael Gaughan in the Las Vegas Sun. In my first week as Review-Journal sports editor in the 50s, my first feature story was about his father, Jackie. I called him "The college-bred bookmaker from Creighton." Pretty soon Jackie owned downtown Las Vegas. In the Sun story, Liz Benstron writes,"Michael figured most players are superstitious and suspicious of any changes, so they wouldn't believe the casino's claims anyway." And that closes the case. I should stop by South Point one of these days and talk to Michael. I still remember a few stories Jackie told me and maybe he'd like to hear them.

Type battle still hot
but serif faces lead

     "Magazine editors and art directors," writes Colin Wheildon in his Communication, or Just Making Pretty Shapes, "argue that sans serif body type is clean, uncluttered and attractive--and so it is." Wheildon then goes on to destroy the myth of sans serif as a worthwhile type face for body copy. "They also argue that difficulties with reading comprehension will pass as people become more and more used to seeing and reading sans serif. People will grow to live with it and it will soon become comprehensible to all, and all will love it. This is nonsense. It's like saying instead of feeding your children Wheaties, you should feed them wood shavings because they'll get used to them and in time will learn to love them." Wheildon then reveals the results of his five-year study of reading comprehension. Layouts with serif (Roman) type faces scored 67% comprehension, while layouts with sans serif type faces scored just 12% comprehension. Despite such evidence, sans serif type is used in virtually every print ad. But newspapers and books, at least, are still printed in Roman faces. I like a few sans serif faces for headlines--as long as they're in 18-point or larger. But as body copy--never.

Quotebook:
sharp blows
at conformity

     "All music is folk music. Never heard no horse sing a song."

     "I always turn to the sports page first. It records accomplishments. The front page is nothing but failure."

     "Behind the phony tinsel of Hollywood lies the real tinsel."

      "The best time I ever had with Joan Crawford was when I pushed her down the stairs in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

     Reviewing Katherine Hepburn: "She ran the whole gamut of emotions from A to B."

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