History of a Slot Machine

Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York, U.S. developed a gambling machine in 1891 which was a precursor to the modern slot machine. It contained five drums holding a total of 50 card faces and was based on poker. This machine proved extremely popular and soon many bars in the city had one or more of the machines. There was no direct payout mechanism, so a pair of kings might get the player a free beer, whereas a royal flush could pay out cigars or drinks, the prizes wholly dependent on what was on offer at the local establishment. 

The first true slot machine was invented by Charles Fey, who devised a much simpler automatic mechanism.Charles Fey devised a machine with three spinning reels containing a total of five symbols – horseshoes, diamonds, spades, hearts, and a Liberty Bell, which also gave the machine its name.

In 1963, Bally developed the first fully electromechanical slot machine called Money Honey. The electromechanical approach of the 1960s allowed Money Honey to be the first slot machine with a bottomless hopper and automatic payout of up to 500 coins without the help of an attendant.

The first true video slot machine was developed in 1976 in an industrial suite in Kearney Mesa, CA by N. Cerracchio, R. Greene, W. Beckman, J. Reukes, and L. Black. The first production units went on trial in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.

The first American video slot machine to offer a "second screen" bonus round was Reel 'Em In developed by WMS Industries, in 1996. This type of machine had appeared in Australia from at least 1994 with the "Three Bags Full" game. In this type of machine, the display changes to provide a different game where an additional payout may be won or accumulated.

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