The centerpiece of any self-respecting casino—online or not—is the slot machine. Slots are so popular that they make up more than half of all online casino games worldwide. Iconic games, and one of the oldest forms of gambling ever. Have you ever played one?
The game principle is so simple that it attracts many people to try it at least once. Players spin the reels and attempt to form winning lines of the same symbols. Some symbols are worth more than others, while others can “substitute” for different symbols to help players form a winning line. Some symbols appear more frequently, while rare symbols can trigger spectacular prizes!
Slot machines often feature highly colourful designs with bold and vibrant themes. The list of slot machine themes is truly endless: history, fantasy, animals, monsters, horror, romance, travel—you name it. Slots are designed to be visually appealing, and each slot machine offers different odds, payouts, and prizes!
Different Types of Slot Machines
One of the most popular variations of slot machines is the progressive jackpot slot. In terms of gameplay, there is little difference, but the prizes are vastly different. While the regular payout system remains the same as with classic slot machines, progressive jackpots increase every time someone plays—until eventually, someone wins. The lucrative potential of progressive jackpots makes them extremely popular!
Slot machines are also hugely popular in Asia. In Japan, slot machines are known as “pachinko” and are widespread in casino establishments. Japan also has a slot variant called “pachisuro,” a hybrid between Western slots and pachinko. These machines have highly variable odds, depending on the type of machine. This variability is designed to make the game more unpredictable and to encourage people to try out as many machines as possible. In any room filled with pachisuro slot machines, the chances are high that someone is winning at any given moment. This makes for a great marketing strategy to attract more and more customers! A common tactic in these halls is to wait until someone loses and walks away from a machine, then take their place. However, this strategy is entirely useless and is also frowned upon by Japanese players, who refer to those who use this trick as “hyenas.”
The History of Slot Machines
The very first progressive jackpot ever was a game called MegaBucks, which connected all of North America via telephone lines. Each time someone played, a portion of their bet contributed to a massive shared jackpot. People from all over the world came to play MegaBucks, and the jackpot quickly grew from $1 million to $5 million. Within a year, someone won the jackpot.
The first slot machine was invented in 1880 in California by a man named Charles Fey. His prototype was a simple machine with three reels and only five symbols: a horseshoe, a diamond, a spade, a heart, and a bell. This bell (the Liberty Bell) gave the machine its name. These symbols—all universally recognized as lucky charms—became standard icons for future slot machines. Later, other symbols were added, such as clovers, lucky sevens, watermelons, lemons, oranges, strawberries, bananas, and grapes. A row of three sevens is usually the most coveted combination, often rewarding players with a giant jackpot. Modern mechanical and online slot machines often include a bonus symbol that activates a free bonus round. However, the player must land these symbols in specific positions to trigger the bonus.
The simplicity of slot machines compared to other gambling games of the time was a major factor in their popularity. Even when slot machines were eventually banned in the United States, Fey continued to receive requests from other countries wanting his invention. Eventually, the Liberty Bell machine was purchased, mass-produced, and quickly installed in bars, barbershops, cigar stores, bowling alleys, and even brothels. The Liberty Bell machine still exists today and can be viewed at the Liberty Bell Saloon and Restaurant in Nevada.
How Do Online Slot Machines Work?
With the power of computers, online slot machines are much more advanced and unpredictable than mechanical slot machines. Online slots operate using random number generators that produce hundreds of thousands of different numbers per second, making the results on the reels nearly impossible to predict. This sequence of numbers can be considered random, although it is, of course, not entirely random. Still, you would probably have to live to be 300 years old to figure out the mechanism behind generating these numbers!
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