What is a Slot Machine?
A slot machine is a machine that was invented holding a certain number of reels (wheels) classically three and a certain number of symbols around those wheels that can spin and make up a variation of combinations that if combined correctly could combine a winning line. The first machine that was created that somewhat mirrors what we have now in days is Charles Fey's Liberty Bell. Fey invented this "one arm bandit" in 1887 in San Francisco, CA and based it on 5 symbols (the horseshoe, the heart, the diamond, the spade and a Liberty Bell) with 3 wheels that spun when you pulled on the handle. Fey was able to program an automatic payout mechanism to where the machine would know that 3 Liberty Bells was the highest win and would pay out 10 nickels. The games popularity grew so quickly that Fey couldn't make as many machines as were asked for and although these machines were banned from California, he had plenty of demand in other parts of the country. Other machines started to rise up in the 1900's based on fruit chewing gum symbols, the typical cherry and melon symbols you now see come from these old fruit symbols. The common BAR symbol you now see in slot machines was from the early logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company. The first fully electromechanical slot machine was invented by Bally Technologies, Inc. (originally Bally Manufacturing Corporation) in 1964 and was named Money Honey.