The first thing that you will see when you enter a casino is the slot machines. You will likely see hundreds to thousands of them in an American casino.
These brightly-colored machines are a mainstay on casino floors and invite you to try one. They generate anywhere from 65% to 80% of the revenue generated by casinos.
Today, slot machines are important for both casinos and gamblers. However, the only reason they’re so popular is their evolution over time.
The original slot machines were not designed to look like today’s games. Although they were very popular at the time, slot machines didn’t get as much attention than today’s real-money slots.
Each modification made them more appealing to gamblers. This is why slot machines are so popular today.
We will be looking at the history of slots machines to help you understand how they have changed.
We’ll explain how and why the first slot machines were invented, what those iconic fruit symbols are associated with, and how online casino sites are changing their ways.
You may be curious about the year that the first slot machine was created. History experts disagree on the year that the first slot machine was invented. This is because several similar machines were popular at the same time.
Because it is difficult to determine which machine was the original slot machine, it is difficult to pinpoint when exactly the first one appeared.
The answer will vary depending on how you define it, but all the earliest variations of slot machines were created between 1891-1898.
In the 1880s “nickel in-the-slot” machines became very popular.
These games can technically be called the first slot machines.
These games are not considered to be slots by most gamblers and historians because they don’t involve gambling.
Two toy horses were used in one nickel-in-the slot machine. The horses would race if a player placed a coin.
A balance scale was used by some machines. Your coin would tip the scale if it could. This would allow you to connect any coins previously connected. This was very similar to coin pushing games, which are still available at arcades today.
These games were common in saloons or gentleman’s clubs. Gambling was encouraged in saloons, as it was easy to leave the machines on top of the bar without taking up too much space.
Innovators, toy companies and other businesses found ways to include prizes and bets quickly.
The predecessor to modern-day video pokies was the first game that allowed gambling.
Sittman and Pitt Company used five drums each with ten playing card drums. They used a standard deck, but removed the tens of spades as well as the jack of hearts.
The possibility of a royal flush was reduced by removing these cards. This meant that the saloon owner wouldn’t have to pay as many prizes. This was a simple way to increase your house edge.
The machine would spin the drums at random intervals, stopping each one when it stopped. Based on their poker hand, the bartender could award prizes to the player. These prizes included free beer and cigars.
You would need to insert your coin into the machine and then pull a lever. After you insert the coin, the drums spin. The lever activates the stopping mechanism.
The levers were used by the players to stop the drums spinning. They believed that they could pull the lever at a particular time to increase their chances to win.
Many slot machine players believe that hitting the button and pulling the lever at just the right moment will win them the jackpot. This is just one myth associated with slot machines.
Slot machines today are much more sophisticated than the original one-armed bandits Sittman or Pitt created.
They don’t use mechanical stopping devices attached on a lever. This makes it impossible to control the game. The superstitions do not die.
These coin-activated, electronic poker machines were very similar to the way we gamble today. These machines are considered to be the original slot machine by historians and gamblers. This is why the 1891 invention of the first slot machine is considered a success.
Some historians still don’t believe these machines should be considered the first slot machines because they didn’t automatically pay out payouts.
You most likely won merchandise but not cash. Charles Fey was the one who came in to help.
Sittman, Pitt and their poker-based model of a slot machine deserve credit. Charles Fey, however, is often the reason they are overlooked.
Charles Fey is sometimes called the “Father of Slot Machines” or the “Thomas Edison of Slot Machines”, partly because he created many variations.
While all his variations of slot machines were very popular, he made some changes to fix cheating issues and other problems that owners and players had with the machines.
Thomas Edison claimed that he was a genius because he discovered 10,000 ways that didn’t work.
Charles Fey’s slot machine inventions never failed in the same way. He started with a basic machine and then found many ways to improve it.
Most historians and gamblers agree that Charles Fey is the inventor of the first slot machine.
His Liberty Bell machine had an automated payout system, and used symbols similar to the ones we use today.
These two elements make it the first slot machine that is cash-based. Charles Fey is the man who invented the modern slot machine.
Charles Fey was originally born August Fey in Bavaria in 1862. Charles Fey was his new name after he got sick of Gus, which he didn’t like.
