Slot Machines History & Technology
Walk into any casino, and the first sounds you hear are those of the slot machines. Most casinos have dozens of them—and for good reason. Slot machines generate about 70% of the average casino’s income! They are the most popular of any type of gambling in casinos.
These machines are used all over the world. In the United Kingdom, they are referred to as ‘fruit machines,’ possibly because many of the machines use pictures of fruit in the slots. Down in Australia, people call them ‘poker machines,’ perhaps because a great number of devices are made with images of playing cards and because many are video poker machines.
Slot machines pay players based on a variety of different symbols or images. Usually coin-operated, these machines can have anywhere from three to five (or sometimes more) reels that spin when the player pulls a lever or pushes a button on the side of the machine. In order for the slot machine to pay the player, the symbols or images must match or come up on a specific reel or in a certain pattern, as indicated by the particular slot machine.
Slot Machine History
In 1891, Sittman and Pitt in Brooklyn, New York developed a gambling machine. While not exactly a slot machine, their gambling machine was certainly a precursor to the modern-day slot machine.
Their machine was based upon poker. It had five drums that held the fifty card faces. A player would spin the drums by pulling a lever (after inserting a nickel), and if he ended up with a good hand he would win. This machine did not automatically disperse winnings as today’s machines do, though. Instead, players winning on this machine would receive a prize from the place that had the gambling machine—a free beer, perhaps, or maybe a cigar.
This machine led many other people to develop slot-type machines. One that was a particular inspiration to some modern-day machines was a machine that was designed to give out fruit-flavored gum to winners. This machine used images of various fruits for its reels, which are commonly used today in many modern machines. Also, the customary ‘bar’ symbol that is used today on many machines came from this machine and its logo from the Bell Fruit Gum Company.
In 1964, Bally invented the first slot machine that was completely electro-mechanical. Named the “Money Honey,” this machine was the first to have a bottomless hopper and automatic payment ability. This slot machine could pay out up to 500 coins.
Today, there are many types of slot machines. There are machines with different payout lines, ones with unusual themes or tokenization abilities (such as the ability to purchase more credits at the slot machine with a single token). There are video poker slot machines, and machines that allow players to use different denominations of currency. New types of machines are being developed all of the time.
Slot Machine Technology
Unlike older models of slot machines, today’s slot machines are entirely computerized. Computer programs are used to generate the odds of winning and to determine the reel positions—and, they are completely unpredictable.
Computer programs for slot machines use a Random Number Generator (RNG). This is a system that goes into effect the moment a person pulls the lever or pushes the button on the slot machine. The RNG works at an incredibly fast speed to determine a number, which either does or doesn’t match up with one of the winning results. Each pull of the lever or push of the button represents a brand new chance to match up when using the RNG because the computer program treats each game play as a new experience. In other words, playing over and over does not increase the odds of winning.
Some programs do use Pseudo-RNG programs, meaning that they will repeat themselves at some point; however, it is generally impossible to know when that repetition will occur.
The odds of winning today’s slot machines are based upon how the computer programs are set—the programmers can determine how they want the odds of winning to be.
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