The First Slot Machines

The history of slot machines began in 1891, when Pitt and Sittman designed a machine that acted as a precursor to the modern slot machine in New York that possessed five drums that would display poker hands. This original design had no payback mechanism, which meant that the places in New York that bought them paid the players in prizes of their own, most often in the form of free drinks. Online slots would not enter the scene for a century from this momentous year.

Charles Fey made the first real slot in his basement and called it the Liberty Bell. This first machine of Feys was different to anything made today, consisting of over one hundred pounds of cast iron and lacking the fruit symbols many associate with slots. In the place of these fruits, the Liberty Bell had stars, horseshoes and suits from playing cards. Its payout was fifty cent, a substantial amount at the time. The very first Liberty Bell designed by Fey can be found in Reno, in The Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant. This establishment is owned and maintained by his grandchildren, who preserve Feys part in the history of slot machines.

Fey went on to make the Operator Bell Slot machine, the first to feature the famous fruit design, which became the standard for slot machine aesthetics. This machine altered the course of slot machine design. Anti-slot machine ideologies began to rise, with people protesting the machines themselves, and Fey had to be clever. He designed many of his machines to work like vending machines instead, which later caused a great deal of trouble for the owners of vending machines as the public often confused the two. The Bell-Fruit Gum Company is reputed to have stolen a slot machine from Fey, and they were the first to mass produce machines that dispensed gum with every pull in order to mask the true nature of the slot machine. This is where the BAR symbol originates from, as it was actually an effort to market gum. Now like the majority of games, slots can also be played online on various casino sites. www.sexystarscasino.com is an example of online slots that appeals to older gamers.