Let’s start by knowing where its name comes from. The word slots means slots or spaces, and that is why these slot machines are called that way. Because the name alludes to the opening that the machine has and where we must insert the coin to be able to play.
Now let’s learn a little about the history of these popular slot games, which have been with us for more than 100 years.
POKER MACHINE
The history of this fun option to play and win begins in the year 1887 in New York.
The precursor of all this movement was born by the hand of Sittman and Pitt.
It was a manual machine made up of five (5) reels and a lever.
Its mechanical turning mechanism was activated by inserting a coin and lowering the lever.
His symbols were those of the poker cards, except for the J of hearts and the 10 of spades.
To win you had to get combinations like the hands in the game of poker. But, without those two cards (J of hearts and 10 of spades), the chance to win and get the best hand: royal flush; it was very limited.
You could get them in bars, and the prizes depended on the owner of the slot. These used to be: cigarettes and/or drinks.
LIBERTY BELL
It was created by Charles August Fey, in the year 1891 in California.
It became the first automatic payment machine and three (3) reels.
His symbols became only five (5): horseshoe, heart, spades, diamond and the bell of liberty.
To activate the game as in the previous version, you had to insert a coin and lower the lever.
To win, all you had to do was make three (3) identical symbols line up on the three (3) reels. The jackpot was obtained by matching three Liberty Bells on the same line.
OPERATOR BELL
Created by Herbert Mills in 1907, it was the first machine with fruit symbols and the BAR symbol.
You could find them in places of entertainment like nightclubs and bars.
The prizes were gum or food.
It kept the same number of reels and the game mechanism of “Liberty Bell”.
MONEY HONEY
The Bally Manufacturing company created this slot in 1964, as the first electromechanical machine.
In it, the rollers rotated electrically, although the lever still served to start the game.
He kept the three (3) reels like “Operator Bell”, and that to win, the three (3) identical images had to be aligned.
The prizes were cash again and you could win up to 500 chips.
Thanks to the success of Money Honey, for the following evolutions the use of the lever disappeared.
FORTUNE COIN
In 1976 this slot was created by Fortune Coin Co, as the first fully electronic machine.
It was the first video slot that came to stay. This was the pioneer of the machines that we can currently find in physical casinos.
ONLINE CASINOS
Starting in 1996 with the appearance of the Internet, the first online casinos were created.
The first casinos were Intercasino and The Gaming Club. With them came all these wonderful machines, which we can currently enjoy online.
To finish this story, the last evolution reaches our times. With the rise of mobile devices and their advances, games and casinos had to adapt their platforms for them. A wonderful innovation that from the palm of our hand, allows us to access the thousands of slot games available on the web.
Today’s slots offer us colorful themes, full of light and accompanied by soundtracks, which allow us to immerse ourselves in them. Thousands of themes, as we saw above, are waiting for you to take you on incredible adventures. Discover ancient cultures and magical places. Play free slots first, then your favorite real money slots.