because hard labor was supposed to improve prisoners to the point that when their sentences had been served, jobs like being "firemen" aboard ships (shoveling coal into boiler furnaces 12 hours a day) would look attractive by comparison.
Being isolated in a cell, cranking a machine all day had quite a few unintended consequences, the social isolation and mind numbing, endless, and useless "work" producing inmates where were fit for nothing but a return to crime, this time with rage motivating them.
The crank machine here actually gives a consistent reward but even that isn't worth it for the effort required.
Which brings me to gambling. I never understood the appeal of feeding money into a machine and either pulling a crank or pushing buttons, being overwhelmed by loud noise and flashing lights, with only the possibility of a reward as a motivation. Hell, you might as well get a job and get paid for that kind of effort. I formed that opinion when I was six and played nickel slot machines when the bouncer wasn't looking. It just wasn't fun.
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