Fey gained experience in mechanical and engineering skills as a teenager by working on farm equipment. Fey worked on electrical and nautical equipment as well as intercoms in France, Great Britain and the United States of America.
His manufacturing experience gave him the ability to engineer his inventions. He eventually started his own business with one of his colleagues. Both created their own version of the slot machines and created the automated payment system together.
Charles Fey developed several slot machine variants between 1887-1898. It was the 4-11-44 variant, which became quite popular. He decided to leave his job with his coworker and start his own factory.
He created the Card Bell game, which was similar in concept to the Pitt and Sittman poker games.
Fey’s machine had only three reels, instead of five. It was also the first machine to offer automated cash payouts.
Fey changed his game once more just one year later. Fey added symbols to his reels instead of using a deck. These symbols were hearts, diamonds and spades as well as horseshoes and an image representing the Liberty Bell. Slot machines still use the gold liberty bell symbols today.
For three Liberty Bell symbols, you were eligible for a 50c payout. Charles Fey dubbed his machine the Liberty Bell.
Fey produced more than 3000 copies of this game.
Charles Fey didn’t patent his game designs, so Charles Fey’s model for the Liberty Bell was quickly copied.
It was copied by other manufacturers, and soon Liberty Bell games and other variations were available in dozens more saloons throughout the country.
The Liberty Bell game is considered the first modern-day video slot machine by most historians. It offered cash payouts and gambling. The lever system was used to activate the game.
Because it was the first coin-based video game, The Liberty Bell attracted lots of attention. But not all attention was positive.
Some players used fake wooden coins to cheat the game instead of real nickels. Both Fey and saloon owners who offered the games were less successful due to this cheating.
Fey set out to solve the problem.
Charles Fey changed the payment processor to include Charles Fey’s world-first detecting pin. There was a small hole at the center of the trade check. The detecting pin checked the center of the coin when it was inserted into the machine to detect counterfeit coins.
Charles Fey developed many variations of the Liberty Bell Machine over several years. The first Liberty Bell machine was released in 1895, according to most sources.
The machine with the detecting pin did not exist until 1898.
Many slot machines still have Liberty Bell symbols. However, when people think about slot machines, they often think of fruit images.
How did we go from liberty bells and horseshoes to cherries and lemons? It may surprise you to learn that chewing gum is the key.
Slot machines were initially popularized in saloons and paid in beer or cigars when they first appeared. Charles Fey introduced cash payouts.
In the early 1900s, the United States saw the rise of the prohibition movement. Slot machines were often linked to alcohol.
Therefore, moral and religious leaders discouraged the use of slot machines and advocated for gambling laws.
Charles Fey was a San Francisco resident, and his slot machines took over the city. In San Francisco, there were over 3,300 Liberty Bells machines.
In 1909, the city banned cash-slot machines after listening to religious leaders. The slot machines weren’t just restricted to San Francisco. They quickly spread throughout the country.
Chicago was the epicenter of cash machine manufacturing after San Francisco banned them. Chicago was home to a large mob that became involved in the slot machine industry.
Politicians were further convinced by this connection to organized crime that slot machines were bad news. Anti-gambling legislation was adopted almost as fast as the games.
Many companies were manufacturing slot machines in the United States when the bans came into effect. They didn’t want to lose their profits due to the new laws so they devised a way around.
Industry Novelty Company was the company with the best idea. Their machines were chewing gum dispensers, not slot machines.
Customers would insert a coin and pull the lever to watch the reels spin just like in slot machines. The Industry Novelty Company, however, added images of fruits to replace liberty bells or playing cards.
If all the reels land on a specific fruit, the machine will give you chewing gum that has the same flavor as the coins.
The Mills Novelty Company developed their own chewing gum version of the chewing gum concept.
The bar symbol was added by them, which is still in use today. The machine could offer three pieces of chewing gum if the reels hit on the bar symbol.
The Mills Novelty Company also included the first jackpot in their designs. Some machines featured a few combinations that could trigger the machine’s ability to withdraw all the coins it has collected.
Chicago was the home of Mills Novelty Company. They made both fruit machines and cash machines.
In 1916, the cash jackpot was included in cash machines. To make it equivalent to the fruit machines, they added the bar symbols.
