A Short History of Slots

A Concise History of Slots

The very first Slot machine made its appearance in 1895. The man who thought it out and then put it together was one Charles Fey, a vehicle mechanic and inventor from San Francisco. By his invention, he did not intend to create Slots history or manufacturing. These would later develop by themselves and many years on would eventually end up as the enormously popular pastime of today, Online Slots.

What Fey actually had in mind was trying to earn a little extra money by selling his machine to a casino in exchange for 50% of profits. A great idea! He would get both cash and an ongoing income. In later years he did go on to become a slot machine entrepreneur, but it was his first slot machine that was the most important. This machine has become a piece of gambling history and can now be seen in a Nevada museum in Reno, Nevada.

His first machine, which Fey put together in his workshop, was pretty basic, but still had a strong resemblance to the Free Slots we encounter today. It was purely mechanical and was operated by pulling down on an arm, which quickly earned it the nickname of a 'One-Armed Bandit'. It had three reels with a variety of symbols.

Fey joined forces with the Mills Novelty Company in 1907, a move designed in order to perfect his slot machine. Together they produced the "Mills Liberty Bell" which was built from heavy cast iron. When a player lined up the symbols and won, a bell would ring.

Later on, they built the machine of wood, which made the whole affair much lighter and finally today's pressed sheet metal slot machines were produced. They also invented the symbols and themes that are still being used today. They have become so traditional that they are even being used on the most up to date Online Slots sites. The symbols are changed and altered in order to draw in a greater number of players, and sometimes even special themes are used for particular occasions or to match the graphics and decor of the online gambling parlors.

During the 1940s and the development of Las Vegas as the world's gambling capital, Fey's Slot machines were to be found in every establishment in Las Vegas, which in fact was a "start-up city". The mobster, Bugsy Siegel, recognized the potential of the Slot machines, was one of the first to place them in his casinos. In view of the fact that today Slot machines comprise up to 65% of any casino's profits, it might be safely said that his early insight was correct.

One later and now highly popular feature of slot machines is the progressive slot jackpots, where banks of machines are linked together to form one progressive jackpot.

Modern day Slots have as many as five reels containing 20 symbols on them. While Slot machines of today no longer sport feet, the overall design has remained largely unchanged. A bell still goes off like a fire alarm when a player hits a jackpot. Lights still flash on and off providing liveliness and color.

The latest developments in the line of Slot machines are Video Slots that may contain up to 20 or more paylines and where the reels would normally be, resemble a television screen. These now even include video poker games. These are basically Slot machines that allow one to sit quietly by oneself and play a simple draw-poker game instead of just sitting and watching the reels spin. This is in addition to all the various online slots that are available for play today.

It all began with a young motor mechanic who had a dream and the desire to earn a little extra money. Fey could never have imagined where his idea would end up!