The Evolution of Slots

A San Francisco Mechanic Creates the Liberty Bell

San Francisco mechanic Charles Fey is often dubbed the Father of the Slot Machine, although some believe he borrowed the idea from Sittman and Pitt, who had manufactured a similar coin-operated gaming machine in 1891.

Sittman and Pitt’s creation resembled a video poker machine in that it used five rotating drums and fifty playing cards (ten cards on each drum). The device could be played for as little as a nickel. Players would insert a coin into a slot and pull a lever to set the drums, along with the playing cards they contained, in motion.

The machines were installed in many saloons and bars, quickly drawing the public’s attention. They awarded payouts for five-card poker hands, with high-ranking combinations paying more than low-ranking ones.

The Ten of Spades and the Jack of Hearts were removed, which reduced the odds of hitting premium hands like the royal flush. Sittman and Pitt’s machine lacked a direct payout mechanism, so players were awarded soft drinks, free beer, and cigarettes.

The prizes varied depending on the establishment hosting the game. At the time, it was impossible to design a machine that could pay out automatically because of the high number of potential winning combinations in the card-based game.

It is believed that Fey created his machine sometime between 1887 and 1895 in his San Francisco workshop, but the exact year remains unknown. Fey introduced several improvements to his prototype, reducing the number of drums – or reels, as they are called – from five to three, with each drum containing five symbols.

The symbols were diamonds, hearts, spades, a horseshoe, and a bell. Fey named his machine the Liberty Bell after the bell symbol. With fewer symbols and drums, it was much easier for players to recognize a win. More importantly, Fey’s Liberty Bell was capable of paying prizes automatically.

Liberty Bell machines are no longer in operation. Most were destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, with only four machines surviving. A Liberty Bell machine from 1899 was displayed as a gaming artifact in Reno’s Liberty Belle Saloon, owned by the inventor’s sons, Frank and Marshall Fey, until the establishment was sold in 2006. The Nevada State Museum has been the machine’s home since then.

Herbert Mills and His Operator Bell

Fey’s invention inspired other manufacturers to design similar reel-based games. Among them was Herbert Mills of the Mills Novelty Company in Chicago. Mills’s company began manufacturing coin-operated machines as early as 1896, including the Puritan Bell, the Mint Vendor Four Column, and the Operator Bell.

The Operator Bell was a knock-off of Fey’s Liberty Bell. It was a three-reel machine that weighed more than a hundred pounds. Despite its substantial size, the Operator Bell offered two major improvements. Its coin slot was refined, and, more importantly, it introduced distinctive new symbols. Instead of bells, horseshoes, and card suits, the Operator Bell used fruit symbols such as lemons, cherries, and plums.

The Introduction of the Bar Symbol and Other Improvements

Fey partnered with the Mills Novelty Company sometime around 1907. Slot machines were outlawed in San Francisco in 1909, prompting many manufacturers to relocate their operations to other cities, most notably Chicago.

Manufacturers like Mills tried to circumvent the restrictions by marketing their machines as gumball dispensers. The card-suit symbols were replaced with fruit symbols that represented different gum flavors.

Mills was the first to add an image of a chewing-gum pack on the reels. This image was later stylized as the bar symbol we all recognize today. The logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company served as the inspiration for the bar symbol.

Because of the ban, many slot machines at the time paid out in products instead of cash. Some of the most common prizes were gum, cigars, and golf balls. The machines appeared in saloons, bars, bowling alleys, and tobacco shops. Cash-paying slots did exist, but payouts were delivered covertly under the counter.

In 1916, the Mills Novelty Company produced the first “jackpot” coin-based machine. Improvements were also made to the machines’ cabinets. Rather than using heavier and more expensive materials like iron, manufacturers switched to wood, which was cheaper and lighter. Popular cabinet themes at the time included the War Eagle, the Lion Head, and the Roman Head.

Another major improvement occurred in the 1930s when the Mills Novelty Company introduced its line of Silent Bell machines, which revolutionized gameplay. The new machines awarded a double jackpot and were significantly quieter than earlier versions such as the Operator Bell.

The popularity of slots surged in the 1920s, with machines popping up across the United States. This continued until the Great Depression of the early 1930s, when federal legislation outlawed gambling in all states except Nevada.

After World War II, slots became a worldwide phenomenon, with an increasing number of governments adopting them to boost tax revenue. The Mills Novelty Company expanded its operations to Europe, producing more than 30,000 gaming machines during this period.