Luminous reels on the screen with flashing symbols, classic with fruits, bells, the BAR symbol and the number seven or themed with no limits to the imagination. Slot machines are available today in a wide variety of designs. But where is the origin of the first classic slot machine, the one-armed bandit?
The traditional one-armed bandit - who invented the first slots and when?
The assumptions about the origin of the slot machines go back to three different versions:
The Liberty Bell by Charles Fey 1887 - The first 3-reel slot
Charles August Fey was an inventor of German origin who emigrated to California. He developed the " Liberty Bell " model. As a mechanic and even a gambler, he had ideas for optimizing mechanical slot machines. Gambling machines were already popular, but their mechanics worked poorly rather than well.
Like the following classic slots, Fey equipped his machine with three reels, each of which was printed with five images. The card symbols of spades, diamonds and hearts as well as horseshoes and the Liberty Bell appeared, from which the machine owes its name.
The Liberty Bell became the most famous slot machine in the USA. This enabled Fey to start his own company. He was able to further optimize the invention and rent out slot machines to casinos. On the company Bell Machines , which Fey in cooperation with Mills Novelty Company started to go the first fruit machines back.
The Black Cat slot machine by the Caille brothers in 1889
Adolphe and Arthur Caille grew up in the United States as the sons of French parents. Both were passionate and mechanically gifted tinkerers. They are the inventors of the first automatic cash register , which was able to sort the coins using a special wire system.
The brothers became successful with their company, the Caille Cash Carrier Company . With the specialization in ATMs, they also devoted themselves to the development of gaming machines. In 1889 the Caille Black Cat was released. The machine and the newly founded slot machine factory Caille Bros. Co. quickly became the market leader.
The Black Cat was also operated with a lever on the side. After the coin was inserted, a gear drive made a plate rotate. Previously, the player had to bet on one of the available colors. If the plate remained on the corresponding color, there was a win.
The poker machine by Sittmann and Pitt 1891
The third option for the origin of the one-armed bandit is the slot machine that Sittmann and Pitt launched in New York, USA in 1891. This is also a forerunner of the slot machines known today.
The Sittmann and Pitt machine contained 50 poker playing cards , which is why it was also known as a poker machine. Here, too, after the coin had been inserted, a lever on the side had to be operated to set the five rollers in motion. Players won based on the poker hand they could hit.
Where does the term one armed bandit come from?
Even the first slot machines were called one-armed bandits. The term “one-armed” goes back to the lever on the side of the machines with which they were operated. They were symbolically called “bandits” because they stole the money from the players like robbers.
From mechanical to electronic slots
Today's slot machines owe their name to their original function. Slot is the English term for coin insertion, which was mandatory for operating the machines from the start.
The first mechanical slot machines that spread around the world were equipped with the characteristic side lever. If this was activated after the coin had been used, gear technology in the machine housings set the rollers in motion individually.
The lever was later replaced by a button. Nowadays a click of the mouse is enough for online slots, and they are also used digitally. The traditional reels have remained and are displayed virtually on screens in modern electronic devices. The entire process is computer-controlled and programmed with random generators and fixed payout percentages .
The one-armed bandit from Las Vegas is coming to Germany
The first slot machines find their origins in the USA. The most popular gambling stronghold is Las Vegas in the state of Nevada. However, the slots have spread around the world and have also become very popular in this country. The first slot machines were produced in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century.
The company Jentzsch & Meerz brought Bajazzo onto the market, a finger- striking machine that was initially classified as a game of skill. The developments in gaming law strongly influenced the further expansion of the gaming industry. It was not until the 1960s that slot machines were first placed in casinos in Germany.
In the 1970s, numerous new casinos and amusement arcades opened in Germany. This resulted in a rapid increase in real money machines, which developed into the common repertoire not only in casinos, but also in restaurants and shopping centers.
The most popular manufacturers of gaming machines in Germany today include the Gauselmann Group with Merkur, Novomatic with its subsidiary Löwen Entertainment and Bally Wulff.
Classic slots online
Online casinos have long been just as common as land-based casinos and gaming libraries. Gambling on the Internet offers some advantages that users in Germany and around the world appreciate. For example, the opening times are a relevant factor, because the virtual casino can be visited around the clock and is also location-independent.
The game selection is also a crucial argument. The range in large casinos includes around a hundred machines, while in many online casinos you can access sometimes thousands of slots from various providers . There are traditional fruit machines as well as modern innovations with a wide variety of themes and features.
A classic and popular one-armed bandit in online casinos is, for example, Mega Joker from the manufacturer NetEnt. You can try the slot with us at CasinoOnline.de for free and without registering in the demo version.
Sources:
https://www.forschung-und-wissen.de/magazin/wie-funktionieren-eigentlich-spielautomaten-13372343
https://www.wissen.de/chronik-der-spielautomat-vom-einarmigen-bandit-zum-online -slot
https://www.planet-wissen.de/kultur/metropolen/las_vegas_spielparadies_in_der_wueste/pwiedereinarmigebandit100.html
http://automat-welt.de/blog/geschichte-der-spielautomat
https://de.wikipedia.org/