Equally Charming Slot Machine

Slot machines that follow themes inspired by cartoon shows and animated series are increasingly popular among gamblers. Slot machines with that theme are equally represented in both online and land-based casinos. Modern gaming machine manufacturers offer a range of product for every taste and budget. How Slot Machines Work – RNG, RTP and Volatility: The first slot machines were invented over one hundred years ago, long before computers came along. They were mechanical devices featuring an array of drums. On the drums were various symbols. When a lever was pulled, the drums spun around, coming to a random stop. If the symbols matched up. The Return to Player (RTP) determines just how much a slot machine will on average pay back to its players. It’s not the most straightforward of subjects though so we need to take a good look at just how RTP works. The RTP is always referred to as a percentage and the actual figure varies from game to game.

Equally Charming Slot Machine Slot
Equally Charming Slot Machine Machines

Slot machines are one of the most popular parts of a casino. Whether you’re a professional or a gambling newbie, slots are the perfect opportunity to try your luck, promising fast-paced thrills with no skill involved. But have you ever wondered how these well-loved machines work?

The roaring success of online slots is a testament to how much we enjoy the slot machines in our bars and casinos. The technology may have finally made the shift into the digital world, however, this is simply the latest development in the long history of slot machines.

If you want to find out more, read on. In this article, we’ll be explaining how slot machines actually work – and why these games of chance are even harder than you thought!

How many parts does a slot machine have?

In general, traditional slot machines are made up of six parts. When you insert your money, these parts work together to activate the mechanism:

The coin slot. Modern slot machines also usually have an in-built card machine.
The lever. On early machines, pulling the lever would physically trigger the reels to spin, but this is now motorized.
The reels. Slot machines contain three reels, each one notched so that it can spin around a metal shaft (and eventually stop at the desired position).
The brakes. The braking mechanism causes the reels to stop one at a time.
Payout trigger. These are a series of metal pins that can ‘read’ the depth of the notches on the reels in order to work out the required payout amount.
Winning line. This is the combination of symbols that you’ll need to get to win the jackpot.

What happens when you pull the lever?

When you insert your money, the lever is unlocked so you can start to play. Once you pull the lever, a motor automatically causes the reels to spin (on some old-fashioned machines, the lever itself spins the reels).

A braking system brings each reel to a stop, one at a time. At this point, the metal payout trigger pins are used to detect the depth of the notches on each reel. This means the machine is able to identify the reels which the player has spun, triggering the correct payout. (The notch that signifies the jackpot is often a lot deeper than the other notches).

What are computerized slot machines?

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Today, most new slot machines use a computerized system, rather than the motorized mechanism which drove more traditional machines.

These computerized slots rely on a random number generator, which means that each spin has a truly equal chance of hitting the jackpot. As soon as the machine is switched on, this generator is constantly cycling through a wide range of numbers. When you pull the lever, it stops suddenly and ‘remembers’ the last three numbers it cycled through.

These numbers will determine the position of the reels, with each number divided by a set amount in order to reach a value which corresponds to one of the notches on the reel.

This technology means your chance of hitting the jackpot is staggeringly small – but if games of chance are how you get your thrills, this should only add to the fun!

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Introduction to Why Slot Machines Say Bar

Why do slot machines say bar on their reels? Well, to understand why this tradition came to be, we’ll have to delve into slot machine history. First of all, these gambling devices weren’t always called slot machines. Slot machines were originally referred to as a one-armed bandit, then later in Great Britain as a fruit machine.

A slot machine gambling device is activated by pulling a handle or pushing a button. This can only be done after coins, tokens, cash, or casino credits has been entered. Consequently, reels with symbols begin to spin. When done spinning, the symbols shown lined up along pay lines are used to determine the payout, if any.

Reel symbols are often traditional, including stars, bars, numbers, and various pictured fruits. Fruits can include cherries, plums, oranges, lemons, and watermelons. The number seven is also very popular. And, finally, then there are bar reel symbols.

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Bar Reel Symbols

Fruit reel symbols were first used in slot machine by the Industry Novelty Company in 1909. This was quickly followed the next year by Mills Novelty Company of Chicago, recently inherited by Herbert Stephen Mills. But, with a slight addition.

