Over
100 years has passed since the first ever slot machine, the
"Liberty Bell" was launched. The biggest developments
have occurred between the late 1970's and today. We are sure
to see even bigger and greater changes in the years to come
as technology becomes more advanced making more ideas a possibility.
Below you will find a timeline of the changes and developments
that have occurred in the world of slot machines.
Timeline
1897 : The Invention
Charles August Fey, a car mechanic from San Francisco invents
the "Liberty Bell" mechanical slot machine. It had
four symbols on the three reels and was somewhat easy to cheat
as the handle controlled the reels. For this reason the top
jackpot was a rather small fifty cents.
1898 to 1909 : Popularity Grows
While there were no major changes to how slots worked several
new companies began making games with specifications the same
as the Liberty Bell but with different appearances. It was a
fast growing industry as the demand for new games was high.
1909 : Prohibition
The early years of the 1900's brought a setback to the slot
manufacturers. The anti gambling campaigners managed to get
the games banned, first in San Francisco, then Nevada and finally
the whole of California. Of course as we know now this was just
a temporary setback.
1964 : Electro-mechanical Slot Machines Bally Manufacturing releases "Money Honey"
with some major differences between it and it's predecessors.
Firstly the inside working were now electronic parts rather
than springs. Secondly they added sounds, lights, the option
to bet multiple coins and a hopper for coins.
1975 : First Video Slot Machine Hits Casino Floors
Walt Fraley invents the "Fortune Coin" video screen
game. At the time it was not popular as players where skeptical
about the technology and did not trust the virtual reels over
the wide spread spinning reel slots.
1976 : International Game Technology
Seeing the potential of the video slot and the advantages, IGT
purchases the Fortune Coin manufacturer and uses their technology
to bring out a host of new games. They grow to be the second
largest slot manufacturer and focus on video reel slots.
1979 : Video Poker Becomes Popular
It was the invention of video poker that really caused the video
slot popularity to grow. Players quickly took to video poker machines and the manufacturers started to introduce the first wave of
video slot machines.
1980 to Today : Innovations, Linked Progressives and Bonus
Games
Since the early eight slot machine makers have continually added
new and exciting features to video slots. These have included
the linking of jackpots in state and country wide progressives
and the addition of the bonus game. By linking the jackpots
casinos have the ability to have multi-million dollar jackpots
that grow fast and hit frequently.
Today you will be hard pressed to find a video slot that does
not have some sort of bonus. From free games to pick a box and
to game show themes video slots have come a long way compared
to Charles Fey's first invention - the Liberty Bell.
Over
100 years has passed since the first ever slot machine, the
"Liberty Bell" was launched. The biggest developments
have occurred between the late 1970's and today. We are sure
to see even bigger and greater changes in the years to come
as technology becomes more advanced making more ideas a possibility.