Close, but no cigar

[109]

Meaning: Come disappointingly close to success.
Origin: Early slot machines gave out cigars as prizes.

OR

Almost winning. - Certain games of skill at a fair or carnival would give cigars as prizes.

второе мне кажется более вероятным. какие ещё блин сигары в слот-машинах?

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[msh.livejournal.com]

The first coin-operated machines were invented in the late 1880's in the East and became popular in San Francisco. The first model of machines was not the reel slot we see now. It was more like a poker machine. Each reel had cards instead of cherries and bells. "Most of the early models, called drop card machines, employed fifty cards on five drums, tow cards short of a complete deck. Usually, the two cards missing were the jack of hearts and ten of spades cutting the possibility of a Royal Flush in half." (Marshall Fey, 13) Those machines were placed in saloons or cigar shops. Players won cigar or drinks as a prize if they hit the poker hands on the machine. They spread in the city of San Francisco rapidly. By 1890, the city had 3,117 licensed establishments with these card machines.