10 SLOT MACHINE MOMENTS WORTH KNOWING
Ten surprising moments that helped transform the humble slot machine into the casino-floor superstar as we know today
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The first slot machine was a poker machine
Before there were cherries, lemons and BARs, there was poker. In 1891, Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn created a gambling machine based on poker hands. There was one problem: It couldn’t actually pay out cash, so winning players were often rewarded with free drinks or cigars. Talk about a different kind of jackpot!
- The Liberty Bell changed everything
In 1895, Charles Fey created the Liberty Bell, generally considered the first true slot machine. It featured horseshoes, diamonds, spades and the now-famous Liberty Bell symbol. Three bells lined up? That was the big win. Fey’s invention became the blueprint for the modern slot
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Why are there BARs on your slot?
Thank a cigarette company. The BAR symbol is widely believed to have originated with the Bell-Fruit Gum Company. In the early 1900s, some machines paid winners with fruit-flavored gum rather than cash. The fruit symbols represented the flavors, while the BAR symbol was based on the company’s logo. So that BAR on your machine has a surprisingly fruity past.
- The first video slot arrived in Las Vegas in 1975
Fortune Coin Co. developed what is generally recognized as the first video slot machine. It was installed at the Las Vegas Hilton and used a modified 19-inch Sony television as its display. It was a far cry from today’s giant high-definition screens—but it helped launch the video-slot revolution.
- Las Vegas didn’t always have slot machines everywhere
When gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931, slots were already around, but table games eventually became the glamorous stars of the casino floor. Slots later exploded in popularity because they were easy to play, required no dealer and offered players a chance to win without knowing complicated rules. Today, try finding a casino without them!
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The slot floor became a very different place in 1986
In 1986, Nevada approved legislation allowing casinos to link slot machines into progressive jackpots. Suddenly, machines could offer prizes that grew with every bet. One machine might pay nicely; a network of machines could potentially pay life-changing money. Hello, jackpot fever!
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Megabucks made slot history
When IGT introduced Megabucks in 1986, it helped turn the progressive slot into a national sensation. The first Megabucks jackpot was hit in 1987 for more than $4.9 million. Imagine dropping a few coins into a machine and walking away a millionaire!
- Slot machines once took coins—and lots of them
Remember the glorious sound of coins cascading into a hopper? For decades, winning a slot meant waiting for a bucket—or the machine itself—to fill with coins. Ticket-in/ticket-out technology eventually changed the experience, eliminating much of the clanking, hauling and occasional pocketful of quarters.
- The biggest slot jackpots can be bigger than houses
Progressive slots have produced some truly jaw-dropping payouts. In 2003, a 25-year-old software engineer playing Megabucks at the Excalibur in Las Vegas hit a jackpot of $39.7 million—the largest slot-machine jackpot in Las Vegas history at the time. His bet? Just $100 in total. Sometimes the casino floor really does produce a story worth telling.
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Imagine hitting a $10.4 million slot jackpot on April Fool’s Day
That’s exactly what happened at Mandalay Bay on April 1, 2026, when an anonymous player hit a $10,486,432.04 Megabucks jackpot on a $5 bet. If the player had called home and said, “I just won $10 million,” there’s a good chance nobody would have believed them. And honestly, who could blame them?
BONUS SPIN
30 Years of Wheel-Winning Jackpots
For three decades, the wheel has been spinning—and it has been very good to gamblers. Since IGT introduced Wheel of Fortune slots in 1996, the iconic games have awarded more than $3.6 billion in jackpots and created more than 1,200 millionaires, and counting! Now, as Wheel of Fortune slots celebrates 30 years of jackpots, that winning streak has become one of the most recognizable success stories in casino gaming. And the wheel shows no signs of slowing down!
