On April Fool’s Day, 1987, Dennis Morin put his last few coins, most of it borrowed, into a slot machine, above which was the banner "jackpot." It came up all 7's. He not only won the jackpot, but won the whole damn casino. He already had a name for it, called Wonderware.
25 years after hitting the big one, his bet is still paying off. Over 700,000 licenses have been sold globally since the payoff. In reality, though it was a gamble, it didn't take place in Las Vegas, but mostly in the kitchen of Dennis's apartment as he cooked up InTouch with some close friends.
Dennis ran the casino from 1987 through 1994. In 1995, he got bored. Something happened. The casino kept paying off, but Dennis left.
Why did he leave? What made Wonderware great - and have a lasting legacy - with a business culture that presaged the social and search companies of the Silicon Valley? Was it luck, timing, or the passion of the founders and employees?
They will tell us in the History of a Safer World....
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