Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Sunday, March 26
    Trending
    • This Day in History on March 26th
    • This Day in History on March 25th
    • This Day in History on March 24th
    • History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?
    • This Day in History on March 23rd
    • R.I.P. Lance Reddick (1962-2023)
    • This Day in History on March 22nd
    • This Day in History on March 21st
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Science & Technology»Inventions»The Mechanical Wonder of Early Slot Machines
    Inventions

    The Mechanical Wonder of Early Slot Machines

    Maria TaylorBy Maria TaylorJanuary 24, 2020Updated:January 28, 2020No Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    early slot machines

    A Brief History

    Nowadays, when people think of casino games, some classics like poker and roulette come to mind; however, it is the slot machine that is the most popular casino game ever made and, in many ways, defines the casino experience. Everyone is familiar with casino floors filled with slot machines, while online slots have taken the industry to a new height. Certainly, we have come a long way since the mechanical beginnings of the slot machine.

    Image source: CasinoDesignPRO.

    Here we will look back at the formative years of the slot machine as a mechanical game that shaped the casino industry.

    Digging Deeper

    Beginnings

    To start the journey of the slot machine, we must travel back to 1891. The first-ever slot was developed by Sittman and Pitt, a New York-based company specializing in mechanical games. This trailblazing machine featured 5 drums and 50 playing cards. Costing a nickel to play, the machine became wildly popular in bars.

    Sittman and Pitt’s machine involved a lever, something that would become synonymous with the slot machine. Players could collect wins for lining up poker hands across the reels. To tilt the edge towards the house, the ten of spades and jack of hearts were removed from each machine. Back in those days, wins were paid out at the bar, but in every other aspect the design and concept of the first-ever slot is remarkably similar to what we know today.

    So, Sittman and Pitt managed to set the blueprint that would be standard for the next century. However, it was between 1887 and 1895 that mechanical slots became more sophisticated. While Sittman and Pitt’s machine didn’t have automatic payouts, the Liberty Bell machine did. Developed by Augustus Fey (although not confirmed), there’s some confusion about when this machine launched.

    The date is placed between 1887 and 1895, so either before Sittman and Pitt or after. Either way, the Liberty Bell sported three reels instead of 5 drums and replaced the playing cards with symbols (hearts, diamonds, spades, horseshoes, and the liberty bell). In doing so, Fey took the slot game on another familiar evolutionary step that we recognize today.

    Because Fey never patented the device, others could copy it and so the common design of the slot was put in place. Slot machines were banned in 1902, although they continued to be built. In 1907, the Operator Bell slot was launched in an era where gambling was not allowed. As no cash payments were available, fruit symbols were added, and people were paid with chewing gums and sweets based on the flavour of the fruits. It was during this time that the now familiar BAR symbol was also added.

    By 1908, the Operator Bell (created by Herbert Mills) had become wildly popular and was in most stores, salons, bowling alleys, and tobacconists.

    To The Future

    For the next half-century, the slots designed in the formative years of the game became the manufacturing standard. Indeed, for fifty years slots remained purely mechanical. However, in 1964, the mechanical era started to fade when the first electromechanical slot was made. Made by Bally, the Money Honey set a course that would push slots into increased reliance on electricity and eventually into the digital realm of online slots.

    Electric was the future, but mechanical slots set the template for what we still recognize about slot games to this day.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Why do you think slot machines continue to be popular?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Fey, Marshall.  Slot Machines: A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years.  Liberty Bell Books, 1997.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph by Rodw of slot machines at Wookey Hole Caves, has been released into the public domain worldwide by the copyright holder of this work.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleHow to Realize Your Beautiful Bali Wedding Dream?
    Next Article Three.co.uk: History of One of The Best Mobile Carrier
    Maria Taylor
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn

    Maria Taylor is content marketing expert and has contributed on several blogs online. She loves to write for blogs! Feel free to connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

    Related Posts

    R.I.P. Lance Reddick (1962-2023)

    March 23, 2023

    History Short: Is Nuclear Power Safe?

    March 12, 2023

    History Short: What is the Greatest Tool Ever Made?

    March 11, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on March 26th

    March 26, 2023

    This Day in History on March 25th

    March 25, 2023

    This Day in History on March 24th

    March 24, 2023

    History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?

    March 24, 2023

    This Day in History on March 23rd

    March 23, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2023 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.