Ever since it was first sat on a stool with a heavy mechanical lever and a drawer that legally couldn't dispense money if you won, slot machines have had an appeal as a fun way to put your fate in the hands of Lady Luck. It's a bit of an oddity for a casino highlight too, most of the games you play were invented at some nebulous point between the 15th - 17th century in Europe, whereas with slots we know not only the year it was invented but even the name of the guy who came up with it (mostly).
Slots machines were originally invented as a means to play cards and while there is definitely one man who gets the most credit for inventing the machine we know now, there's rumours that a duo invented a game with a similar design around 1891 which may (or may not) have been before the true invention. This version was larger but also significantly more complicated as it had five drums containing 50 card faces based on Poker. The win conditions would be for something like a full house, straight, flush, straight flush and be in the form of beers or cigars. Given the staggering complexity of having that many cards in motion and the different win conditions associated with them, making an automatic pay out method was impossible. This device sort of lives on as Video Poker though.
Enter Charles Fey, an inventor who created a similar device but rather than the full assortment of cards he opted for 3 drums with 5 symbols across all three. This made the maths for calculating a win significantly simpler and meant he could offer an automatic pay-out for every win! This slot machine, the Liberty Bell, was the first proper slot machine. The only thing in question is the exact year that Charles Fey invented it between 1887 and 1895. Fey found great success with his machine, so great in fact that he was unable to supply every order he got and eventually competitors started stealing his idea and producing knock-off 'Bell' machines.
While the Liberty Bell offered a pay-out if you won of ten nickels (that's right, a whole 50 cents!) the ban on gambling in many states forced the invention of a new kind of game. Chewing gum companies began producing slot machines that sported fruit symbols on the reels and when you won, you were rewarded with a packet of chewing gum. The gum thing didn't stick around for very long but having fruit symbols on slot machines did, to the extent they're still known as Fruities in some parts of the world.
Nowadays slots have moved on a little from the traditional 'watch the reels spin and wait' style to feature outstanding graphics and amazing visual effects. Just check out https://casino.paddypower.com/game/age-of-the-gods-god-of-storms-cptn for an idea how the world of slots looks now.
From a mechanical and arguably excessively complex way to play cards to HD graphics depicting the ancient Greek gods as slots bonuses. Progress is amazing.
The Invention of Slots!
Slots machines were originally invented as a means to play cards and while there is definitely one man who gets the most credit for inventing the machine we know now, there's rumours that a duo invented a game with a similar design around 1891 which may (or may not) have been before the true invention. This version was larger but also significantly more complicated as it had five drums containing 50 card faces based on Poker. The win conditions would be for something like a full house, straight, flush, straight flush and be in the form of beers or cigars. Given the staggering complexity of having that many cards in motion and the different win conditions associated with them, making an automatic pay out method was impossible. This device sort of lives on as Video Poker though.
Enter Charles Fey, an inventor who created a similar device but rather than the full assortment of cards he opted for 3 drums with 5 symbols across all three. This made the maths for calculating a win significantly simpler and meant he could offer an automatic pay-out for every win! This slot machine, the Liberty Bell, was the first proper slot machine. The only thing in question is the exact year that Charles Fey invented it between 1887 and 1895. Fey found great success with his machine, so great in fact that he was unable to supply every order he got and eventually competitors started stealing his idea and producing knock-off 'Bell' machines.
While the Liberty Bell offered a pay-out if you won of ten nickels (that's right, a whole 50 cents!) the ban on gambling in many states forced the invention of a new kind of game. Chewing gum companies began producing slot machines that sported fruit symbols on the reels and when you won, you were rewarded with a packet of chewing gum. The gum thing didn't stick around for very long but having fruit symbols on slot machines did, to the extent they're still known as Fruities in some parts of the world.
Nowadays slots have moved on a little from the traditional 'watch the reels spin and wait' style to feature outstanding graphics and amazing visual effects. Just check out https://casino.paddypower.com/game/age-of-the-gods-god-of-storms-cptn for an idea how the world of slots looks now.
From a mechanical and arguably excessively complex way to play cards to HD graphics depicting the ancient Greek gods as slots bonuses. Progress is amazing.
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