Wild Slot Machines
Without doubt, one of the biggest attractions in any casino are the slot machines. They are enormous fun, wildly addictive and offer any person the chance to stake their cash and be in with a chance of winning what could be an enormous jackpot. So what is it about this enigmatic machine that makes casino players love them so much? We’ll take a look to find out.
The very first slot machine was called “Liberty Bell” and was invented by Charles Fey in San Francisco. The first machine had three reels, with diamond, spade and heart symbols alongside a picture of a cracked Liberty Bell. The machine was a huge success and demand for the machine quickly grew.
Other entrepreneurs in America quickly realised that Fey’s invention held enormous potential and Herbert Mills, a Chicabo based manufacturer, developed his own machine that was the first to use fruit symbols, hence the nickname Fruit Machine.
Over time the machines grew increasingly sophisticated but remained mainly mechanic in their operation. That changed in the 70s when the first electronic machine was invented. Again, these machines developed at a fast pace and by 1990, the digital age was ushering a new era for the slot machine. Now, linked electronically, it was possible to link several machines into one large gaming arena with huge jackpots. Las Vegas casino’s and many others around the world still operate huge multi-user slot machines with progressive jackpots to this very day.
The Online Slot
The dawn of the Internet resulted in a vast expansion of the slot machine into the digital realm. As gaming grew in popularity online, online casinos were quick to realise vast potential that digital slots now offered them. As such a wide variety of features were added to the simple slot machine premise, such as;
- Multiple Lines – A user can select to pay for more possible winning lines on each spin. Some games now offer between 1 and 25 winning lines.
- Progressive Jackpots – For each paid spin of the wheels, a small percentage of the stake is placed into a pot and this pot grows over time into a huge amount of money. This progressive jackpot can built into hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars in many cases and at various points, one lucky user will land this huge bonus payout.
- Video & In Play Games – Many online machines now contain video (from the latest motion picture blockbuster) or small in play games that are triggered when certain lines are spun. These games and video snippets can result in the player winning even more money.
- Worldwide Audience – Whereas a casino in Las Vegas, Macau or Monte Carlo may have an audience of a few hundred or thousand punters, online casinos potentially have millions of users, making the amounts that can be won on some of the most popular games life-changing.
With thousands of different slots available online, it is easy to see why this simple game of chance has become one of the most popular leisure activities when people visit a real world or online casino.