The country was home to both cash-based and fruit-based slots machines. Although anti-gambling laws were passed in several other cities, slot machines remained the same.
The fruit machine concept was a good fit for companies looking to find loopholes in laws that prohibited gambling.
The fruit symbols had the unintended effect of changing public perception.
Chewing gum is also innocent. Fruit symbols are completely innocent. Cartoonish images of fruit can often seem childish. Many customers felt a nostalgic connection to the cartoonish images of fruit.
These simple symbols of fruit changed how the public felt about slots machines. They were no longer viewed as gambling machines, which were only available in saloons.
Since then, slot machine makers and casinos have used fruit symbols. Because of their positive effect on customers, they used fruit symbols even when they made cash payout machines.
While some customers might be wary of the negative effects of gambling, they may still enjoy the fun of playing fruit machines.
Because fruit symbols were associated with slot machines, they symbolized innocence and fun. Casinos want to make their customers happy and feel carefree.
They still use fruit symbols to express their feelings, even though the slot machine industry has changed dramatically since 1910.
Although anti-gambling legislation was introduced in the wake prohibition, it remained much longer than the alcohol ban.
Although fruit machines with chewing gum prizes have been around for many years, they lost their appeal.
Nevada was the exception. After other states had passed anti-gambling laws, the state legalized gambling in 1931. This made Nevada the only place where you could find cash payout slots machines.
Las Vegas was the epicenter of organized crime between 1931 and 1970.
Las Vegas was home to representatives of crime syndicates from New York City, Chicago, Kansas City, and Kansas City.
Each mob had its own casino, and used legal casinos to launder money and commit other crimes.
Chicago’s mob was connected to slot machine manufacturers so they provided many Las Vegas casinos cash-paying slot machines.
Although all casinos in Las Vegas had slot machines, they weren’t as popular as other casino games. The Center for Gaming Research has only data on the number of slots machines that date back to 1963.
In the 1960s, Nevada had only 22,000 slots machines. This number doubled in 1973 and reached 100,000 by the 1980s.
Gambling revenue directly correlated with the addition of thousands upon thousands of slots machines. In the 1960s, Nevada earned just over $200,000,000.
This number was more than $2.5 Billion by 1980.
The number of slots machines was not the only factor that drove the increase in gambling revenue. The best gambling options were offered by both casinos and slot manufacturers. Modernization was long overdue for the slot machine, which was key to success in casinos.
In 1963, the first electromechanical slot machine was invented. The first video slot came in 1976.
These innovations made the slot machines more fun than ever, and they became the most popular form gambling in casinos.
1963 saw the most important update to the slot machine when Bally, a manufacturer, created the first electromechanical machine.
The traditional slot machine used a spring-and-lever system. A spring would spin the reels when you pull the lever. A series of gears would then clamp on each reel to stop them, much like the brakes on your car.
These slot machines were entirely dependent on simple machines for operation. Although some companies experimented with electric slot machines in 1940s, they still relied on the levers to operate them.
Bally made history when they created the first fully electromechanical slot machine. It was named Money Honey. Although there was still a lever involved in the transaction, it was only for show.
Customers were familiar with using the levers to trigger slot machines. Many believed they could alter the outcome of the game simply by pulling the lever correctly.
Money Honey retained the lever but it didn’t actually control the game. To spin, the reels required electricity.
Money Honey’s bottomless hopper was another unique feature. It could make payments up to 500 coins with the hopper.
The payouts on previous machines were limited to small coin release mechanisms. It is worth noting that the highest payouts on Charles Fey’s machines was only $5.
Combining its electromechanical design with the bottomlesshopper, the Money Honey slot machines offered something no other machine could match.
It may offer multipliers depending on how many coins the player has inserted.
Money Honey slots offered a 3-coin or 5-coin multiplier, which paid customers higher prizes if they played with 3 to 5 coins. These multipliers were the precursor to modern-day paylines.
Playing all the pay lines of a slot machine can increase your chances to win. The number of coins that you place or the number you play on each pay line will affect the payout.
Bally’s Money Honey game was a significant change in the way that slot machines work. It was not only the first electromechanical slot machine, but also had higher payouts and coin multipliers.
These features made the machine more like the modern slot machines than its predecessors. The revolution of the slot machine wasn’t over.
