Since the beginning of civilization, one of the essential needs has been the entertainment of the masses, which all governments prioritize. In ancient Europe, villas specialized in the recreation and enjoyment of the nobility, and the wealthiest families existed. Casinos, as they were called in the Italian language, Casinos set the tone, preserving the name of these popular establishments until today – play online slots UK no deposit.
Currently, casinos exist in the form of lavish palaces and motels. Though, with the inception of the Internet, the gambling industry has now shifted towards the online world. These online casinos or platforms are full of all sorts of gambling options, from blackjack to poker, roulette, specialty games, and so many more. However, the undisputed queen of these games is the slot machine. It’s a game that is easy to play and can deliver some of the highest payouts ever recorded in the history of gambling.
Every modern gambler is well familiar with slot machines and how they work, but they might be missing an exciting aspect of where these machines came from. Or who invented the slot machine? Let’s find out.
Slot’s Story
Slot machines’ story begins somewhere around 1891 when a New York-based company introduced the Poker Machine’s first-ever slot. The machine consisted of 5 reels or drums and had a total of 50 playing cards as symbols.
It was a coin-operated machine. To start a spin, players were required to insert a coin through a coin slot and pull the lever that moved five reels, and as a result, five poker cards will appear.
The wins were settled depending on the poker hand that showed up on the reels. However, the issue with this machine was that there was no mechanism for automatic payment of prizes. Instead, players would have to go to. The bar boy claimed awards that were usually given in free beers, cigars, or cigarettes.
This issue was solved by a San Francisco-based car mechanic known by the name of Charles Fey. In 1894, Charles Fey introduced a new kind of machine called the Liberty Bell, known as the first actual slot machine ever built. The game’s starting procedure was similar to that of the poker machine, but it consisted of three reels instead of 5. Besides, the symbols appearing on the reels were also changed to bells, hearts, spades, diamonds, and horseshoes. This was done to reduce the complexity of the game and also to skim the results. The aim of this machine was to land three similar symbols in the center of the slot machine.
This was also a coin-operated game and required a pull of a lever to trigger a spin. This machine also introduced a coin payment mechanism that was based on a coin dispenser and a trigger. Once three similar symbols were matched by the slot machine, the payment mechanism was triggered, and the coin dispenser paid a maximum of 50 coins on a single go.
