The History of Slot Machines

While there were other coin operated games, Fey's invention was the first to pay out in coins. The earlier machines which were poker based games typically paid out in cigars or free drinks.

The slot machines that Charles Fey created consisted of three reels. Each of these three reels then had ten symbols printed on them. The symbols were horseshoes, spades, diamonds, hearts and bells. If you got three bells then you hit the jackpot which was ten nickels.

In 1907 Charles Fey along with the Mills Novelty company introduced a machine called "Operators Bell". This machine consisted of three reels that had 20 different symbols on each reel. The symbols were changed to fruit symbols. Over 30,000 of these machines were produced.

The popularity of slot machines increased greatly and was no doubt helped by Bugsy Siegal who installed several slot machines in his Las Vegas Casino, the Flamingo.

By the 1950's slot machines were in every Las Vegas casino. The next big evolution in technology came in 1964 when the first electromechanical slot machine was introduced by Bally. These slot machines were an instant success thanks to their ability to give higher payouts. From there slot machines began to incorporate sound, lights and many different themes. Today you will instantly recognize these themes such as Wheel of Fortune and the Addams Family.

The next big leap in technology for slot machines came in the 1970's when electronic, microchip controlled slot machines where introduced. These slot machines used random number generators, commonly referred to as an 'RNG' to produce the combination of spinning reels.

Finally, in 1995 slot machines appeared online. Online slot machines have become wildly popular thanks to the variety of machines, denominations and game themes. In addition to finding reel slots online you will also find multi-line slots which offer more than one pay-line.