Playing slot games is an ideal way to take a break from the everyday realities of your life and enjoy some relaxing fun. With so many games to choose from, slots are something that most people take for granted. They do not understand how far slot machines have come since their inception. Here is a look at the evolution of slot machines:
A trip back in time
Early slot machines boasted none of today’s cutting-edge technology, graphics, and audio of any real money online slots games you can find at virtual casinos. Indeed, these behemoths were unsophisticated, mechanical devices. The first one was invented by Bavarian-born Charles August Fey in 1894. He started manufacturing them fulltime in 1895. In 1899, he fabricated the Liberty Bell, a device historians regard as the first proper slot machine.
Other manufacturers began producing slot machines and they started popping up all over America, despite being illegal in most states. Their designers started using fruit and bar symbols as a disguise, claiming these machines dispensed candy and chewing gum as prizes. By the 1950s, slot machines were banned across America, except for Nevada. Even this limitation did not put a dampener on the slot machine’s evolution, leading to its most up-to-date version being featured in mobile casino apps.
A giant leap forward
The technological advances used to fight World Wars One and Two set the stage for an electromechanical slot machine in the 1950s. These devices offered a new payout option: the three-coin multiplier. Money Honey was one of the first electromechanical slot machines and paid out 500 coins when users hit its jackpot.
Despite restrictions on the distribution of slot machines in America, the industry was thriving as people descended on Las Vegas to play them. Several manufacturers succeeded by growing a business out of making and selling slot machines to Nevada’s casinos.
Video slots
When video slot machines emerged in the 1980s, people did not take to them immediately. Digitization in the 1970s led to video slots, which no longer featured pull arms. Most people found tapping buttons and seeing digital slots reeling dull and boring compared with older slot machines. However, they soon saw the benefits of these more modern machines when it emerged that they could pay out massive jackpots, unlike anything earlier models could muster.
As the 1980s progressed and Native American tribes began opening casinos, slot machines reached new heights of popularity. Indeed, they represented the largest portion of casino profits.
Online slots
Charles Fey could never have imagined today’s world, where slots are now a few taps or clicks away using a smartphone and internet connection. Despite these significant advances, the principle of slot games remains identical. There is no sure way to determine how to be lucky as they remain games of chance.
However, that seems to draw people to them in greater numbers since slot games went online. After all, there is nothing better than the rush of watching the reels spin and hoping to hit the jackpot.
2018 ·
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