Basic Information

An American invention, slots have since become very popular all around the world. The most notable places include Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, and the Caribbean. As a 29 year-old Mechanic, Charles Fey manufactured the first reels for gaming in 1887, a heck of a long time ago. San Francisco was the town to be in if you were a precognitive slots momma at the turn of century, and what fun it would be to be there now. The first machines were manufactured by hand by Fey himself and placed in the local gambling palaces on a 50% rental basis.

So in addition to being the inventor, Fey was also the first proprietor of the machines. Somewhat surprisingly, and against some modern mythology, Fey's first machine was not any more bulky or any more crude than modern day examples. Nor did its reels carry the fruit symbols common today. The first slot machine was actually called the Liberty Bell, how appropriate a name for the game that has become a symbol of American culture and capitalism.

The original symbols included the standard playing card imagery we are all used to - hearts, diamonds and spades- along with bells, horseshoes and a star. This original machine can still be seen today in a collection at the Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant in Reno Nevada, which is owned and operated by Fey's own lineage.Nickel and quarter machines are by far the most popular, and account for about 85% of reel action in any given year. This popularity is followed by the dime boxes, then half dollar and silver dollar machines. You can now find machines that accept $5 bills, and some rather large progressive jackpot machines that take $100 bills!The modern, deluxe, single coin one armed bandits with a nice shiny chrome finish can run you as much as $1,700 to own for yourself. But even if you're thinking of dropping that coin, check and make sure its legal to own a slot machine in the state or country you live in.

A long-standing record of $65,093 was won in one slots pull on a one-dollar progressive at Harold's Club in Reno in 1973. Quite recently (in 2001) a woman won over $1,000,000 in an Ontario, Canada Casino. It's worth noting the machine was a progressive that was $100 a pull.