The slot machine has a pretty exciting history, and in this article, we’ll be traveling through over a hundred years in just a few hundred words. The honor of the first slot machine is a joint effort between manufacturer Sittman and Pitt, and the Liberty Bell slot machine created by Charles Fey. So, buckle up, because we’re going on a time-traveling adventure and learn the exciting history of the slot machines that we know and love today.
History of Slot Machine
The Early Years
This history of the slot machine begins all the way back in the 1880’s when the modern casino as we know it was just starting to be formed. Manufacturers Sittman and Pitt were the first to manufacture slot machines as casino machines with their first commercially used machine coming into play in 1891. Around this time the Liberty Bell slot machine was being created by Charles Fey, and many people believe this to actually be the first true slot machine as it included automated payouts and many of the fruit machine symbols we see in online slots today. In fact, it's because of the Bell symbol used in the Liberty Bell slot machine that we have bell symbols used in online slots today, so if you were always wondering why; now you know!
Evolution to Progressive Jackpot Slots
Over the next century, slot machines remained largely unchanged, with only the technology and the themes of slots changing. This was until 1986 when the first progressive slot was created. Of course, the internet was still a long way off, so these machines were limited to brick and mortar casinos such as in Las Vegas. It was IGT, a developer that’s still popular today, who created the first progressive slot machine called Megabucks, and other popular progressives created for real-world casinos include the infamous Lion’s Share slot; a game that took over 20 years to pay out its jackpot value.
The Advancement of Online Slots
It wouldn’t be for another 10 years before the next slot advancement came along when WMS created the first video slot machine which was called Reel’em and was also the first slot to have a second screen for its bonus round. Alongside this, casino game developers started to see the validity and potential of the internet. While the first online casino games were reserved for casino classics such as roulette and poker, it wasn’t long before early online slots were created such as; Golden Dragon, Pirates Paradise, Martian Money, Pharaoh's Fortune, and Trick or Treat. These early slots revolutionized the way we played slot machines, and have defined many of the slot themes and traditions are seen in some of the best slot machines loved and played today.
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