Slots can be classified as the youngest games. However, we can not call them the young because the first models were born a century ago. Slot machines have been bumpy, from primitive mechanical devices to complex computer programs.
Currently, the network has many new games of this kind. Every famous casino offers at least hundreds of slots. Many gambling websites have thousands. They are especially popular with customers.
But back to the history of slot machines.
First Slot Machines
Slot machines are about a hundred and twenty years old. With so little (in historical terms) age, it is not surprising that the inventor of the first slots is perfectly known to everyone interested in their history.
Charles Fey, a German immigrant, lived first in New Jersey and then in California. He is called the father of slots.
In 1887, Charles constructed the first slot machine. It was called Liberty Bell and consisted of three reels with twenty symbols, such as:
- bells,
- horseshoes,
- stars,
- and card suits.
They formed paid-out combinations. The slot was a resounding success, and within a few years, mass production of Liberty Bell slots was established.
Fey was not only a talented engineer but also a successful businessman.
He gave slots to rent at 50% of the profits they bring. He consistently refused to sell machines or provide the right to produce them, though he had great offers from all the significant casino equipment manufacturers.
Only in 1907, he began working with the Mills Novelty Company, which resulted in a new slot called Mills Liberty Bell. Later, a model was developed into Operator Bell. Its popularity is proven by the fact that he sold more than thirty thousand slots.
In 1891 in Brooklyn, Sittman and Pitt developed its slot machine version. It was based on the principles of poker, and the payments were made for the fallen poker hands. Some researchers think that this was the first slot.
Significant changes in the structure and design of slot machines were made in the thirties of the twentieth century.
- First, annoying bells that informed about winning were removed from all slots.
- Secondly, they had a double jackpot.
The design also became more attractive and varied. New models were the following ones:
- Lion Head,
- Roman Head,
- War Eagle,
- and Castle Front.
They were pretty popular too.
Slot Machine Boom
Slots became popular in the forties. They appeared in almost all casinos. At first - among women, husbands, and companions who prefer to try luck in the traditional card and table games of chance. A few years later, slots brought the highest profit to the casino.
The first electromechanical slots, called Big Bertha, appeared in the fifties. They were equipped with an engine capacity of five horsepower. Each of the eight drums had twenty characters, and the return on the slot was 80%. These slots accepted coins of higher denomination, making them attractive for high-rollers.
Automatic Money Honey from the company Bally Technologies became the first fully electronic slot. He appeared in casinos in 1963.
The Birth of Electronic Slots
In 1980 Sircoma made a real revolution in this area by releasing equipped computers for video poker. This model started the era of modern gaming machines. The creation of random number generators increased the trust of players in slots. Gradually modified principles of customer service, receiving money, making payouts, and so on.
Slots were among the first games online casinos offered. Currently, there are thousands of them. It seems that in today's world, no significant cultural event has its gaming machine.
Plenty of slots are available in the best casinos from the top 10, according to Casinoz.