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Slot Machines History

An American invention, slot 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 slot 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. Feys firts machine was not any more bulky or any more crude than modern day examples.

Presented in 1887 as a 'New Nickel Operated Machine', Charley Fey, machinist and gamer, provided the world with what would become a phenomenon. The San Francisco Chronicle described Fey's machine: "A machine featuring 3 reels mostly hidden with Horseshoes, Spades, Diamonds, Hearts, Bells symbols on reels. The device is operated by depositing a nickel in a slot to release the handle, when the right combination of symbols stop in the window the player is awarded coins ranging from 2, on 2 Horseshoes to 20 for 3 bells.

The details of the slot machines (not online) we're discussing are necessary knowledge for anyone who wants to make this an important part of their day. Essential, a cabinet housing contains three or more narrow cylindrical drums, commonly called reels, which are marked with symbols. Vertically disposed on a common axis, the reels are caused to revolve freely when a player activates the machine and pulls a lever-like handle affixed in the side of the cabinet. Payoffs are handled instantly, based on the horizontal alignment of symbols after the reels come to rest.

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 slots 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.

You may be familiar with the name 'Big Bertha' when it comes to the reels. This machine was designed to accept half dollar and dollars, and to pay back about 80% of what it takes in. The box is made for the most part to be a propaganda machine, catching customers imaginations and desires in one big metal mental image.

This six by ten foot super slot machine is said to have cost more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to produce. A Five horsepower electric motor is needed to power the twenty-inch wide chain driven wheels. With eight reels containing 20 symbols each, there are 25.6 billion different possible combinations. That's right BILLION. Only one of which actually pays the 1 million dollar promised prize. A little more basic math shows that with these odds, one individual would have to put about 205 billion one dollar spins to work to mathematically hit the million dollar prize.

A long-standing record of $65,093 was won in one slot 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.

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