History of Slots
It was in 1887 that slot machines were first invented, with Charles Fey being the pioneer of slot machine development. He was a mechanic from America who devised a three-reeled slot machine with five symbols on each reel. These symbols were loosely based on card suites, consisting of spades, horseshoes, diamonds, hearts and Liberty Bells. The highest payout was for the combination of Liberty Bells, after which the slot machine was named. The Liberty Bell became so famous in California (Fey’s home state) and elsewhere around the country that Fey was unable to fulfill the demand for it from other states.
Slot machines became so famous and people enjoyed playing so much that soon other companies began to develop modified slot machines; Sittman and Pitt in 1891 developed a 50 card face, five-reeled slot machine for the first time that used different poker combinations to generate a winning payout.
In 1963, the first fully automated slot machine was introduced by Bally manufacturers. The Money-Honey, as it was known, was particularly popular with casino owners as it did not need the assistance of an attendant to provide payouts; rather it could pay out up to 500 coins itself.
Later on in 1976, the first video slots were introduced, which were modified versions of the original slot machines. Since they were virtually tamper-proof, they became extremely popular in casinos all over, so much so that after their first introduction to the clubs of Las Vegas, they gained popularity and are even now used there.
As technology improved and companies found better ways to insert complexity into the machine, the number of paylines increased, giving players a better chance of winning and making it more thrilling. Many modern slot machines have left the idea of paylines; rather they use ‘ways of winning’ and some slots have over 243 ways.
Slot machines are now so famous and in demand that they take up the majority of the floorspace in a casino. Not only are they great fun for players, but they draw players in as well so the income they generate for the casino makes them extremely important to owners as well. Now that casinos have moved online, there’s no longer a problem with space and owners can provide a huge range of games to keep the interest of the players intact.