Slot machines are currently the most popular casino games in the world and can be played at both land-based casinos and online casinos. It is estimated that slot machines make up 70% of casino revenue in Las Vegas and Rio. The huge lobbies and arrays of slot machines thronged by players along the floors of most casinos is a testament to this. In fact, the first thing that you usually spot when you walk into any casino is slot machines and players.
The first ever slot machine, named as “Liberty Bell”, was invented by Charles Fey in California in 1887. Providing a solution of gambling, the machine was the first ever classic “3-reel” slot machine that can process automatic pay-outs. It had three reels with a total of five symbols on each reel. The maximum prize was three Operator Bells aligned on the pay line, which dispensed 10 cents.The simplicity of this machine helped it replace similar “poker machines”, which had too many different variables and pay-outs that had not been automated.
After Liberty Bell, more complex slot machines based on poker, which paved the way without doubt for modern video slot machines, were produced. These poker machines had 5 reels with a total of 50 cards. However, because of their complexity, prizes usually included free drinks or offers, for which you had to go to the serviceman to claim them, as opposed to direct cash pay-outs.
The first electromechanical slot machine was invented in 1966, called “Money Honey”. These machines had solved the problem of higher wining odds with their micro-processing chips and weighted symbols. This allowed prize pools and slot machine pay-outs to be much higher, usually worth £500, up to £1 million.
In 1994, the first online casinos were born and they provided online slots games. Nowadays, online slots have far more features, compared to land-based slot machines. You can even take part in online slots tournaments online at sites such as Slotastic and All Slots Casino.