The History of Slot Machines

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The History of Slot Machines by NoLuckNeeded.com member LadyLucky
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The slot machine was based on the concept of a gambling machine which was designed by Pitt and Sittman in New York back in 1891. The first gambling machine had five drums that displayed poker hands. The drums held a total for 50 card faces therefore there were two cards which had been removed; these were usually the ten of spades and the jack of hearts. By removing those two cards the chance of hitting a royal flush dropped in half and made the odds better for the house. The 5 drums could also be rearranged to reduce the player’s chances even further. The machine had no payback mechanism so any establishment that had bought them paid out in prizes of the machine owners choice, which was usually free drinks or cigars depending on what type of poker hand was displayed.

The fist recorded slot machine was made by a man named Charles Fey who made that slot machine in his basement. It was named "the Liberty Bell" and was devised of three spinning reels containing a total of five symbols- horseshoes, diamonds, spades and hearts and the cracked Liberty Bell. The original poker based machine proved it almost impossible to make an automatic payout for all possible winning combinations however by replacing the ten cards with five symbols and by using three reels instead of five drums it was easier for a win to be read and that allowed Fey to create an effective payout mechanism. The biggest payoff was for three bells in a row which paid ten nickels. This machine was the one that most resembles the machines that we know now and was equipped with a coin acceptor, a payout table and a large handle on the side of it. The large handle on the side and the ability to leave a player penniless were the two factors which earned the machines the nickname "one armed bandit".

Charles Fey's first slot machine was over 100 lbs of cast iron. The very first" Liberty Bell" that was designed by Fey can still be seen at the Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant in Reno, Nevada which is owned by Charles Fey's grandchildren.

After the success of his first slot machine Fey made the "Operator Bell" slot machine. This slot has the famous fruit design featured today and was the one machine which became the standard for slot machine concepts. Once anti-slot machine feelings began to surface Fey had to be clever. He designed many slot machines to work like vending machines. This design ended up being a burden to the owners of the vending machines as the public would often confuse the two, and it is said that law enforcement took advantage of that fact when they needed good press. It was alleged that The Bell-Fruit Gum Company had stolen a slot machine from Fey and they were the first to mass produce machines that could dispense gum for every pull, this was to mask the actual nature of the slot machine. This is where the BAR symbol came from as it was an effort to market their gum. There proved to be trouble for Fey when the anti-gambling movement which piggybacked the anti-alcohol movement, also known as the temperance movement. Slot machines became illegal in San Francisco in 1909 and a year later in Nevada. By 1911 slot machines were banned by the state of California.

By the time the thirties came around it was politically correct to be "anti gambling" but most especially "anti slot machine". Politicians took advantage of this time to try to earn more votes. New York Mayor LaGuardia had a photo op taken on a barge in New York City and was said to have had his photo taken dumping New York City's machines into the sea. However, it is rumored that most of those machines were not even slot machines; they were nothing more than everyday vending machines. The city had confiscated many legitimate vending machines in order to "score a public relations coup". This was what they called "the black day in the history of slot machines".

Then the notorious organized crime figure, "Bugsy" Siegel, who stood out in the history of the slot machine came along. The Flamingo Hilton was built by "Bugsy" on the Las Vegas Strip, he invested in slot machines to fill spaces in the casino and to keep the wives and girlfriends of his rich players occupied. To Bugsy, slot machines were a novelty. Up until the late 60's slot machines were mechanical. It wasn't until 1963 that Bally made the first fully electromechanical slot machine called "Money Honey" and from then on the slots of Las Vegas evolved by making them electronic. The electronic slots were much more secure than the old mechanical ones. Although they were not perfect it was much harder to cheat. It was during this period that electric bells and motorized coin hoppers became standard.

With the 70's came companies which started the use of microchips and random number generators which determined the spin of the reels. Pulling the arm of the slot machine was no longer necessary to spin the reels. The push of a button got the same results. As the microchip advanced, the slots advanced with it and by the 80's all the casinos went to microchip-powered slot machines.

The first video slot machine that offered a second screen bonus round was developed in 1996 by WMS Industries and was called "Reel 'Em In”.

Slot machines now account for 70 to 80 percent of casino revenue. The machines are regulated and it is the manufacturer that sets the pay off not the casino itself. WMS Industries is an electronic gaming and amusement company. Williams Manufacturing Company is based in Waukegan Illinois.

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Thanks LadyLucky! I really enjoyed reading this article!

Posted:26.07.2009, 11:08

Good read - thanks.

Rae

Posted:26.07.2009, 11:52

Your welcome!! and Thank you for reading!! I personally really enjoyed writing this one!! Such an abundance of information on the "one armed bandit" that even I didn't know!! I personally like that the very first machine was made of cast iron!! Imagine!! That sucker weighed more than 100 lbs!!

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"My last piece of advice to the degenerate slot player who thinks he
can beat the one-armed bandit consists of four little words:
"It can't be done." -John Scarne