History of Slots

The history of the slot machine starts in 1887 in California when Charles Fey built the first one. This first slot machine looked a lot different from the ones today but it was the forerunner to all of them that have come since. This first slot machine had three reels with five symbols on each reel. The symbols that Fey used on his reels were a bell, spades, hearts, diamonds and a horseshoe. The three reels on this slot machine would spin and when they came to a stop, if any of the same symbols were lined up, then you would receive a win. Although it was illegal to gamble in California at that time, Fey found that the slot machine was popular in other states and so was able to sell, out of state, all the ones that he built.

The next slot machines were built in New York around 1891by Sittman and Pitts manufacturing. These slot machines were different to Fey’s in many ways. Firstly, the New York slot machines had five reels housing a total of 50 symbols. The symbols on these reels were playing cards and in order to win you have to have the symbols line up to form a poker hand.

It was in 1963 that the first truly and solely electromagnetic slot machine came into existence. This slot6 machine heralded automatic payouts of less than 500 coin wins, as opposed to having to have before, an attendant to assist you in collecting your winnings. This first electromagnetic slot was called Honey Money and was designed and manufactured by Bales Manufacturing.

Another land mark point in the history of slots came in 1976 as this was when the first video slot came into being. These new video slots were an immediate success on the Las Vegas strip and they remain today, possibly the most popular game in the casinos.

Today with the emergence of on line slot machines, they are once again going through great changes as on line slots are by no way hampered by size which allows them to cater to even more themes.