The thrill and grandeur of the casinos is best symbolized by one single gambling game tool: the slot machine. This is a no-brainer since the slot machine, in all its simplicity, attracts all sorts of gamblers, both the newbies and the professional ones, to insert coins and spend a series of minutes to have a fun and enjoyable time. It pretty much summarizes what you are getting youself into if you become hooked into the more complex and challenging gambling tables inside the casino.

Nonetheless, even if you are already an expert when it comes to gambling or just a mere spectator, the slot machine would be your best bud at the casino. The thing is that, the slot machine was not really intended to be placed inside the casino or any gambling houses when the idea of such arcade machine was conceived. Let us look at the short but interesting story of the casino’s iconic game.

The Birth Of The Slot Machine

When the slot machine first became popular worldwide, it was known in many names such as the fruit machine for the British people, Puggy for the Scots, and for the good ole’ Americans, the Slots. It would appear that the slot machine has different origin stories in different places, although if we are going to carefully trace back its real origin, it would take us back into the late 19th century with the New York-based entertainment company called Sittman and Pitt.

As we know the slot machine today, it can be played by inserting a coin to pull the lever, and then you will get a combination of symbols on the display, such as spades, apples, bananas, and berries. However, in its considered prototype form from the brainchild of Sittman and Pitt, the symbols used were just the 50 playing cards. In this case, the machine functioned as a dealer of cards, and for you to win, you must be dealth with poker hands, like a straight, flush, three of a kind, four of a kind, or a royal flush, which would give you the biggest reward, just like in a regular poker game.

You would think that at this time, this arcade machine was already a main attraction in a gambling den. However, this prototype slot machine was actually made for the bars so that the bar-goers would have something worthwhile to spend their time with when they are not drinking or talking with their friends.

It was then realized by bar owners that they might be limiting their daily profits as the prototype slot machine seemed to be giving away too much winnings to players. Thus, to increase the house edge, 2 cards were removed from the 50 playing cards in order to decrease the chances of the player getting a royal flush combination on hand.

The Real Father Of The Slot Machine

The real slot machine that matches the one that we see in casinos or slot online today was designed by Charles August Fay. In his design, the machine was made to automatically give out the winnings, based on the slot combination displayed. Before, players would still have to go to the bar counter to claim the payouts.