The History Of Slot Machines
February 4th, 2016 by Admin
Slot machines are responsible for hauling in the biggest revenue for casinos in the USA. This wasn’t always the way it worked. Slots was considered a game that most of the wives would play, as their husbands or boyfriends played with the real games in the casino.
The slot machine is more modern than most games that you would find at a casino. The very first slot machine was invented by Charles Fay in 1887. Many argue about the actual year it was created, but its considered to have been invented sometime between 1880 and 1890. Fey was of German ancestry and immigrated to America in his younger years. He settled in New Jersey to start with. In Germany, he had learned many skills that would become very useful when he would finally design the slot machine.
The slot machine almost never happened due to a serious illness that Fey suffered. Doctors didn’t think he would recover and estimated that he had less than a year to live. Fey was fortunate enough to beat the illness and live on long enough to begin the creation of his project in San Franciso.
The result was a creation known as Liberty Bell. The creation was hand-built in his garage and featured 3 arrows, hearts, diamonds, spades, bells and horse shoes, followed by stars. Not only was Fey an inventor, but he also was an entrepreneur too. Fey soon realized that his invention could be incredibly lucrative if he knew how to market the machines properly. He set out to rent the machines to many gambling outlets in the nearby state.
A common nickname for the machine is “armed bandit”. When players inserted a nickel into the machine they would then have to pull on a large metal arm to get the reels to spin. Bandit was used in the name because casino managers would modify the machine so that the system could not be cheated. This allowed the casino to also enjoy its lush earnings. Gambling laws would follow shortly.
Fey partnered with the Mills company in 1907. The company and Fey created some top notch designs, like double jackpots and other themed machines. Regardless of how the machine was created, it still involved pulling a large arm to get the reels to spin.
In 1910, gambling laws made it much more difficult for gamblers to play games. Demand for the slot machines dropped considerably. To keep the money flowing, some companies attempted to customize the machines to spit out gum instead of money. This wasn’t very popular, and the games ceased to function for a while.
A common misconception is that Bugsy Seigel made the slots machines popular in the late 1940’s when he decided to install these machines in his Flamingo Hilton hotel. He did this to attempt to provide a form of entertainment to the wives and girlfriends of all the high rollers. Other evidence has shown that Harolds club in Nevada was the very first place to install them instead.
As the years progressed, so did the customization and upgrades for the slot machine. In the 20th century, the slots machine became more electrical themed. Big Berther was created during this time period. Big Berther cost over $150, 000 to develop, and this machine would function by an electric motor. The chances of a player winning a jackpot was very slim. About a 1 in 25.6 billion was possible.
Today, most of the machines are very technical and advanced. Winnings can be generated based on numbers that are generated. Many of the machines today now include 5 reels and have various combinations that make it possible to win.
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