The History of Slot Machine

Such a popular and very exciting casino game like slots has its own history. The first slot machines were designed in 1891 by Sittman and Pitt in New York. They had 5 drums which displayed poker hands.

The Liberty Bell

Later, Charles Fey created the first true slot machine in his basement, the Liberty Bell. However, it didn't gain widespread success until slots were introduced in Las Vegas casinos like the Flamingo Hilton hotel. The first slot machine had different symbols, such as stars, horseshoes, diamonds, and spades instead of the famous fruit symbols. As for the Liberty Bell, it gave a 50-cent payout to the winner. They say that a restaurant in Reno, “Liberty Belle Saloon,” still has the first slot machine designed by Fey. Fey's establishment was owned by his family. Later Fey created the Operator Bell slot machine, which actually featured the standard fruit design.

Anti-gambling movement

In 1909 in San Francisco slots became illegal. A year later it happened in Nevada. In 1911 California state banned slots. It was even popular to be anti-gambling. Especially to be anti-slot machine. These were dark days in the slots' history.

Flamingo Hilton

"Bugsy" Siegel, organized crime figure, built the Flamingo Hilton; now it is on the Las Vegas Strip. He invested in slots, but he didn't take them seriously; they are considered to be a novelty for him.

Slot History in the 1960s

During this time electronic slots were made. The main reason of it is that electronic slots are more secure than their mechanical counterpart. Then they became more widespread in different casinos and were no longer considered mere novelties.

Slot History in the 1970s

During this period different companies started to use microchips and generators of random number. And later all casinos went to this technology. Nowadays you don't need to go to a stuffy casino for playing this game. One can easily play online slots. It is very interesting and comfortable. Besides, there are different kinds of this game. For example, Progressive Slots are considered to be the best to play on, because playing this kind of game you have more chances to hit a jackpot.