Slot machines have been entertaining gamers for over 100 years but they continue to be one of the most popular attractions at casinos around the world. Slots, sometimes called "pokies" or "fruit machines" allow gamblers to enjoy a fun-filled, relaxing gaming adventure with special features bonus rounds and plenty of real money payouts.
Each game is unique – some have free spins rounds, others have multipliers and special additional side games and, if you like a special thrill, you can pick a game that offers a special jackpot prize!
How has one simple gaming genre managed to retain its popularity for so long? Grande Vegas invites you to journey into slot machine history.
Early Days
The first slot machine was built in 1891 as a type of machine poker game. The machine displayed 50 card faces on five drums with the goal being to create a winning poker hand by spinning the drums. In some areas, this machine became known as a "pokie" and in places like Australia and New Zealand, the name has stuck. The machine became popular in salons and bars which paid out cigars and drinks to players who scored winning combinations but it also earned the animosity of anti-gambling activists who campaigned against it.
A few years later car mechanic Charles Fey attempted to make the machine more acceptable to the public by featuring symbols of diamonds, spades and hearts on the reels along stars, horseshoes and an image of the Liberty Bell.
He also sought a solution to the question of how such a machine could make an automatic payout for a winning combination which would relieve the bartender or shop owner from worrying about paying out cash for wins. Fey called his machine the "Liberty Bell". It was designed with three spinning reels with symbols like on each reel.
The early Liberty Bell was made from over 100 pounds of cast iron with spins resulting from the appearance of three simultaneous Liberty Bells proving the largest payout. Later on, fruit symbols were added. Grand payout for the highest value combination on the Liberty Bell machine was 50 cents.
Later on, Fey added a trade check separator which had a detecting pin to distinguish fake nickels or slugs from real coins. The Liberty Bell became a fixture in many saloons and bars, giving Fey 50% of the profits. You can still see one of these early Liberty Bell slot machines at the Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant in Reno, which is owned by Fey's descendants.
Money Honey, Big Bertha and Video Slots
Slot machines continued to evolve to meet the growing demand. When machines were created with fruit symbols like oranges, lemons and cherries, they started to pop up in family markets and soda shops. Even with these types of innocuous symbols and payouts in pieces of candy and gum, gambling laws made it difficult for shop owners to have slot machines in their shops and they were banned in many locales. Slots got a new lease on life when Vegas casinos opened in the 1930s and incorporated them into their core business.
In the 1940s Vegas's "Big Bertha" expanded the simple 3-reel slot machine to an 8-reel machine powered by a five-horsepower engine. The first move towards a more mechanical operation came in 1963 when the Bally Manufacturing Corporation created an electromechanical slot with a bottomless hopper. The "Money Honey" eliminated the need for an attendant to pay out wins and quickly became the industry standard.
Video Slots
As video gaming and arcade games became popular, slots developers started to incorporate some of the elements of these games into casino slots.
Early Random Number Generators (RNGs) like the Inverse Congruential Generator, the Blum Blum Shub Generator, the Park-Miller Generator and the ACORN Generator began to be featured as methods for ensuring fair and random results on every spin from the mid-'80s.
Microchip-powered slots, which allowed for more functionality in the limited space, soon followed. Both casinos and players applauded these innovations which allowed for more reels, pre-determined payouts for various combinations, extra features and progressive jackpot options.
Today, if you visit a land-based casino you can still play slot machines in the slots lobby but most slots players now prefer to play slots online. Online casino slots gamers can find hundreds of options ranging from classic three-reel slots to five-reel video slots. These machines offer themed games with storylines about holidays, romance, suspense, whimsy, adventure, intrigue and other engaging plots so each player can enjoy a game that meets his or her individual interests and fantasies.
Slots of today also incorporate different features within the games – Wilds, Scatters, multipliers, free spins rounds, pick-a-symbol bonuses, rolling Wilds, exploding symbols, expanding reels, PayWays slots and much more!
Slots of Tomorrow
Slot machine designers continue to create new and more engaging slot machines. Many of today's slots include social gaming opportunities. In addition, there are jackpot games with up to 5 different jackpot prizes. You can place bets of any denomination using your preferred ebanking institution or a cybercurrency transaction. In the future, gamers can expect to see slots with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality elements.
Check out the slots lobby today to see what's new at Grande Vegas!
