Who Invented The First Slot Machine

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The first mechanical slot machine was invented in the late 1800's by a Bavarian imiagrant named Charles Fey (1862-1944) in San Francisco. In order to understand the history of the slot machine though we need to jump back a little in time.

The first slot machine was invented by Charles Fey in 1895. The gaming machine was named the Liberty Bell, which was the highest paying symbol on the 3-reel slot machine. The slot included just 5 symbols in total, with hearts, diamonds, spades, and horseshoes also featured. The machine was the first to allow automatic payouts. The first mechanical slot machine was invented in the late 1800's by a Bavarian imiagrant named Charles Fey (1862-1944) in San Francisco. In order to understand the history of the slot machine though we need to jump back a little in time. The slot machines history was in the form of a mechanical gambling machine modeled from a card game, poker. The invention was the solution for many gamblers looking to automate their poker game. Fey invented a 3-reel slot machine as well as the first slot machine that had five symbols, including the Liberty Bell, hearts, diamonds, spades. Play free slots wheel of fortune.

Unlike other industries, the birth of slot machines isn't very well documented. That lack of facts leaves some space for different versions of how the history of slot machines began and who invented these iconic casino games. Some think that first slots were created by Charles Fey. Even though it's widely believed so, this opinion can be a little bit inaccurate.

First Slot Machines: Sittman and Pitt

According to one version, first slot machines were developed by a New York company called Sittman and Pitt in 1891. If this company really was behind this incredible gambling invention, it would be a mistake to picture first casino slots as three reeled machines.

Play real casino slots online. Sittman and Pitt created five reel slots. That's because those were poker machines and like in poker, players had to get five cards. It was similar to playing poker game, but you don't compete against other players and just hope to collect a pair of kings or a higher combination. KK was the lowest paying combination.

There are 52 playing cards in a regular deck. Slot reels each could accommodate only 10 cards. Therefore, Sittman and Pitt's machines were missing two cards – J and 10. Free blackjack no deposit. That resulted in a lower payout ratio.

One of the key characteristics of those poker machines was that payouts weren't automated. Players had to ask for a venue owner or employee to collect their winnings. It wasn't just money they could win, but also variety of products like chewing gums, drinks, etc.

Who Invented The First Slot Machines

For instance, one of the first slot machines had maximum payout of 100 cigars paid to anyone collecting Royal Flush. Wager size was fixed at that time – 5 cents per spin. Katrina bookman casino. Those slots were usually placed in bars to attract more visitors as poker was very popular.

History of Casino Slot Machines. Charles Fey

This version doesn't provide specific dates. It's believed that Charles Fey created his first slot machines somewhere between 1887-1895. But many think that his invention came as a modification of Sittman and Pitt's poker machines. If they are right, Charles Fey's product was created in 1891-1895. Slotter casino bonus codes.

Charles Fey introduced automated payouts, and this was a big deal at that time. To make this happen, he had to make the slot as simple as possible. That was the beginning of the three reeled slots era. Along with three reels and automated payouts, he introduced a few symbols instead of fifty different cards. There were just three playing card suits (hearts, diamonds and spades), horseshoes and Liberty Bell. The latter symbol was the most valuable, and slots were named after it. Those changes made a huge impact and greatly influenced the history of slot machines.

After Charles Fey came up with simple and his innovative machines, a lot of investors rushed in and started investing in this industry. Fey failed to patent his invention and therefore others started to copy his work. As Charles Fey lived in the USA, there's no doubt about the country of origin of the first slot machines. But naming the author is a bit tricky.

Charles worked as a mechanic and had passion for inventing. Some say that he first had the idea of creating a slot machine as early as 1887. That's several years before Sittman and Pitt introduced their own product. However, we don't know when this company came up with the idea, and when they started to actually started building the machine. So, there is no exact answer to the question of who is the author. But one thing is clear – Charles Fey indeed can be called Father of Slots, at least for his contribution to the development of the industry. It's clear that his work gave the slot production a huge boost.

History of Slot Machines. First Mass Production Companies

Soon after Charles Fey started developing Liberty Bell, this industry became an attractive investment opportunity. As companies with bigger resources entered the market, it wasn't rational to try to compete with them alone, and Charles Fey joined Mills Novelty Company Inc. Their first slot machines were called Mills Owl. Later on they launched the production of Mills Liberty Bell and then came Operator Bell featuring first fruit symbols.

In the 1930s, while still working on Mills Novelty, Charles Fey created Silent Bell. Older machines a lot of noise and Silent Bell was designed to reduce noise level. The machine also offered twice the usual maximum payout.

In 1906 one of Mills Novelty employees established Industry Novelty company. At first they specialized on fixing existing slot machines, but later launched their own production. One of their most significant contributions to the history of slot machines was figuring out how machines could recognize coin values. They also invented the mechanism that prevented coins from being stuck inside the slots if they were released too quickly.

Computerized slot machines. Many companies jumped the trend at that early days of slot machines, but most of them ceased to exist. One of the first slot machine developers that still operate today is Aristocrat. The company was established in 1953 and distributed its products globally. Its founder, Len Ainsworth, later lost control over his company and left it. He then started a new company, Ainsworth Game Technology.

History of Slot Machine Names

One of the earliest names given to slots was 'nickel-in-the-slot'. That's because machines accepted only 5 cent coins. Later this long name was shortened to 'slot'. At the same time, machines were called one handed bandits, and there was a good reason for that. When fruit symbols were introduced, players started calling slots 'fruit machines'.

Where the history begins

Slots History

It is really easy to trace back the slots origins as they are the 'youngest' casino entertainments. The first slot machine has been developed in 1891 in New York. Sittman and Pitt Company have designed a gambling machine which is now called by many people the predecessor of the contemporary version. The poker game has served as a basis for the machine that has been contained of 5 drums that held 50 card faces. The combinations of those cards determined an amount of payout. If a player places a coin in this slot and pulls a lever the wheels spin and different symbols appear on 5 drums.

However, those slots didn`t make the real cash payouts. Instead of it the prize implemented a kind of food or goods from an establishment where the slot machine was located. Those machines were very popular and every bar in a city wanted to obtain at least one.

Slots` father

Charles Fey was actually the first who invented a slot machine. He was an immigrant from Germany, who moved to the US and lived in New Jersey and later in California. The man in his twenties had the diagnose of tuberculosis and doctors gave him only one more year for living. In his turn Fey proved they were totally wrong and moreover he became a legend in a whole gambling world as all slots innovations would appear to be impossible without him.

Fey`s invention

In the 1880's owing to Fey`s efforts the machine that was really close to modern variant that we know appeared on the scene. He developed the first machine that had a name of Liberty Bell that came from inventor`s workshop in San Francisco. Speaking of its size Liberty Bell was a bit smaller compared to nowaday's slots and it actually had basically the same content: reel type slot, to be more precisely - 3 reels combining with 20 symbols that working process was similar to our current version. File cabinet pro 6 5.

Liberty Bell gained an extreme popularity and spread very fast all over the world. Thus, Charles Fey had to produce mass of the machines and work overtime in the workshop to perform the innumerable orders. The symbols that featured each machine include horseshoes, bells, stars, hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs. The mechanism of the machine was programmed to accept five cent coins; it determined a payout according the results which appeared on the reels - 10 cents for hitting 2 horseshoes & up to as much as twenty coins to hit three bells. The quantity of such variations was really large.

Fey had not only wonderful creative mind but also the disposition of good entrepreneur. He capitalized success of his own creation and decided to let on lease the machines for fifty percents commission rate to gambling venues. Fey also refused to sell his invention mechanism and distribution rights to some gambling manufacturers.

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