Do
you enjoy playing the slots? If so, perhaps you
have wondered how they originated. Well, it all
started in Brooklyn, New York. A precursor to
the slot machines was developed by Sittman and
Pitt. This machine was an early version of what
we now know as slots.
The first slot machine was made in 1891 and had
five drums. Each of the drums contained up to
50 cards. These cards were based on the game of
poker since poker was a popular game at the time.
These early slot machines were so popular that
it was difficult to find a bar that didn’t
have one. The machines were rather expensive,
requiring a nickel to play, which at that time
was quite a bit of money. The player would put
in a nickel and pull the lever. If the cards lined
up right, the machine would pay out. However,
these early machines were set up so that they
didn’t pay out very often.
Another machine was created by Charles Fey four
years earlier, in 1887. This machine had three
spinning reels instead of the five drums of the
earlier machine. There were five symbols on each
of the reels: a horseshoe, diamond, heart, spade
and liberty bell. The machine was named the Liberty
Bell. Unfortunately, Fey couldn’t keep up
with the demand for the machine and he sold out
to another company.
Some of the early slot machines are rumored to
have given out flavored chewing gum to match the
symbols on the machines. The machines were often
known by the symbols they displayed, such as cherries
or melons. The bar symbol eventually become the
most common symbol used in slot machines, and
it is still used widely today.
The first electromechanical slot machine was called
the Money Honey. It was created 1964 by Bally.
Now slot machines have evolved to the point where
they are run by computers and can have a huge
number of possible combinations. The large number
of combinations has made it possible for casinos
to offer larger jackpots, because the jackpot
has more time to grow due to the much slimmer
odds of someone winning it.
Sarah Harrigan
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she felt compelled to use her experience as a player to give
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