Slot machines have become a true staple of both land-based and online casinos. But they’re actually a relatively new arrival on the scene compared to classic casino games like Roulette and Blackjack.
The first slot machines were only invented at the end of the 19th century, but they’ve come a long way in the little over a century that they’ve been around. These days, you can find classic Slots styled after early versions of the game alongside modern designs like Gold Cash Free Spins.
But rather than looking at the many newer Slots, let’s take a look back at the story behind those early slot machine designs and the invention of this casino staple.
Slot machines before slot machines
Similar inventions to slot machines had started to crop up in the late decades of the 19th century. The most notable was a design by developers Sittman and Pitt, who created something quite similar to the core of modern Slots.
Their design featured five drums printed with 50 different playing card faces. Players pulled a lever to spin the drums, waiting to see whether they would land on a set of five cards that made up a valid Poker hand. The stronger the Poker hand, the better the payout.
You can almost see the earliest roots of video Poker in the design, despite its similarity to other slot machines.
Charles Fey and the Liberty Bell
What most agree on as the true origin point of modern slot machines is the Liberty Bell. This was created by Charles Fey in 1895 and would quickly spread to venues across the United States.
Fey was born in Germany and immigrated to the US in his youth, becoming a mechanic and settling in San Francisco. That mechanical background saw him create his own slot machine design, working on it throughout the early 1890s.
The Liberty Bell featured a more streamlined design compared to Sittman and Pitt’s machine, with just three reels and only five different symbols. These included the playing card suits of hearts, diamonds and spades alongside horseshoes and the titular Liberty Bell.
Players would pull a lever to set the reels in motion, with a combination of three Liberty Bells carrying the highest payout. Something particularly important about Fey’s design was its ability to automate payouts, unlike the Sittman and Pitt designs.
Fruits and copycats
Fey’s slot machine design proved an instant hit, with demand quickly outstripping supply. This led to many other designers putting out their own versions of the slot machine, with many closely copying the format of the Liberty Bell.
By the start of the 20th century, a new set of symbols began to emerge on the reels of slot machines around the US. Rather than using playing card suits, horseshoes or flags, these games featured fruits like cherries, lemons and watermelons on their reels.
This pivot was partly to make these games stand out better but was also due to a desire to distance themselves from the association with other casino games through the use of playing card symbols.
Thanks to the switch, slot machines are still known as fruit machines in plenty of regions.
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As classic Slots and fruit symbols remain a popular design to this day, there’s no denying how iconic those early slot machines were. But Slots only look set to develop further as technology continues to evolve, with new designs and mechanics emerging even now.
