2.0 History of Slots
“Slots - one of the irresistible temptations of life…
The blunder wonder of the new world…
Inexpensively adventurous…
Is a win or disaster thriller with each spin…
But still, I cannot walk past it without trying my dust of luck…”
The discoverer of slots would not have realized that he has made a terribly important discovery until he witnessed, this proof that reinstates, that man does not live for bread alone. Millions spin the reels hoping to win, not knowing what is next. Speculators had their moments for sure. However, we cannot be blind to cases who were forever in debts trying to rebuild what they lost.
Here we explore a bit about the forefathers of slots. Just as a mark of thanksgiving to the fun loving inventors who lead the slots gaming world towards,“ So be it… So bet it on slots…”
Though it is not easy to exactly pinpoint who the real inventor is, we go by narrating history in the order of credits agreed upon by historians. Good old luck has a method of slapping and crediting the smart thinker with the limelight and credit for whatever work has been accomplished so far.
Though many inventors have worked as hard and competed as hard to father the title for being the“first automated slots payout inventor” it was Fey who had the luck to get absolute credit for the quality of work he invested in the industry. Here we go with Fey.
Charles Fey– Liberty Bell
Charles Fey of San Francisco, devised the“Liberty Bell,” the first mechanical“gaming device”“gambling device,” with an automatic payout mechanism. Want to see the original“Liberty Bell? Visit Liberty Belle Saloon& Restaurant in Reno, Nevada.
There were gaming machines that were successfully used before the coming of the Liberty Bell, but this machine gave the other gaming companies a run for their money, because this machine spit payouts instantly. The convenience of the automated payout mechanism revolutionized its usage.
The year of invention of this machine is pinned somewhere around 1887.
Fey, initially worked towards creating an automatic payout pattern for the number of winning combinations in an actual poker based card game that long existed in the gambling sphere then. However, the number of combinations in the game and the“then technology of those days” made it near-impossible to integrate the machine with an automatic payout mechanism.
Therefore, Fey, simplified the game by designing a machine with 3 spinning reels with 5 symbols each. This meant he discarded the primordial poker gaming concept to thrash and put forth a new gaming theme that was based on symbols. Not only was the payout automated in this 3-reel-5-symbol machine, but the skill level to play this game was kept a“no-brainer.”
“Money for a no-brainer gaming deal for a few coins subject to the hit or miss risk– not bad indeed for anyone playing with a few coins at a discretionary pace.”
The rest is history that you and I know. The easy pay game, went places around the nation despite the political ban on gambling machines in California. The gambling device was banned in California. However, Fey survived and flourished because there was a consistent demand from other states.
It is an order of time for success stories to be replicated. Liberty Bell was no exception. Several companies came up asking for distribution rights for the machine. Fey refused. The symbols that were used in this machine were Horse Shoes, Diamond, Spade, Hearts, and the Cracked Liberty Bell. Three bells in a row, dispensed the biggest payoff in this machine.
Herbert Mills - Operator Bell
It was money rain for Herbert Mills from Chicago in the year 1907. These guys manufactured the“Operator Bell,” obviously from the core concepts copied from the Liberty bell. Herbert Mills had to, because Fey refused to sell the rights to them. In just a year, the machine was installed in saloons, brothels, bowling alleys, and barber shops. This meant that spinning the reels became a trendy thing for t