The flashing lights. The clinking coins. The palpable anticipation as you watch the reels spin. Slot machines have an unmistakable allure that has enthralled gamblers for over 120 years.
From humble beginnings in San Francisco barrooms to omnipresence in today’s glitzy casinos, slot machines at Lucky 7even Casino have had a tumultuous and captivating history. Their evolution traces a rollercoaster ride of technological advances, legal wins and losses, big money jackpots, and moral outrage.
Come take a historical journey through the ups and downs of the iconic slot machine.
The Birth of the One-Armed Bandit (1891-1902)
The prototypical slot machine was born in 1891 in Brooklyn, New York when an enterprising mechanic named Sittman and Pitt created the first “poker gambling machine.”
Inspired by the popularity of poker, it featured five drums holding a total of 50 card faces. Players deposited a nickel and pulled a lever to spin the drums, hoping to get a good poker hand from the selection of cards. There were no direct payouts since the proprietor would award free drinks or cigars for winning hands.
It didn’t take long for Charles Augustus Fey to improve on the poker machine by creating the iconic three-reel game that defined slots for decades called the Liberty Bell. The major innovation was allowing automatic payouts depending on which symbols aligned. The highest payout was for lining up three liberty bells, hence the name of the game.
As Fey ironically worked for a San Francisco mechanic shop, slots came to be associated with the Wild West. Often situated in seedy saloons and backrooms, they gained the nickname of the “one-armed bandit” due to their ability to mercilessly empty wallets and purses.
The Slot Machine Craze (1902-1964)
Fey’s machines were an instant success, triggering a slot machine craze at the turn of the 20th century, with similar games spread across the country. Their questionable legal status actually fueled demand as gamblers sought out slots at bars, bowling alleys, stores, and gas stations.
Major technological innovations in the first half of the 1900s set the stage for their impending popularity surge:
- 1902 – Payouts of gum and fruit-flavored candies invented
- 1908 – First electromechanical slot called the “Operator Bell”
- 1940s – Wider adoption of electronic slots using random number generators
As evidenced by the candy payouts, slot themes expanded beyond just poker hands and liberty bells. Hundreds of Liberty Bell knock-offs emerged, like “Shamrock Slots” and “Klondike Slots” featuring shamrocks, gold nuggets, card suits, horseshoes, and pictures of celebrities. Games also moved beyond 3 reels to add more winning symbol combinations.
This 30+ year period laid crucial foundations, but slots truly exploded into the mainstream during the next iconic era.
Slot Machines Hit the Jackpot (1964-Present)
The current slot machine empire owes much of its prowess to the legalization of gambling in Las Vegas in 1931. However, technological leaps in the 1960s turbocharged the slot machine into being casino’s most profitable game.
1964 marked a watershed year when Bally Manufacturing developed the first fully electromechanical slot machine called Money Honey. It could automatically payout up to 500 coins without needing refills and revolutionized the industry, vaulting Bally to a slot machine powerhouse.
Quickly following were major firsts like the first video slot machine (Fortune Coin in 1976), multiplayer slots (S-Slot in 1996), and linked progressive jackpots (Megabucks, 1986).
We are currently firmly in the video slot era with computerization removing mechanical reels and constraints, permitting innovations like:
- Movie & pop culture themes
- Advanced 3D graphics and animations
- Intricate bonus rounds and free spin features
The flexibility of video has created an immersive slot experience with explosive Jackpots. The current record is $17.3 million from Cosmopolitan Las Vegas!
Slot parlors now make up over 70% of casino gaming revenue and have expanded internationally. China legalizes slot arcades while countries like Italy, Russia, and Mexico host tens of thousands of regulated slots. Experts peg the global slot machine market to be $95 billion by 2027.
The Past and Future Evolution
| Year | Key Evolution |
| 1891 | First slot machine patented |
| 1964 | Electromechanical slots spur casino adoption |
| 1976 | First video slot machine |
| 1996 | First multiplayer slots |
| 2021 | VR slots gain traction |
| 2024 | Skill-based slots introduced |
| 2026 | Regulated online slots |
120 years since Sittman and Pitt, slots continue evolving at warp speed. With offerings like virtual reality slots and skilled-based slots on the horizon, their permutation possibilities are endless. States like Ohio may regulate online slots as early as 2026.
One thing is certain – as long as there are coins, slots will continue gripping gamblers with their timeless allure of jackpot chasing entertainment.
