Slot machine history
Charles Fey invented slot machines in 1895. He was a car mechanic
and he lived in San Francisco, California. The fist machine ever
made was the Liberty Bell. It had 3 reels with hearts, diamonds,
spades and a broken Liberty Bell painted around the reels. Three
bells in the pay line produced a jackpot, that in those times where
50 cents or 10 nickels.
Nowadays, you can find the first Liberty Bell slot machines at the
Liberty Bell Saloon & Restaurant in Reno Nevada.
Vending machines were call slot machines also, but latter it became
exclusive for the gambling devices. Charles Fey’s Liberty Bell was a
complete success. A few years later, in 1907, a Chicago arcade
machines manufacturer, made a series of machines alike Fey’s and
they were well known as Operator Bell.
How slot machines work
Slot machines’ technology has experimented many changes over the
years. At the beginning they had a mechanical design, and nowadays
that has been almost completely computerized. Although, the game is
still basically the same.
The reel slot machine has a central metal shaft connected to a
handle mechanism that holds the reels. That handle mechanism is the
one that gives things movement. A braking system is needed to stop
the reels after the spin, and also sensors to detect the reels
position so they can tell the payout. Of course, that a coin
detector is essential to detect that a coin has been inserted and
that also unlocks the handle so it can be moved.
Conventional and electrical slot machines, work on similar
principles. The big differences are that in an electrical machine,
the spinning happens by a motor and the breakers that stop the spin
are activated by solenoids. And of course, that they have more
advanced money-handling systems.
