Slot machines are the most popular gambling game in the world, both in brick-and-mortar casinos and the world's best online casinos. Powered by computers and sporting vivid graphics, slots are powerfully addictive entertainment. Slot machines are so popular that mobile slot games—even those with no payouts—rank in the top five mobile gaming genres.
Believe it or not, slots have been obsessively addictive from their very start. However, it has been a long journey from the first "Iron Cases" (as slot machines were originally called) to today's computerized, mega jackpot wonders. As slot machines have developed and expanded, their development has included its fair share of oddities and curiosities. Let's explore the top five curious facts about slot machines.
Charles Fey of San Francisco is typically credited for inventing the first slot machine in 1895, the "4-11-44." While the 4-11-44 was the first slot machine that paid out coins, "nickel-in-the-slot" machines, as they were called, had been around for over a decade. The originals were mash-ups between vending machines, invented in the 1880s, and gambling machines. Using card symbols and poker hands, they paid in merchandise, like drinks and cigars. They also required an attendant actually to pay out the merchandise.
Vending and gambling machines were nickel-in-the-slot (later simplified to slot machines). However, people soon adopted "Iron Cases" to describe the gambling machines. Vending machines continued to be called slot machines until the first decade of the twentieth century.
The real history of slot machines began when Charles Fey introduced an actual gambling machine. This slot is paid out in coins rather than merchandise. As you might expect, good citizens disapproved.
Within a few years, municipalities began to ban these gambling slot machines. San Francisco banned them in 1909, requiring all 3,300 slots in the city to be junked.
Folks wanted their slots, so the Novelty Company started manufacturing slot machines that also dispensed chewing gum. The reels were populated with fruits to indicate the gum flavor. And the bar symbol? That was originally the physical representation of a stick of gum.
Remember that the next time you hit five cherries . . . a century ago, you'd soon be chewing on some cherry-flavored gum.
Early mechanical slot machines were easy to cheat on. All it took was a stick and determination to jimmy it into the machine to stop the reels. "one-armed bandit" was first used to describe these sleazy slot cheats.
Proper folk who disapproved of slots – and there were many – used the terms "swindling machines" and "nickel-eaters" to describe them. However, "one-armed bandit" had a bit more bite to it, so soon, they used that term to refer to the machine itself, and it stuck.
If you've read somewhere that Charles Fey first called his machines "one-armed bandits," not only is that wrong, but it would also have been the stupidest brand name in marketing history.
The history of slots is one of entrepreneurs staying one step ahead of the law. Regardless of how upright townsfolk wanted to consign the machines to oblivion, players wanted their slots, so entrepreneurs thought up creative ways to get around the laws, serve their public, and make money.
A good example of that is that, for a few years, slots were also vending machines. After inserting a nickel, you got a pack of gum and a spin of the reels.
When the law caught up to that trick, these "vending machines" were modified to pay out winning combinations on the next nickel you put in the machine. Since you did not get a payout on your original nickel, you were technically not gambling that original nickel. You were also not gambling on the second nickel since you had already won.
As you might guess, lawmakers were not fooled and quickly caught up to that trick.
Everything about slot machines changed when slot jackpots were invented in 1916. A lucky player could win all the coins in the machine, usually a whopping 50 cents. The world hasn't been the same since.
Slots jackpots took a massive step forward in 1986 with the invention of linked machines paying out mega-million-dollar progressive jackpots. With a single pull, a player could retire for life.
With the odds of winning a progressive jackpot around 3.2 million to one, one person can't score two of these vast wins. You'd be right. It is statistically impossible. The odds are almost 10 trillion to one.
However, though it may be statistically impossible, it is not impossible.
Elmer Sherman, a World War II veteran, hit the Megabucks $4.9 million progressive jackpot at the Mirage in 1989. Not content with just one big win, he made it his life's goal to be the first person to win two Megabucks jackpots in one lifetime. In 2005, at the sprightly age of 91, he met this goal by snagging $21.1 million at the Cannery 2005, proving that some people have all the luck.
Now that you know these five quirky facts about slot machines, why not try your luck playing slots at one of the world's best online casinos?
Charles Fey, a brilliant mind from San Francisco, is the mastermind behind the first slot machine, the "4-11-44," in 1895. His creation was a culmination of earlier versions known as "nickel-in-the-slot" machines, which had been in existence since the 1880s. These machines ingeniously combined elements of vending and gambling, paying out merchandise like drinks and cigars instead of coins.
The fruit and bar symbols on slot machines were not just random choices, but a clever solution to bypass gambling bans. In the early 1900s, the Novelty Company manufactured slot machines that dispensed chewing gum to circumvent gambling restrictions. The fruit symbols indicated different gum flavors, and the bar symbol represented a stick of gum. This ingenious strategy allowed the machines to operate under the guise of vending machines.
Initially, the term "one-armed bandit" described players who cheated at slot machines by manipulating the reels with sticks. It later evolved to refer to the slot machines themselves, reflecting public disdain from those who saw them as deceitful or swindling devices.
To sidestep anti-gambling laws, some slot machines in the early 20th century operated as vending machines, dispensing items like packs of gum along with a spin of the reels. Later, these machines were modified to pay out on the next coin inserted rather than the first, technically avoiding the definition of gambling at that time. However, lawmakers were quick to recognize and close this loophole.
Against all odds, Elmer Sherman, a World War II veteran, defied the statistics and won not one but two Megabucks progressive jackpots. His first win came in 1989 at the Mirage, a staggering $4.9 million. But he wasn't done yet. In 2005, at the age of 91, he struck gold again at the Cannery, winning a mind-boggling $21.1 million. This incredible feat serves as a testament that, while statistically improbable, winning multiple mega jackpots is not entirely out of reach.
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