Before Charles Fey’s 1887 invention in San Francisco, there were gambling machines – but they didn’t have slots for coins.ĭespite prior technologies, Fey’s coin-operated machine was the first actual “slot machine.” Given the loss of historical records, it’s worth mentioning that the Sittman and Pitt Company of Brooklyn, New York, was developing a coin-operated slot machine around the same time.
It was wildly popular and a massive success. The highest jackpot, fifty cents or ten nickels, occurred when all three reels showed a golden Liberty Bell. It even had the first slot machine payout table. This slot machine simulated the card game of poker, having three spinning reels, each with five symbols: diamonds, hearts, horseshoes, spades, and an image of the Liberty Bell. Given a natural disaster, there is some debate about this exact date. The Liberty Bell, arguably the first slot machine for gambling with automatic payouts, was invented in 1887 by Bavarian-born Charles Fey in San Francisco, California. Get Your FREE Guide Revealing… Keep Reading … or Listen Instead!įind my podcast wherever you listen to audio! Charles Fey, the “Father of Slot Machines” Let’s highlight developments in these entertainment devices having slots for accepting coins as a sequence of historical events to provide insights into the next technological advancements from slot machines.
