Charles Fay, an immigrant from Germany, created the very first slot machine in 1895. The game was called “Liberty Bell” and was using three rotational cylinders. By 1905 the game was so popular, that already 1000’s of slot machines had spread all over the United States.
The San Fransisco earthquake in 1906, destroyed almost all factories that manufactured slot machines at that time. But the companies came back stronger creating even better games. The problem now was that by 1909 all slot machines were banned as illegal in most American states. So the manufacturers created new machines that were giving bubble gum to the winner when spinning the reels instead of money… These machines were using fruits as symbols, and tags with “gums”, that later evolved to the “BAR” symbol as we see it today.
When the casinos were legalized in Atlantic City, slot machines became the game that most of the players preferred. Cool sound effects, flashing lights, music and great returns attracted more and more players in the slot machines. The players could select among three-cylinder, four-cylinder and five-cylinder machines at that time.
In 1980, a company manufactured a system that allowed a group of machines to connect to each other, so that a player playing in one of the machines, with the appropriate combination of symbols and coins, had the possibility to win the full amount of money (jackpot).