Equally Charming Slot Machine Machines

Mills added the photograph of a chewing gum pack along with the fruit reel symbols. Soon after, these photographs of a chewing gum pack were replaced with a stylized bar symbol.

Slot machines have a very rich history. Within gaming device circles of the time, it was well known that Charles Augustus Fey of San Francisco refused to sell or lease the design of his first coin-operated slot machine, the Liberty Bell, which he invented around 1887.

So, how did Mills get the design from Fey? There are two theories. First, that Fey cooperated with Mills to spread the use of slot machines. After all, Fey is known as the “Father of Slots” both for his invention of the coin-operated device as well as popularizing its use.

The second theory is Mills somehow “obtained” a Liberty Bell as a result of a San Francisco saloon robbery in 1905. Less than a year later, Mills produced a new version of the Liberty Bell called either the Mills Liberty Bell or Operator Bell.

During my review of the history of early slot machines, there are also suggestions the bar symbol may have another origin story. It is generally accepted that the bar symbol is a stylized image of a chewing gum pack, as well as a company logo.

According to some historical sources, however, the company having that logo may have been the Bell-Gum Fruit company.

A Bit More History

As mentioned, slot machines have a very rich history, especially in their early days. Besides Why Do Slot Machines Say Bar, there are a few other interesting historical items of interest.

In 1916, another historic slot machine innovation created by the Mills Novelty Company was the jackpot. When a specific combination of reel symbols resulted from a bet, the slot machine would empty its coin hopper of all coins as a prize.

The Mills Novelty would later go on to produce slot machines with wooden cabinets, rather than the original cast iron construction materials.

Photos of early slot machines are online at Cyprus Casino Consultant, Casino Observer, the International Arcade Museum, and elsewhere. I especially enjoy photos of antique slot machines in my copy of Slot Machines: A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years by Marshall Fey, grandson of “the Father of Slot Machines” Charles Fey.

The Cyprus Casino Consultant website shows 4 slot machines on a waist-high counter top. They appear to have wood cabinets and are each perhaps 30 inches high by 18 inches wide. In metric, that’s about 76 centimeters by 46 centimeters.

Each slot machine is of the one-armed bandit variety, meaning they appear to are activated by first inserting a coin and then pulling a large lever on the right side of the machine. Each of these models appears to accept coins at the top, as well as dispense coins for winners at the bottom.

The Casino Observer website also shows 4 slot machines. Two of these machines are some of the first slot machines, from about 1890, while two others are more modern, ~1940s. The two older slot machines receive coins, but only the poker machine appears to not be able to dispense coins. This poker machine has typical card suits as reel symbols and a cast metal-type cabinet.

It appears to be missing its one-armed bandit lever, perhaps due to damage, or it never had a lever. One older slot machine with coin dispenser capability is clearly identified as a “Liberty Bell”. It rests on cast feet located on each corner. The reel symbols show three Liberty Bells, but its “pay table” shows card suits – not fruit or bars.

The International Arcade Museum website shows a single slot machine. It’s a very old slot machine showing the symbol of the Liberty Bell on its front next to three reels showing Liberty Bell, bar, and fruit reel symbols.

This is probably a “Liberty Bell” by Charles Fey, but must be a slightly later version due to it having obvious fruit and bar reel symbols. It also has a cast metal-type cabinet and the distinctive “feet” of a Liberty Bell. It also has a small tray for coins, suggesting it has automatic payouts.

Charles Fey manufactured about 100 Liberty Bell slot machines for distribution in and around San Francisco. However, there are few of them remaining in existence. The scarcity of Fey’s Liberty Bell is a direct result of a natural disaster occurring shortly after their manufacture: the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

Summary of Why Slot Machines Say Bar

Starting in 1907, Bell Fruit Gum slot machines were manufactured by Industry Novelty Co. They were followed by the Mills Novelty Company in 1910.

The reels on these slot machines included cherry, melon, orange, apple, and bar symbols with non-cash payouts in the form of fruit-flavored gum, allowing machine owners to avoid prosecution under the anti-gambling laws of that time.

The cherry and bar symbols became traditional to slot machines, and are still commonly used today. The bar symbol was a company logo, originally a photo of a chewing gum pack before being stylized as a bar.

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