The next breakthrough in the slot machine industry was made quickly. The invention of video slots machines gave slot machines a new facelift less than 13 years after their first electromechanical machine.
Fortune Coin Company took the best invention of the 1960s, the color TV, and integrated it into its slot machines. Instead of using the traditional reels, they used a Sony TV with a 19-inch screen to display the spinning symbols.
In 1976, the Fortune Coin Company’s first video slot machines were offered at the Las Vegas Strip casino the Hilton Hotel. Fortune Coin was a 4-reel machine that featured three pay lines.
Fortune Coin Company had to come up with a new method to determine the outcome of the video slot machine’s outcome because it did not have reels.
The new technology used by computer scientists was used to generate random outcomes. These logic boards were the original random number generators used in casino games and slot machines.
Customers were initially skeptical about the video slots. Customers were skeptical about the video slots because they couldn’t see the reels turning. Customers didn’t know how logic boards worked because they were new technology.
The Nevada Gaming Commission approved video slots being used in casinos, despite their initial failure. International Game Technology, also known as IGT in the United States, purchased the Fortune Coin Company’s stock in 1978.
IGT was able modify the video slots machines to increase customer interest and benefit the casinos. To make the reels spin, they added visual effects.
Customers couldn’t cheat the machine software, which gave the casino more control over the payout percentages.
The machines were also smaller and equipped with individual seats so that more people could use them.
Fortunate Coin Company is credited with creating the first video slot machines. However, it was IGT’s merger that made these slots profitable.
Las Vegas saw a significant increase in the number of slots machines offered by IGT thanks to their modifications.
Atlantic City legalized casino around the same period, so IGT now had a whole new market to work with.
Video slots revolutionized the casino industry and all casinos began to offer thousands of them.
One of the most amazing facts about the history of slot machines is their coin-operated status for almost a century.
Although manufacturers updated graphics and internal mechanisms, no one thought of moving away from pennies and nickels and dimes.
The coins were carried by gamblers in quart-sized buckets. The machine would release a certain amount of coins when they won. This filled the casino with the sound of coins falling into the metal bucket.
But, the machines were never able to pay enough in slot machines to win some of the larger jackpots.
If you won more than the threshold amount (usually 500 coins), you would have to wait for a manager at the casino to visit your machine.
The casino manager would visit your machine to verify your win and complete paperwork. After all paperwork was completed, the manager would bring more coins and a security guard.
Depending on how busy the casino is, it could take up to an hour to collect your winnings. It took almost always at least half an hour.
Many gamblers found it frustrating to wait so long for their prize money. Although you may have won a huge jackpot, now you must wait and complete paperwork.
The excitement of the moment is lost if you wait too long.
MGM Corporation made all this possible. MGM built the MGM Grand Casino in the 1990s. The idea was to make the casino cashless.
Barcode scanners and bill validators were some of the key inventions that made the project a success.
They purchased gaming technology from Five Star Solutions. A barcode printer from John Yarbrough was also bought. Also, a Bill Validator from Pat Greene was purchased.
This combination of technologies resulted in a universal interface protocol protocol that can be used on virtually any type of slot machine.
MGM invited IGT and Bally Gaming, Sigma Games and other manufacturers to test the Universal Interface Board (UIB) after it was developed. The trailers were placed in the Desert Inn’s parking lot so that the manufacturers could try out the new software.
These manufacturers came together to create the first Ticket in Ticket Out (TITO), slot machine.
IGT purchased the patents for TITO machines later from MGM, so IGT is frequently credited with being the first company to offer TITO Software.
TITO machines accept dollar bills in place of coins. The machine would then print a barcoded ticket when the player was ready for cashout. To continue playing, the player can take that ticket to the cashier at the casino or to another machine.
Many slot machine players feel that the excitement of the game comes from watching the coins fall into the hopper.
This is why most slot machine manufacturers added sound effects for coin-clinking to their machines.
Others appreciated the TITO machines as they were not required to carry large plastic tubs full of coins around.
The TITO machines were initially rejected by political leaders because they felt they were only a step away credit card readers at the slot machines. They didn’t want to allow credit gambling because it is a sign that they are problem gamblers.
The trial of the TITO system was so successful that political leaders started to question their positions. To get started, the system needed cash. Credit-based games could not be played with it.
