Slot Machine Casinos

Slot Machine Invention and Online Casinos

One of the biggest draws of online casinos are the video slot machines. No online casino would be complete without them. While all the mechanical machinery has been replaced by a computer and video screen, the concept still lures in players for hours upon hours of enjoyment. Online casinos with internet slots would be much different if the original mechanical slots machines, sometimes called California slot machines, were never invented.

The slot machine was invented in San Francisco, California by Charles Fey. The exact date is unknown as different sources give the year as either 1887 or 1895. The first machine used three reels with five symbols on each reel: diamonds, spades, hearts, horseshoes, and Liberty Bells. The Liberty Bell became the name of the first slot machines. Inserting a nickel into the slot unlocked a lever on the side of the machine. Pulling the lever made the reels spin, a partial view of which is seen through a front window. A horizontal line ran through the windows, and when all three wheels stopped with the same symbol on the line, a payout occurred. The number of coins dropped on a payout varied by which symbol was matched. The Liberty Bell paid the most by releasing ten nickels.

The Liberty Bell machines were so successful many other manufacturers rushed to produce copies. Herbert Mills, a manufacturer in Chicago, came out with their Operator Bell machines in 1907, and soon they could be found across the country in a variety of establishments, including barber shops, bars, and cigar stores.

Another famous slot machine was developed in Brooklyn, NY by Sittman and Pitt. This machine added two reels and upped the symbols to 50, basing them on a regular deck of cards. Payouts were made based on poker hands, but the machine lacked a mechanism for a direct payout. Payouts were often in the form of prizes and wholly dependent upon the establishment in which the machine was located.

One popular early slot machine paid out in chewing gum. The symbols on the reels were different flavors of gum. Some of the symbols still used today were first made popular by this machine: cherries, melons, and bars. The bar symbol originated from a logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company, the company that sponsored the machines.

The first slot machine to use electricity to function was called Money Honey. Money Honey was produced by Bally in 1963. This slot machine was also the first to use a reserve hopper for payouts. This was the beginning of the demise of the lever. Although it is often still included, the machine can be operated by buttons.

Computerized slot machines would soon be invented that would regulate where the reels would stop based on preset odds and a random number generator. This computerization led directly to the first video slot machines that operated without any mechanical parts. Video slot machines were the first to expand the dimensions of the slot machine by using multiple lines and diagonals. It is these early video slot machines that led directly to the slot machine download and slot machines available in modern online casinos.