Penny Slots History

The history of the penny slot machine dates back to the last decade of the nineteenth century. It was based on the traditional poker game and became immensely popular virtually from the time of its invention.

A company in New York by the name of Sittman and Pitt came up with the mechanical machine in 1891. This had five rotating drums with 50 card based symbols.

The Ten of Spades and Jack of Hearts were omitted so there was an advantage to an establishment who employed one of these machines, as it made it harder to win a Royal Flush.

In 1899, the first big improvement came when Charles Frey introduced the Liberty Bell slot machine. This version had three spinning reels and symbols representing the four suits in cards plus a Liberty Bell symbol.

It was an automated model, less complicated than Sittman and Pitts’ and the winning combination was easier to read. Three bells gave a payout of ten nickels, which was the biggest at the time.

Prohibition of gambling around the turn of the century led to the next version coming out which had flavoured gum as the prize. In fact these machines had fruit symbols on the reels. These symbols are still in use today as testimony to that time.

It wasn’t until 1963 when Bally Manufacturing made a slot machine with a bottomless hopper that the next advancement was made.

This used electromechanical principles to allow automatic payouts. It had a multi-coin function and a higher jackpot.