Evolution of the Revolution: A Brief History of Slots

The Revolution

There’s no doubt that slots are immensely popular in both the physical and online casino world. Those spinning reels truly started a revolution - both in a literal and figurative sense. Reels have been relished ever since their inception. Let’s take a spin back in time to the history of the reel...

In the Beginning

The first ever mechanized slot machine was the “Liberty Bell”. It was invented in 1895 by a car mechanic, named Charles Fey (1862 - 1944), who resided in San Francisco. This slot machine consisted of three reels, covered with diamond, heart, spade, horseshoe and bell symbols.

It’s interesting that a car mechanic created the first mechanized slot, since the driving force of the combustion engine has changed little since it first began. The outward appearance of a modern-day car certainly differs dramatically from early automobiles, but the engine is very much the same. Slots have evolved in an opposite way. The outward appearance is still very recognizable from the early machines, but the “engine” of this revolution in revolving changed dramatically.

Expansion of the Revolution

Charles Fey couldn’t build enough Liberty Bell slots to supply the massive demand, but he outright refused to sell the manufacturing and distribution rights. As a result, Herbert Mills, a Chicago manufacturer of arcade machines, began production of a copy of the Liberty Bell, in 1907. It was known as the “Operator Bell”. Mills adorned the reels with cherries, plums and lemons, making him the first person to use fruit symbols!

Supersonic Electronic!

It took 80 years from the invention of the first mechanical slot machine to the development of the first electronic video slot machine, in 1975, by the Las Vegas-based Fortune Coin Company. It had a 19 inch (48 cm) color screen and logic boards for all the slot functions. The first production units went on trial at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. Their popularity took them to the famous Vegas Strip… and then to this entire revolving world!

Today

The one-armed bandit may have lost its arm, but it never lost its charm! Many of today’s biggest favorites still sport the same playing card symbols and fruit images. There’s little doubt that slots have found a sweet place in the hearts of so many players. Today's slots are packed with features like Bonus Games, Expanding Wilds, Free Spin Rounds, Cascading Reels, Huge Jackpot potentials and so much more. At Casinoin, we're sure the Founding Father of it all, Charles Fey, would have been very proud to see just how far things have come. In celebration of...

Fey,

Play

Today!