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The History of Slot Machines |
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Charles Fey, the Liberty Bell, Herbert Mills, and Fruit Machines
Herbert Mills, a Chicago businessman, got his hands on one of Fey's machines and made some modifications, and started marketing his version of slot machine across America. Mills was the one who added the fruit symbols (lemons, plums, and cherries, et al) to the machine that are still so popular on today's slot machines. The way the machines worked was simplicity itself, even though most slot machines today no longer work that way. How Slot Machines Used to WorkInside the slot machine unit were 3 metal hoops called reels. Each reel had 10 symbols on it. Back then, in the original Liberty Bell slot machine, the symbols were made up for playing card suits and some Liberty Bell symbols. There was a lever (the arm in the one-armed bandit) that spun the reels, and when they stopped, a jackpot was awarded if the same symbol showed up on the payline of all 3 reels. The biggest prize was for 3 Liberty Bells, which paid 10 nickels, or 50 cents. Figuring Slot Machine OddsFiguring the odds on this machine is simplicity itself. There were 3 reels with 10 possible stops on each. 10 X 10 X 10 = 1000 possible combinations. Only one possible combination paid the big 50 cent jackpot. Puritanical Attitudes About Slot MachinesIn 1902, slot machines were outlawed in California and Nevada. But by then, slot machines had caught on, and the people who made and used them got around the ban by setting the jackpots to free drinks, gum, and candy. The decorations on the reels changed, and the images of fruit and gum continue to be popular on traditional slot machines even now. (In fact, the bar symbol is actually a mutation of the packages of gum that used to be featured on the slot machine reels.) Bugsy Siegel Brings Slots to VegasSlot machines really took off in popularity when Bugsy Siegel furnished the Flamingo Hilton in Vegas with slots in the late 1940's. The machines were intended to provide entertainment for the wives and ladyfriends of the high rollers playing roulette, blackjack, and baccarat in the main casino. I doubt even Bugsy knew how popular slot machines were going to become over the next 50 years. Slot palaces are springing up right and left all over the USA and all over the rest of the world too. And they're not just springing up in traditional casinos either; slot machines online are the biggest moneymakers for online casinos as well. More Slot Machine Articles |
The
first slot machine (the Liberty Bell) was invented by Charles
Fey in California in 1898 or 1899. Fey was a German immigrant
mechanic in San Francisco. The Liberty Bell was a nickel
machine, and Fey rented his machines to saloons and bars on a
50/50 split.|
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