Charles Fey and the Modern Slot Machine

We all know that slot machines are the bread-and-butter of casinos. Thanks to technology, it's now possible to play on them from home - talk about practical! But have you ever wondered how did the slot machine as we know it came to be? Then how about we learn a bit more about it, then? Join us in this spin through the slot machine's history. The gaming machine we know these days wasn't a thing until really late in the 19th century. Before that, it wasn't really associated with gambling at all! As the name suggests, the term referred to machines with a slot for coins. Around that time, some saloons - imagine that classic Western setting - used some coin-operated machines for gambling. However, since they did not have a dedicated coin-spitting device, prizes were paid in drinks and cigars, for example. It all changed thanks to a certain fella going by the name of Charles Fey

Who Was Charles Fey?

Charles Fey was born as August Fey on September 9th, 1862 in Bavaria, Germany. Fey worked as a mechanic since his early teens. At the age of 15, he moved to France, working in the manufacturing industry.  From France, he would immigrate again, this time to the United Kingdom. Fey established himself in London. Finally, at the age of 23, he made the life-changing decision of immigrating to the U.S.      August followed in his uncle's footsteps, pursuing the American Dream. After doing a fair bit of moving around, he finally settled in San Francisco. Fey worked for the Western Electric Company. Around that time, he changed his name to Charles. Fey didn't particularly like his American nickname, "Gus". In 1895, Charles Fey's invention would then significantly change the gambling industry. It was the first properly automated slot machine - his previous experience as a mechanic coming in pretty handy.

The Liberty Bell Slot Machine

Until then, slot machines weren't exactly the hottest thing in the world. They were relatively simple mechanisms, with a slot for coins and small payouts. The prizes were usually just sweets, drinks or cigars.It all changed thanks to Charles Fey's invention. Taking inspiration from other slot machines, Fey created the "Liberty Bell". It was a simple slot, with three reels and six syhearts and the Liberty Bell). Naturally, there was only one payline. Liberty Bell worked the way you would expect from a slot machine. Lining up three of the same symbol would result in a payout. Until then, slot machines weren't exactly the hottest thing in the world. They were relatively simple mechanisms, with a slot for coins and small payouts. The prizes were usually just sweets, drinks or cigars.
It all changed thanks to Charles Fey's invention. Taking inspiration from other slot machines, Fey created the "Liberty Bell". It was a simple slot, with three reels and six symbols (horseshoe, star, spades, diamonds, hearts and the Liberty Bell). Naturally, there was only one payline. Liberty Bell worked the way you would expect from a slot machine. Lining up three of the same symbol would result in a payout.
What made Fey's invention so great was the automatic payout. Whenever the player managed to line up a winning combination, Liberty Bell would spit out the prize. Lining up three Liberty Bells led to the big prize, since each line only had one bell symbol. When that happened, the machine would spit out a mind-blowing jackpot of 50 cents. Sure, the payout wasn't particularly great. However, it didn't stop Fey's mechanism from becoming incredibly successful - so much that he even quit his job to work full-time on making new slot machines!
Now, slots have come a long way since then. You can even enjoy them from home, by playing online! And the original 50 cent jackpot doesn't even compare to what modern slots offer. But this only became possible thanks to Mr. Charles Fey's Liberty Bell. So, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate this man's invention.

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