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The Beginning of the Slot Machine
In 1891 two men named Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York developed a gambling machine that could be considered a precursor to the modern slot machine. It contained 5 drums holding a total of 50 card faces and was based on poker. This machine proved extremely popular and soon there was hardly a bar in the city that didn't have one or more of the machines bar-side. Players inserted a nickel and pulled a lever, which would spin the drums and the cards they held, the player hoping for a good poker hand.
There was no payout mechanism, so a pair of Kings might get the player a free beer, whereas a Royal Flush could pay out cigars or drinks, the prizes were dependent on what was on offer at the local establishment. No real money was paid out.To make the odds better for the house, two cards were usually removed from the "deck": the Ten of Spades and the Jack of Hearts, which cut the odds of winning a Royal Flush by half. The drums could also be re-arranged to further reduce a player's chance of winning.
The First Real Slots
In 1895, the first slot machine was created by inventor Charles Fey. 10 years later, the Fey and the Mills Novelty Company created the famous machine, the Mills Novelty Bell, which was the basic version of today’s slot machines. The Novelty Bell was equipped with a cast iron case and a classic Liberty Bell which rung when someone hit a winning combination. The machine’s reel strips portrayed the jack, queen and king of a typical set of playing cards.
In 1910, the Mills Novelty Co. introduced a newer version of the Liberty Bell called the Operator Bell. This particular machine featured the famous fruit symbols on its reel. Hence the name fruit machine, which is what slots are sometimes called.
These cast iron machines were very heavy and weighed over 100 pounds each, so in 1915 Mills introduced a lighter model made with cheaper wood cabinets.
The Silent Slot Machines
In 1930 the Mills Co. made some revolutionary changes to the original machine. Firstly, they made the machine much quieter, and the 30’s machine is now referred to as the Silent Bell, and they added a double jackpot feature. The double jackpot allowed people to win twice in a swift series of play.
A series of different designs were introduced to decorate the wood cabinets. This made the games more enticing to individual players. It was a revolutionary idea and today all slot machines are decorated with designs and bright colors to grab the attention of potential players.
The original designs each had their own theme and were very colorful and remarkable. Some of these themes were a lion’s head, a castle and a war eagle. These themes are all still used today.
The Latest Slot Machines
In the last few years, new "multi-denomination" slot machines have been introduced.
In a multi-denomination slot machine, the player can choose the value of each credit wagered from a list of options. Based upon the player's selection, the slot machine automatically calculates the number of credits the player receives in exchange for the cash inserted and displays the amount of available credits to the player. For example, a player could choose to wager one dollar per game on a nickel slot machine. This eliminates the need for a player to find a specific denomination of a particular slot machine and allows the player to concentrate on finding the machine and setting the denomination.
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