As soon as you enter a casino, the electronic sounds of the one armed bandits are all you hear. Slot machines have traveled a long road to reach the popular pastime they are today. The one that started it all was invented by a German mechanic in San Francisco in the 1890s. Charles Fey designed and built his Liberty Bell with 10 symbols among 3 reels. Playing cards were his inspirations for the graphics, so matching any three suits or face cards produced a prize. Bells were also included to award the largest jackpot.

Popularity of the Liberty Bell slot machine became so great, many manufacturers copied the idea and different types of bell slot machines started popping up in cigar stores, saloons, bowling alleys, brothels, and barber shops everywhere. The original Liberty Bell slot machine can still be seen at the Liberty Bell Saloon and Restaurant in Reno, Nevada. Prohibition of gambling threatened the life of slot machines. Fortunately, clever owners substituted the original symbols with fruits and gum. The BAR symbol now common in slot machines was derived from an early logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company. Rather than dispense coins, these machines would dispense candy. This way the slot machines were allowed to remain in play. Some places even called them fruit machines.

Coins quickly came back to slot machines and Bally started producing electromechanical versions in the 1960s. Casinos were hesitant to include them in game rooms because of their bulky size and frequent payouts. However, once they were modified to include more reels, more symbols, and larger bets in the 1970s, casinos were more apt to accept them. Players began wagering more and winning less, much to the delight of the casino owners.

The slot machine endured its biggest transformation in the 1980s with the invention of random number generators. Since casino owners could set payout percentages to every machine, they controlled the amount of money they made. This change also made the iconic arm of the machines obsolete and the SPIN button was more commonly used. However, some slots still sport the arm as a way to remind players of the traditional style.

Nearly three quarters of a casino’s floor space is covered with slot machines. They are also the most profitable for casino owners. From toy replicas to the real deal in Nevada airports, slot machines are everywhere. So simple, yet so much fun, slot machines will continue to be an addicting, popular pastime for years to come!

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