One of the early slots machines to achieve widespread popularity was one that gave out winnings in the form of fruit flavoured chewing gums that were imprinted with pictures of the flavours as symbols on the reels. These slots machines came to be known as fruit slots for obvious reasons, and even today, many modern slots machines feature cherry and melon symbols that were derived from these slots machines. Even the BAR symbol, which is now a common fixture in fruit slots machines–was “borrowed” from an early logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company.
It was in 1964 when Bally came out with the first fully electromechanical slot machine. Called Money Honey, this ingenious new slots machine featured an electromechanical operation that made it the first slots machine to offer a bottomless hopper and an automatic payout of up to 500 coins…all without requiring a human operator.
Through the years, the development of slots machines continued steadily with numerous variations coming out on a regular basis. The first video slots machine that offered a second-screen bonus round was the slots machine called Reel ‘Em In, which was developed by WMS Industries Inc. in 1996
