Interesting Historical Facts about Slot machines

Today we know online gambling, the basics of which are very simple: just switch on a computer and play after having made slot machine downloads. Casinos have appeared that require slot machine downloads and some that don’t, so you can play directly from your browser. Maybe you have never wondered about the history of slot machines, which is quite interesting despite being only about 120 years old. So, we will give an overview of the ancestors of modern video slot games and interesting facts about them.

Liberty Bell

In those times when the phrase “slot machine downloads” would confuse Joe Bloggs, the inventor Charles Fey created the first slot machine, named Liberty Bell—after the pictures used as the first symbols. The machine had 3 reels and 3 rows, with the center row as the payline. As symbols, Fey used hearts, spades, horseshoes, diamonds, and Liberty Bell. The winning combination was 3 Liberty Bells in the center row, and the prize was 10 nickels—not very much, isn’t it?

Nickel Slot Machines

Several years later, the Sittman and Pitt Slot Company in New York produced their 5-reel slot machine, themed as a poker game without two cards: the ten of spades and the jack of hearts. Slots of this type were named the first nickel machines, as the cost of one spin was 1 nickel. The prize the winner could get depended on what the establishment, where he played, offered. Commonly, the jackpots were drinks or cigars.

Bell Fruit Gum Slots

In 1910, Herbert Mills transformed the Liberty Bell and introduced the most interesting and amazing type of slots—the Bell Fruit Gum Slots. Perhaps you have inquired about the bar symbol—it originates from this slot type. The pictures were different fruits—the flavors of gums: orange, lemon, spearmint, and plum. After the Bell Fruit Gum Slots appeared, many manufacturers copied the machine and started producing their own slots, adding more and more fruits like pears, strawberries, apples, watermelon, and pineapples.

Computerized Slot Machines

During a few decades, there were no new slot machine mechanisms, but manufacturers tried to diversify the themes. A new era in slot machine development started with the involvement of new technologies. The first multi-line full-color video slot was introduced in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the world saw the first machines with microprocessors instead of mechanical mechanisms that activated the spinning of the reels. In 1986, the most famous progressive slot “Megabucks” was installed in Nevada.

Relive the nostalgia with these vintage-inspired slots available today:

Today you have a wide range of slot machines to choose from. For slot fans there are special themed vintage machines, which you can play and dive into the charm of the previous century.