The Origin of the Slots Game and Evolution

 

A casino would not be complete without a slot machine. It is one of the most popular games in a casino because anybody and everybody can play it. You do not have to understand the slot machine and to be skilled at it. You just have to put your coins and pull the handle and pray. If god is willing then you might just hit the jackpot.

The Origin of Slot Machines-The Genius Called Charles Fey

Slot machines are relative newcomers on the gambling scene and thus we can trace back their history and their evolution leaving no scope for doubt about their evolution. The prototypes of the earliest slot machines date back to the 1870s. However, the father of the Slot Machine is Charles Fey who developed his first slot machine much later in 1894. He is credited with its invention, because it was his machines that found their way into gambling establishments. Charles Fey’s serendipitous life began in the Bavarian region in Germany before his ultimate immigration to America.

Fey first settled in New Jersey before shifting base to the west in California, where he was diagnosed with terminal tuberculosis in his twenties, but the man not only managed to cheat death but also changed the course of gambling history. Fey devised the first slot machine in his early thirties in 1895. The mechanism and design that he conceptualized was so influential that it can still be seen in the modern computerized machines. His job at a Munich farm instrument factory saw him developing an insatiable appetite for anything mechanical thus bringing out into the world a mechanical savant.

Categorical History and Evolution

The history of slot can be categorized into three distinguishable ears, wherein each era left a lasting footprint on the gambling industry today:

1.    The mechanical era
2.    The computerized era.
3.    The electromechanical era

The Mechanical Era

Fey’s slot machine was a mechanical prototype, and instead of the fruits that we see today, depicted king , queen, and jack Fey’s machine is best remembered for his cast-iron liberty Bell slot. Fey teamed up with the Mills Novelty Company and manufactured his first commercial slot machine called the Mills Liberty Bell. This machine was encased in a cast iron case and its originally cast iron feet and toes were later replaced with ornate decorated feet.

Each time a player hit a winning combination, a bell rang within the machine, and this particular amenity has survived the test of time. There were ten symbols on each of the three reels and as is still the case, if you got three of the same symbols of the pay line, then you hit the jackpot. The chances of you doing that were pegged at one in one-thousand.

Fey’s contraption dominated the mechanical era and the three-reel slot machine entrenched itself the gambling psyche. The fact that his dominance of the slots industry began in his basement, makes this achievement even more creditable. In the early days, Fey placed his slot machines on a 50% rental basis; and these machines were loosely based on the lottery game Policy.

‘Operator Bell’ a slot machine, was introduced by the Mills Novelty Company, which varied slightly with the earlier machine by having gooseneck entry and featuring the now famous fruit symbols. The cast iron machines gave way to the less expensive wood cabinet in 1915. The Mills Novelty Company made many additional changes in the early 1930s, to its line of online slot machines, which further revolutionized the industry.

The company came out with much quieter machines, with the machines getting the moniker “silent bell’. A double jackpot was also introduced by the company under the aegis of which player could win twice in quick succession. It also introduced a series of colorful and striking cabinet designs that made the machines more memorable and enticing for the players. Some of the more popular machines were the Lion Head, Roman Head, and the War Eagle.

The Electromechanical era

The mid twentieth century was the lackluster era for the slot machine, which was surprising because the world had technically graduated to the electromechanical era. One of the major developments of the era was the release of the slot machine known as Big Bertha, which was followed by the even better Super Big Bertha. The machines were very expensive and cost something like $150,000 to produce, and were powered by a five-horsepower motor, and consisted of 8 reels, with 20 symbols per reel. But, all this control meant nothing for the players as only 80% was paid back to the players with the odds of hitting the jackpot being only 1 in 25.6 billion.

The Computerized era

The onset of the computer era gave a new dimension to the slot machines and they became highly computerized where they not rely on preprogrammed random number creator that generates the numbers that match to patterns of symbols on the reels. The concept of using coins has almost ended most of the machines today use video stimulated reels. Thus, the slots have moved onto the coinless era and the rise of the online gambling has seen more and more players gravitating to the Internet slots from the brick and mortar casinos.

A Final Word

An online venue allows the player instant play from any location whatsoever. The slot machines of today have developed to the extent that they no longer bear any technological resemblance to the original Fey machines, but the indelible stamp of Charles Fey can never be erased and the look and feel of the slot machines is the same as Fey’s designs.

Thus, we have seen the slot machines evolve from their nascent stages in the 1800 to the groundbreaking trends of today and through its long journey it has constantly broken new ground in the entertainment industry turning casino operation into successes.