James Jacob Ritty, inventor of the first working version of a mechanical cash register, was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1837. Ritty was a barkeeper who opened his first saloon in 1871. In 1882 he opened the Pony House in Dayton, which quickly became a local ‘hotspot’ for dining, drinking, and gaming… One of the biggest problems Ritty had at his bar was that some of his employees were dishonest, and would take the customers’ money and pocket it…”