The Men Behind the Slot Machine
Slot machines are one of casino games that serve as pillars of the casino industry. This is because the game is so simple that almost everyone enjoys the game. If one is just tired of playing strategic casino games, one can just sit down at a slot machine and pull the lever or press the button.
Because slot machines have become so popular there have been tons of variations coming out. There are the multi-payline slot machines, the video slot machines, the progressive slot machines, and several others.
The Sittman and Pitt Invention
But about a century ago, slot machines were a far cry from slot machines of today. It was during the year of 1891 that Sittman and Pitt invented the slot machine. But what they invented was considered to be only a gambling machine precursor to the slot machines we play today.
The machine of Sittman and Pitt contained 5 drums that held 50 card faces based on poker. This primitive machine became very popular and every bar in Brooklyn, New York had one. Players would put in a nickel and press a lever that spins the drums and the cards the machine held. The player would then hope that the results of the spin will be a good poker hand.
Their machine had no payout mechanism though. So if a player wins he or she could get a free beer or cigar. The prize was dependent on the establishment where the machine is located.
This primitive machine made the odds favorable for the house by removing two cards. It is usually the 10 of Spades and the Jack of Hearts, to cut the odds of winning a Royal Flush in half.
Charles Fey The Innovator
In 1895, a simpler automatic slot machine was devised by Charles Fey. Since slot machines’ payouts were based on poker, it was impossible to make a machine that could pay out all those different winning combinations.
Instead of mixing the concept of slot machine with poker, Charles Fey mad a machine that only used 3 spinning reels with 5 symbols. Those 5 symbols were horseshoes, diamonds, spades, hearts and the Liberty Belle. By reducing the symbols the winning combinations were reduced. This allowed Fey to device a payout system.
In 1907 Charles Fey joined with the Mills Novelty Company. This made Fey be able to continually improve his Slot Machine.
The different variations of slot machines were later on introduced by the Mills Novelty Company. They created different themes that attracted more players. One of the first new designs featured was the Lion’s Head in 1931.
It was Sittman and Pitt who pioneered slot machines. But it was Charles Fey who started to modernize the slot machines and the Mills Novelty Company started to create the many variations of slot machines we see today.
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