Slot is one of the most loved games in the casino across the world. Knowing the history of slots as a gambler gives you a sense of belonging. Slots like most of the casino games is an important assert a casino can cherish. We have to start from the 1800s when talking about the history of slot machines and there are lots of stories that come with it.

The First Slot Machine

The first slot machines appeared in San Francisco in the late 1800s. They were nothing compared to the slot machines you see today. Unlike the fruit symbols that are evident with the new slot machines today, the first slot machines had card symbols. The main idea behind using card symbols was just to make gamblers have a familiar reference to the game and the machine. It wouldn’t be appropriate if they got frightened from seeing new things. This would give a bad impression of the game.

How The Machine Looked Like

The machine had 5 reels and each reel had ten cards .This is to tell you that two cards were left out in a standard deck. Jack of Hearts and Ten of Spades were the only cards that were left. If these cards were to be left out then it, meant that the slot machine had directly halved your chances as the player to leave you with a big prize and a Royal Flush. The winners of the game were not given money, instead they were awarded free cigars, drinks and other prizes. This is how funny the history of slots is.

The New Invention

Charles Fey made some adjustments on the previous machine and came up with a slot machine that almost resembles the present machine. The machine was advanced than the previous one. It had 3 reels with a variety of symbols. It also had a Liberty Bell as its major symbol. That’s the reason why it was named “The Liberty Bell”. Unlike the other machine, the Liberty bell had new parts that could accept coins, a payout table and a handle that was large enough on the side. Charles was proud of this new invention and to test if the public would embrace it he decided to place it inside a saloon in San Francisco. The response was so overwhelming and it is because of this reason that Charles decided to quit his job to focus solely on this new technology. Charles was very successful with his new machine because he was able to monopolize the slot machine market.

Stephen’s Modification.

Stephen Mill’s 1909 modification made the machine even more compact so that its movement and installation could be easier. He was able to modify the Charles’s design and added 10 new symbols to every reel. Like the previous machine, this new technology was also a big hit. Slot players could relate with it and it made the game even more interesting. This automatically took over Charles’ machine.

With the rate at which these machines were rising also made the game of slot very popular. This breakthrough is what made slots become the icon it is today. Everything that was created back in the days had the same characteristics. This included loud noise and heavy to move. This wasn’t different with the slot machine. Since there was no sophisticated technology used to build these machines, it was easy to manipulate the machines not to mention cheating during the game. Players could be seen inserting a small stick when playing the game if they wanted the reels stopped. The operators realized the trick and knew that this was an alarming loop-hole and they had to combat it.

Electronic Micro-Processor Slot

The history of slots was greatly influenced with the evolving world. The introduction of the electronic micro-processor in 1964 that was fitted in the slot machine changed the way gamblers used to view the game. The micro-processor could determine the outcome. The machine was even more secure that the previous machine. Players were also lucky to have this type of a transformation because it also meant that jackpots and prizes could rise. The reels were also modified and they could stop when determined to do so.

The Video-Based Slot

Walt Freely came up with his new invention. The very first video-based machine. This happened in 1974. As much as it had better features, this machine called “Fortune Coin” was simplified. It only had the solid-state of a computer unit. It also had other incredible features including a TV screen and the coin hopper. Although the machines received huge benefits for casinos with even better odds, most of the players could not put all their trust in this new technology. Particularly due to the fact that its jackpots and payouts were highly controlled. For the past 75 years, what people could see were the actual reels spinning and that is what they were used to. So people got worried with the new technology because the machine could not show the actual reels and this meant that their chances of winning were very low.

The introduction of the video poker games was what spear-headed the adaptation of the video-based slot machines. The only thing the two games had in common was the fact that the two were video-based. But this was the way out for the video-based slot machines. Since people realized that video poker was actually a fair game and anyone could win, they started embracing video slot.

The Final Slot

The humble three-reeled from then henceforth has seen a tremendous growth to machines of 3,5,7,9 plus more reels. They now come with a variety of symbols, jackpots, pay lines, extra side games and bet sizes. An online casino is the evidence to show that the logical jump has been made from video slots. This means that when you go to the casino to try out a game of slots, keep in mind that the 100 years of research and massive development has featured in all the slot machines.

As witnessed above, the history of slots is rich and slot has come a long way and it has brought with it the joy of many years. Through the mechanical gambling and many milestones, people have a reason to smile each time they walk into a casino.

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