History of Slot Machines
San Fransisco became the birthplace of the slot machine in 1887 when Charles Fey placed the first nickel in the slot machine in some local gambling palaces. Before Charles Fey produced the first slot machine there never had been such a money maker for gambling operators and considering the little effort required these machines now lovengly reffered to as "One Armed Bndits" have become a major profit maker for casinos.To highlight how profitable slot machine had become in just 85 years lets look at some data from 1972. The Nevada casinos reported that combined slot machines accounted for approximately $300 million in gross profits. The remainder of the casino games like Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Baccarat etc accounted for a combined total of approximately $423 million. So in percentage terms, the profit from slot machines was about 70% of all other casino games combined and about 40% of all the casino's revenues. That is quite amazing for a game that requires very little input from casino personel.
Although the slot machine was invented by an American named Charles Fey, slot machines today can be found in all corners of the world. Whether you are in Eurpoe, Africa, Asia and of Course North and South America you are certain to find a slot machine.
The slot machine started it's life in a small san Fransisco machine shop. 29 year old macanic Charles Fey created the game that millions today love. Charles began by manufacturing slot machine by hand and placing them in local gaming palaces where he rented the floor space from the palace's owners for 50% of the machines revenue. This made his not only the inventor of the slot machine but also the first operator of these machines.
Surprisingly the first Slot machine from the outside looked very much like modern day machines. It was not bulkier or cruder than todays machines. Charles machines were actually a tiny bit smaller than modern machines. Not only were the machine smaller but the reels did not contain the fruit symbols of modern machines. The reels actually had playing card symbols (minus clubs) on them, along with horseshoes, bells and a star.
The reels onthe first slotmachines had ten symbols on them, that makes them smaller than the 20 symbol reels today. Another difference between machines from yesteryear and today is that there was a small window in which you could only see the symbols that lined up on the payline. You could not see the symbols above or below the payline like you can on todays machines. Another difference is that Charles's machines did not have a jackpot.
Like todays machines the three reels were mounted vertically and when the player inserted a nickle and pulled the lever the reels spun. If the symbols on the reels lined up in a paying combination then the machine paid out the correct number of coins. Each machine had a pay chart to show what symbol were winning symbols and how much each combination was worth. Despite the fact that the pay chart showed to payouts in drinks the machine did payout in cash and not drinks.
| Three Bells | 10 drinks | |
| Flush of hearts | 8 drinks | |
| Flush of diamonds | 6 drinks | |
| Flush of spades | 4 drinks | |
| Two horseshoes and star | 2 drinks | |
| Two horseshoes | 1 drink |
Fey's machines were a great success, so successful that he was unable to keep up with demand in his small workshop. Many gambing equipment manufactuers noticed the demand and approached Charles to purchase the rights to his slot machines. Charles refused all offers and continued to the exclusive supplier on slot machines until around 1907 when Herbert Stephen Mills from Chicago began manufacturing a machine which was very similar to Chrales's machine. Up until this point the slot machine had been a California phenomenon.
If you would like to see one of the original slot machines or any of the other machines that Charles Fey designed like Draw Poker, On the Square, Little Chief, Duo, Little Vender, Silver Cup and Silver Dollar (the first to accept the silver dollar coin) you can visit the Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant in Reno NV. The Liberty Belle is owned and operated by Charles Fey's family.
