Charles Fey and How He Invented Slot Machines?

Today’s gambling market is full of various ways of gambling and players can even be considered as spoiled for the broad choice they have. Apart from the flashy land-based casino resorts with numerous machines and tables, online operators also make sure to offer a sufficient amount of games. Still, there is one thing in common between both ways of gambling – slots. Those exciting reel-spinning machines have been around for more than a hundred years, but what makes them truly unique? Check out their story here as well as facts about Charles Fey – the father of the slot machine!

Who is Charles Fey?

Born in Bavaria in 1862, August Fey was the youngest of 16 children, not expecting that he’ll make his mark on history in a very unorthodox way. With so many brothers and sisters around him, it’s not surprising that August had to start working at an early age, helping out with the support of his family. Speaking of his name, he changed it to Charles once he came in the USA because he didn’t like to be called “Gus”, but we’ll present his American period in more detail below.

To better understand how this man came into the US and invented the blueprint form the modern-day slot games, we need to discuss a very unusual motive behind his decision. In essence, Charles Fey had a fear of being taken into the German army. Furthermore, he had a tense relationship with his father, which was also another reason for his leaving to France where he worked as an instrument maker. Later on, he traveled to the United Kingdom, where he settled for a while, but at the age of 23, he successfully moved to the United States.

Settling in San Francisco and the Charles Fey Slot Machine

Initially, Charles planned to go to New Jersey, where his uncle was living, but before that, he went to San Francisco, where he started working for Electrical Works. Having experience with mechanics and electric devices, the Bavarian emigrant had a lot of experience in the field. Later on, he left the company to create with a partner of his, Theodore Holtz, to start manufacturing telephone and telegraph equipment. His personal life was also going very well as he married Marie Volkmar after being in Mexico for a while due to his battle with tuberculosis.

As you can see, Charles Fey was well aware of how certain devices were working and unsurprisingly had a passion for inventing. Therefore, the Charles Fey first slot machine wasn’t a fluke and soon became very popular across saloons and bars. Its name was the Liberty Bell slot and at the time, regulations weren’t on the side of Mr. Fey, thus preventing him from patenting his invention. A few years after the introduction of this innovative game, the state of California outlawed the Liberty Bell slot, which wasn’t a major factor for Charles anymore – he already had huge demand from other states and his business was booming. But what was the reason for that?

The Charles Fey Liberty Bell Slot – Why Was it So Successful?

Shortly after the introduction of the Liberty Bell slot machine, Charles Fey opened up the Slot Machine Factory in 1896. This was because of the high interest from players and the unique appearance of this “one-arm bandit,” which had three reels spinning and one pay line. It operated with coins and the paytable of it seemed to be quite generous at the time:

From the paytable, you can see where this slot machine got its name from and in terms of odds, hitting the top prize was set at 1/1000. Although these payouts might not seem even partially close to the big 13 million-dollar slot jackpot in Canada, the innovation was something everybody was looking with amazement. There were already coin machines operating, , but none of them looked like the Liberty Bell, thus inspiring player curiosity to the next levels. Apart from that, scammers would start using wooden coins to grab prizes unfairly. Fortunately for transparent gambling (as much as it could be secured at the time), Charles Fey was able to install a system in the slot machine which could make a difference between wooden and regular coins.

The Future of the Liberty Bell Slot Machine

With the introduction of such a revolutionary technology, other companies were also aiming at grabbing a piece of the pie. One of them, Herbert Mills manufacturing, started to produce its very own version of the Liberty Bell slot in the early 1900s. Even mobsters wanted to expand in gambling as Bugsy Siegel started putting slot machines in the 1940s as a way for wives and girlfriends of high-rollers to pass the time at his Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.

The relatives of Charles Fey also took good care of his legacy. The inventor of the innovative three-reel slot had a son who moved to Reno and his children opened up a Liberty Bell Saloon, which displayed the classic one-arm bandit their grandfather had once built. Unfortunately, the bar closed in 1995, but the Charles Fey Liberty Bell machine still can be seen at the Reno museum. When it comes to present , there are numerous slot companies such as industry leader Microgaming which have an extensive slot selection. However, if it wasn’t for Charles Fey and his inspiration for the industry, this wouldn’t have been possible!