History of Slots

The first documented evidence of a slot machine orginiated from a person named Charles Fey,of San Francisco, California in 1887. He invented a mechanism with three spinning reels containing just 5 basic symbols; Diamonds, Spades, Hearts, Horseshoes and a Liberty Bell. It was thus appropriately named Liberty Bell. The idea was simple, three bells in a row produced the highest automatic payouts, back then just ten nickels. The machine would automatic payout when certain symbols were attained. Liberty became a huge success in the local community, and international community where orders came in the thousands when he could only produce only an average of 2 per week. Much to his dismay, these gambling devices were banned in San Francisco soon after.

In 1891, inspired by Liberty Bell, two man named Sittman and Pit from New York developed a little machine fitted with 5 drums holding 50 card faces. It was actually based on Poker where similar faces would result in winnings. These machines started off on the bar-side, where winnings were not in cash, but rather in prizes due to the laws forbidding gambling devices due to the popularity of the Liberty Bell.

Thus, the ‘prizes' came in the of items instead. For example, a pair of Kings would result in the player getting a beer, or a royal flush would payout in even greater prizes like a stick of premium cigar.  The prizes were completely dependent on what the local pub or bar had to offer. It was a very simple game to play, all the player had to do was to pull a lever and hope for a poker hand. Its popularity exploded from one bar, to become a common sight in all the bars in New York.

A more modern variation was developed in 1964, where a man named Bally developed a machine he named the Money Honey. It was the first slot machine to have a bottomless hopper, and where the coins would be automatically paid. The Money Honey had symbols in the form of chewing gums with different flavors on the reels. Cherry, Melon and the ever popular bar symbol originated from this machine as well. The bar symbol was actually a logo of a local candy company called the Bell-Fruit Gum Company.