Most of these early “chewing gum dispensers” didn’t have slots for nickels, and the financial transactions were done over the bar itself. The card suits were replaced with the now-ubiquitous fruits, and anyone who got three like fruits would win some chewing gum of that flavor. By 1909, they were finding ways to circumvent the bans on slot machines that were being imposed by many states and cities. Over 100 of these machines were made, but only four survive today due to the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire.Ĭompetitors quickly refined the original design. The simpler and smaller method allowed automatic payouts of actual cash, and three bells produced the biggest payout of 50 cents. These symbols were the eponymous bells, hearts, spades, diamonds, and horseshoes.

This used three spinning reels with five symbols on each. History of Slot Machines at the Turn of the 1900sįinally, in 1894-5, a Bavarian-born San Franciscan named Charles Fey created the “Liberty Bell”, the first true slot machine. A big problem, however, was that automatic payouts were impossible due to a large amount of winning combinations.

The 10 of spades and jack of hearts were not included on most machines, which made it harder for people to get a royal flush. Like before, people would put nickels in and get drinks or cigars as prizes based on the hands they won. This machine had five drums, and each drum had 10 different card faces on it, which made it a primitive slot poker machine. In 1891 a Brooklyn establishment developed a machine that was closer to what we know today.

These were novelty machines that featured things like toy horses racing around a small track, and patrons of bars and saloons would often bet nickels or tokens that could be redeemed for drinks and cigars.

The name comes from dropping a nickel into the coin slot to get the product you wanted.īy 1885, the first machines designed for gambling were created, but they bore little resemblance to what we call a slot machine today. The term “slot machine” originally referred to standard vending machines when it was first coined back in the 1880s. What you may not know is that the history of slot machines is fascinating and shows just where they’re headed in the future. You put your money in, pull the lever and hope that the reels match up for the big payout.

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