A
man named Charles Fey developed
the first commercially successful
slot machine in his San Francisco
machine shop around 1896.
Made of cast iron with three
internal reels, a slot for
taking in coins and an external
lever for activating the machine,
it quickly became a staple
of saloons, gambling houses
and even many retail stores
(where patrons would trade
their winnings for goods from
the store - hence the term
"trade goods").
Today, no casino would be
complete without gleaming
rows of noisy, colorful, brightly
lit slot machines. The mix
of sounds from hundreds of
machines chirping, spinning,
stopping and clinking out
coins is the iconic background
music that fills every casino
floor. They are by far the
most popular casino game in
the world, both in terms of
number of games played and
total wagers.
With the advent of digital
electronics, slot machines
have expanded from the original
mechanical design to a wide
range of computer-generated
displays with multi-stage
games and other new twists
on an old favorite. First
came multi-line slots with
additional pay lines. Then
video slots came on the scene
to give game designers much
more freedom to create interesting
and innovative variations.
Because they are computer-based,
a number of video slots can
be linked together to establish
rapidly growing progressive
jackpots.
With this continual evolution
in excitement and entertainment
value, the Slot Machine will
remain as the most popular
casino game for years to come.
