A Detailed Look at Slot Machines for Players
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When Sittman and Pitt, a Brooklyn based company in New York developed the first poker machine there’s little chance they had any idea what sort of impact their game would have on the world. Similarly, when Charles Fey created the Liberty Bell, the world’s first true slot machine, he probably had no clue as to how popular it would be with players across the globe.
Today, slot machines are the worlds most played casino game, both in land based arenas and online. Players flock to slot machines whenever they have the opportunity and the number of different games and styles that have been invented and developed over the years have been simply astounding. Online, players will find thousands of these reel-spinning games and there are games to suit every style and genre imaginable.
A World Wide Slots Phenomenon
Slot machines are popular the world over, not just in the gambling meccas of Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Macau, but on every corner of the globe. In Australia these games are practically a national pastime and for years have been nicknamed pokies, probably in reference to the original poker games that they stem from. The name pokies have stuck and any player from New Zealand or Down Under calls slots by this moniker.
In the USA the games are still referred to as slots machines, whilst in the UK they have earned the nickname of fruit machines. Calling slot machines fruit machines harks back to the day when these machines featured fruit on their reels and lining up a colourful winning combination could see you win sticks of gum or a beer, rather than a cash prize.
The Liberty Bell
Charles Fey was a car mechanic in San Francisco, but his claim to fame had nothing to do with cars. Instead, Fey is considered to be the father of slots games as he improved upon Sittman and Pitts poker machine and created a game that featured 3 reels and 5 symbols in 1887, thus fully automating the game of poker, as Sittman and Pitt had intended.
The slot machines symbols were a Liberty Bell after which it took its name, diamonds, hearts, and horseshoes and spades. The Liberty Bell was the jackpot symbol and lining up 3 of these in a row saw players be rewarded with the highest payout. The Liberty Bell proved to be so popular that it was banned in San Francisco, but that didn’t stop it spreading to other parts of the US and a number of companies creating their own versions.
Electromechanical Slot Machines Hit the Market
In 1963 Bally technologies took a giant leap forward and created Money Honey, the worlds first electromechanical slot machine. This game set the stage for massive advancements and by the late 1980’s there were an array of impressive games available at all land-based casinos.
With the first online casino opening in 1994 slots soon became available in a whole new way. Over 2 decades online casinos like bet365 NZ have grown exponentially and there are now so many of these games available online, players will never run out of options.
Thanks to mobile technology slot machines have undergone another transformation and players are also able to enjoy a vast selection of these games on tablet or smartphone.