The Birth Of The Slot Machine In The Early 19th Century
There are many gaming machines for gambling that you can enjoy inside the casino, but there is one that many people, especially the newbie gamblers, are tirelessly lining up to: the slot machine. There is nothing to wonder why the slot machine is very popular among all the games in the casino. For starters, no matter how much your money is on your pocket, you can play the slot machine, and there is a chance that you can increase your initial money to a thousandfold!
Another thing is the simplicity of this game. All you have to do is insert a token and wait for the lucky combination of figures to appear on screen. Really easy, huh? But the moment the slot machine displays the winning combination would be the most thrilling experience in your trip inside the casino. Truly, the slot machine is the star and icon of the casino for these reasons.
However, did you know that the slot machine was originally intended as a simple arcade game for pasttime, and it was initially not included in the casino or gambling house?
The Conception Of The Idea Of A ‘Slot Machine’
As we already mentioned in this article, the slot machine was not originally invented as a household casino game. It was not even specifically called the “slot machine” at first. Records about the slot machine can be traced all the way back to the late 19th century, as a New York-based entertainment company called the Sittman and Pitt came up with the idea of a machine that deals a combination of playing cards. This machine was designed with 5 drums, all of them having a total of 50 playing cards.
It would appear that this machine has the role of a regular card dealer in a card game, and the player would have to insert a nickel for the machine to deal him with 5 cards. To initiate the deal, the lever must be pulled and the drums would start rolling. The player would be entitled for winnings if the reels show a lucky combination of poker hands, like three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind, straight, flush, or a royal flush. You can learn this kind of stuff in poker online.
This precursor to the slot machine was first displayed in bars so that vistors would have another option on how to spend the night, aside from having drinks and socializing with other people. Although, some bar owners realized that this arcade machine might be offering too much winnings to bar-goers, especially if players keep on having a royal flush on hand. Thus, bar owners decided to omit two cards, namely the ten of spades and jack of hearts, to lower the probability of a player getting a royal flush. After all, the owners will do what is best for their business.
The real father of the original slot machine would be none other than Charles August Fey, who came up with a new design for this machine that could readily give out the players’ winnings based on what poker hand was displayed on the reels.
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