After seeing them in action, they approved of the Nevada Gaming Commission’s use of TITO slots machines.
The popularity of Ticket In Ticket Out machines grew rapidly in Las Vegas and other gambling destinations. Both the casinos and players benefited from them.
Before TITO, casinos needed separate machines for quarters, pennies, nickels and dimes. TITO software allows them to accept multiple denominations on one machine. This means that they can expand their game collection.
Video slots revolutionized slot machines. They are simpler to make and easier to modify.
Almost all video slot machines now have video slots. Manufacturers keep adding new features and better graphics to their games, as well as different themes.
Although manufacturers continue to innovate ways to make their machines more exciting, the basic machine remains the same as the ones that were created in the 1970s.
While many things remain the same, there are some new features worth noting.
1986 was the year that slot machines received one of their most important upgrades. IGT was once again the company at the forefront of innovation.
The world’s first progressive jackpot was introduced by them on their Megabucks slot machine. The electronic system connects several slots machines together. To create the super jackpot, they took a percentage of every bet placed on each linked machine.
Customers could receive a significantly higher payout if they win these super jackpots. Casinos also profited from bigger payouts that attracted more customers.
These are some of the greatest jackpot wins ever. These wins almost all came from Megabucks.
Megabucks was the original progressive slot machine and is responsible for nearly all the casino’s highest jackpot wins.
A 1996 software development company called Williams Interactive (WMS) made another significant shift in modern slot machines.
WMS released Reel ‘Em in, a slot machine that featured a bonus round on the second screen.
Reel ‘Em In is a game that focuses on fly fishing and has fifteen pay lines. There are several fish symbols to choose from for higher payouts. You can also get fishing equipment such as tackleboxes, poles and bobbers for smaller prizes.
You may find fishing lures on some of the symbols. The bonus round can be triggered if you have three lures on any reel. They don’t have to be on a specific pay line.
You can choose your fisherman when you enter the bonus round. He will cast between two and four times. The screen will display an underwater scene with many fish and the fisherman will cast his line. Each cast will result in one fish being caught, with a different prize for each fish.
You can earn multipliers or bonus credits depending on how your bonus round ends. You can also trigger a fishing contest where you compete against the computer.
The second-screen bonus round was a great addition to games that had only spinning reels.
It was also released at a time when video games and computer games were growing in popularity. Because they are too repetitive, younger gamblers tend to be less interested in slot machines.
Second-screen games such as Reel ‘Em in add variety and appeal to younger players.
Video slot developers can incorporate various graphics and features with the computerized software that runs them.
These graphics can be used to integrate themes and design elements into the game, making it more attractive to players.
While fruit symbols are still common on slot machines, modern slots have more specific themes. Slot machines can be based on pop culture references such as animals, space and knights.
All three of the most popular themes in ancient mythology are from Egypt, China, and Greece. Cleopatra is one of the most beloved themed slot machines.
In 2005, IGT’s Cleopatra video slots machine was released. The machine has five reels with twenty pay lines. The game offered 15 free spins, and a 3x multiplier.
These features attracted seasoned players, but also made it simple for beginners to play slot machines.
Cleopatra remains one of the most beloved slot machine games, and has inspired many other variations.
The slot machine themes give players the opportunity to have a completely different experience even though they are playing the same game.
Slot machines such as Cleopatra or Reel Em’In have been popularized by both tribal and commercial casinos. All of the land-based casinos now have an online competitor: online casinos.
Antigua and Barbuda passed in 1994 the Free Trade and Processing Act. This law gave companies the ability to run online gambling businesses.
Microgaming and Cryptologic were the first to open casinos. These two companies claim to be the first to operate a casino, as do many others. However, they all started around the same time.
They all worked hard to make the casino experience available online, regardless of who was the first company to do it.
These companies helped to create the technology that allowed online casinos to be operated and processed financial transactions. Microgaming was even instrumental in the creation of the Interactive Gaming Council, which regulates other online casinos.
The first online casinos had a limited selection of games, compared to today’s online casinos. There were a few slot machines available in those first online casinos, but not as many or as many as you will find online today.
They got the technology up and running. After these companies had figured out how to make the casino experience available online, other game developers began to expand the range of games.
