Video Slots — History
A man named Charles
Fey developed the first commercially
successful slot machine in his San
Francisco machine shop around 1896.
Made of cast iron with three internal
reels, a slot for taking in coins
and an external lever for activating
the machine, it quickly became a staple
of saloons, gambling houses and even
many retail stores (where patrons
would trade their winnings for goods
from the store - hence the term "trade
goods").
Today, no casino would be complete
without gleaming rows of noisy, colorful,
brightly lit slot machines. The mix
of sounds from hundreds of machines
chirping, spinning, stopping and clinking
out coins is the iconic background
music that fills every casino floor.
They are by far the most popular casino
game in the world, both in terms of
number of games played and total wagers.
With the advent of digital electronics,
slot machines have expanded from the
original mechanical design to a wide
range of computer-generated displays
with multi-stage games and other new
twists on an old favorite. First came
multi-line slots with additional pay
lines. Then video slots came on the
scene to give game designers much
more freedom to create interesting
and innovative variations. Because
they are computer-based, a number
of video slots can be linked together
to establish rapidly growing progressive
jackpots.
With this continual evolution in
excitement and entertainment value,
the Slot Machine will remain as the
most popular casino game for years
to come.
Video Slots — Overview
Unlike traditional slot machines
that depict a parallel set of rotating
reels, Video Slot machines often display
a grid of symbols arranged in rows
and columns. During a spin, the symbols
appear to rotate within each cell
or column and then are randomly distributed
throughout the cells when the spinning
stops.
We speak of Video Slot machines as
having, say, 5 "reels",
even though you may not be able to
see them. That's because these machines
still use a fair spin of 5 unweighted,
rotating reels to randomly distribute
symbols among the cells. This means
there is a distinct reel behind each
column in the grid, and where it stops
determines which symbols appear in
the cells of that column.
Video Slots typically offer more
pay lines than regular slots, and
the lines may angle up and down through
the cells as they move across the
grid.
Because their interfaces are electronic
rather than mechanical, Video Slots
can also offer interesting side bets,
bonus rounds and amazing graphics
that provide much more fun and excitement.
To provide maximum enjoyment, each
Video Slot machine is configured differently
in terms of lines, payouts and betting
options. Some have progressive jackpots,
others offer more flexibility in terms
of number of lines or control over
how many credits are bet on each line.
We provide the specific configuration
for each machine in the Machine Details
section.
Video Slots — Bet Options
Multi-Line. The
number of coins bet per line is fixed,
and the player can choose to bet a
multiple number of lines on each spin,
from one line up to the maximum number
of lines available on the machine.
With Multi-Line machines:
Typically, the number of coins per
line is set to 1 Coin/Line. Increasing
the bet means turning on additional
lines.
Then the Max Bet is wagered, it means
the maximum number of lines are enabled
as pay lines.
The Bet Meter displays the number
of coins wagered on a spin, which
is equivalent to the number of lines
enabled times the machine setting
for the number of Coins/Line.
The more lines you bet, the greater
your chances of getting winning combinations.
Multi-Coin. Here
the number of active pay lines is
fixed (basically, all lines are enabled),
and players can choose to wager a
multiple number of coins per line
on each spin, from one coin per line
up to the maximum number of coins
allowed per line. On Multi-Coin Machines:
The number of coins per line has
a default setting of 1 Coin/Line,
and is variable in 1-Coin increments.
Increasing the bet means incrementing
the number of coins per line. On a
9-line machine, incrementing from
Bet 1 to Bet 2 means changing the
wager from 9 coins per spin to 18
coins per spin.
When the Max Bet is wagered, it means
the wager will be set to the maximum
number of coins allowed per line times
the number of lines in the machine.
The Bet Meter displays the number
of coins wagered on a spin, which
is the number of lines on the machine
times the player's setting for the
number of Coins/Line.
The more coins you bet, the bigger
your payout when you win.
Combination. This
is a combination of the Multi-Line
and Multi-Coin machines, where players
can choose to vary both the number
of active lines and the number of
coins bet per active line on ever
spin. The controls and meters on a
combination machine are more extensive
to provide players with greater flexibility
in configuring their bets.
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