The Invention
Our favorite casino slot machines had its early beginnings in 1895 when it was first invented by Charles Fey. Slot machines came at about the same time as telephones, phonographs and automobiles. It has come quite a long way since then.

In 1907, Charles Fey teamed up with the Mills Novelty Company to produce better slot machines. They called their first developed slot machine as the Mills Liberty Bell. The Liberty Bell slot machine was made of iron as its casing. The early slot machine was even designed with iron toes and feed to match the iron casing.

Innovations
Developers later decided to take out the iron toes of the slot machine and replace it with a simpler design. They even took out the slot machine’s bell located at the top of the slot machine that rings whenever a jackpot is achieved. Modern day slot machines today only have bells on top that lights-up and rotates when a jackpot has been won. The early version of the slot machine had strips for its reels and used designs similar to cards such as jacks, queens and kings.

It is quite undisputed that the Liberty Bell is the ancestor of all modern day slot machines. Some mechanical features of the early slot machine are even used up to this day. Slot machines that once consisted only of three reels and 20 symbols have now evolved into a microprocessor controlled 5-reeled slot machine with over hundreds of symbols. Proof that slot machine has indeed come quite a long way.

In 1910, the Mills Novelty Company presented a new variety of slot machines that was even more developed that the last. This new offering was called the Operator Bell slot machine. The Operator Bell slot machine consisted of a feed system for coins shaped like the neck of the goose. This slot machine also came with iron casts that weigh nearly 100 lbs. At about this time symbols of fruits has also been used in slot machines.

In 1915, the Mills Novelty Company introduced a lighter and less expensive version of the slot machine that was made with wooden cabinet. In 1930, further changes were made to the slot machine such as making the slot machine quieter that merited the 1930 model of the slot machine as the “silent bell” slot machine.

Further developments were introduced to the slot machine. These were the inclusion of different themes for the designs of slot machines. It even included Random Number Generators or RNGs that are embedded in the microprocessor of the slot machine. These RNGs guarantee the randomness of the symbols in the slot machine.

Indeed slot machines have come a long way but we can be sure slot machines are here to stay.