There are many online slot games. Let’s look at the benefits of playing online slots.
Online slots work in the same way as video slots. These machines use random number generators to determine their outcome. They also offer progressive jackpots and second-screen bonuses.
Online slots are a great way to play. You can play all your favorite online slots as long as you have internet access.
Online casinos offer a lot more choice than land-based casinos.
Brick-and-mortar casinos have limited space, so they offer only a few hundred variations with five to ten machines each.
These limitations are not applicable to online casinos. Online casinos can offer thousands upon thousands of different game types if they wish.
Different software developers are used on each site so that you can play different slots at different sites without leaving your computer.
They can also have multiple players at once.
You can’t play the same machine as someone else in a casino.
It is possible to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of game options available.
Online casinos allow you to play at your leisure and not have to go looking around for the machine you want. Online casinos offer search tools and categorized lists to help you locate specific games.
Online slots technology has evolved faster than land-based machines. Traditional slot machines took over 100 years to allow cashless transactions and offer second-screen bonuses.
Online slots have revolutionized gaming in the last two decades. Online slots offer more chances to win and have more bonus features than their land-based counterparts.
Pay lines is a good example of this advanced technology. The pay lines on land-based slots machines are usually limited to 25 pay lines. To identify winning combinations, they must be preprogrammed.
Online slots can offer you a variety of ways to win. Some games have 100, or even 1,000 ways.
The web-based technology is able to identify winning combinations faster than land-based casino games. It can also accommodate more combinations without taking up too much hardware space.
NetEnt, a European company, has introduced VR slots machines called Jack and the Beanstalk. Slot machines will continue to evolve with technology.
Online slots are better for those who just want to have fun playing slot machines. Online slots can be a better option for those who are serious about winning.
Many customers were nervous about giving out their financial information online when online slots first became available. You don’t have to be concerned as long as the casino you choose is safe.
Online slots offer another advantage: they have higher return to player rates than land-based slots.
Below are some examples of payback percentages for land-based casinos in Las Vegas and the most popular online software companies.
Online casinos have two main advantages over land-based casinos in terms of their payback percentages.
They are able to save money on operational costs by not having to pay slot attendants, cashiers, cleaning crews and other employees.
Also, land-based casinos have huge expenses for their facilities. This includes the building, gaming supplies, electricity and air conditioning. All of this is unnecessary for online casinos.
Online casinos need to be concerned about competition.
Many land-based casinos are the only ones in their region, outside of Las Vegas. Online casino players can access from any location, and they have the option to play with literally hundreds of online slot operators.
Online casinos have the ability to compete by offering higher odds and better payouts.
Online slot machines offer higher jackpot chances and higher payouts. Online slot machines have a wider network of players around the world that all contribute to the prize pool.
Land-based jackpots usually only link to the machines at that casino.
Cash Splash was the original online progressive jackpot game. It was created by Microgaming in 1998 and Mega Moolah followed in 2012. Both games offer seven-figure payouts on a regular basis.
Mega Moolah is the online jackpot winner with the largest payout. Jon Heywood won more that $20 million, or PS17 million, on October 6, 2015. Microgaming has been officially entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the online slot game with the highest jackpot payout.
Online slot machine play has many advantages, but the basic game principle remains the same. Slot machines are still one of the most loved forms of entertainment in gambling.
For the majority of gamblers, slot machines are the most common games at a casino. To make their slots machines as appealing and comfortable as possible, casinos spend thousands of dollars.
This investment pays off as casinos make a large portion of their revenues from slot machines.
They have evolved over the years and are still very popular. They would be discarded if they offered the Liberty Bell machines at the highest payout of 50cs.
Charles Fey is the man who created the first cash-based slots machines. Gamblers owe Charles Fey a debt of gratitude. We can also be thankful for the inventions and improvements to existing slot machines.
Video slots by Fortune Coin Company, second screen bonuses from WMS and ticket in/ticket out software from MGM, all of these have revolutionized slot machines.
Progressive jackpots from IGT, as well as the incorporation online slots by dozens of software providers continue to provide players with the best possible slot machine experience.
Since the first slot machines were invented in 1890s, we have come a long ways. We are eager to see how the new technology will transform online slot machines and other gambling options.
