History of Slot Design
September 3rd, 2026 at 12:15:35 AM
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As a few of you are aware, my main job these days is doing the math for slots. This might surprise some readers as I have only talked about table games during my time in this forum. Despite my new job, I still do not play slot machines, but I have learned a lot about them. Still, I'm only scratching the surface.
Tonight I was wondering if there was anywhere I could read about the history of slot machine design.
Most machines I see have some sort of line pay and then some sort of hold-n-spin jackpot mechanic. Many slots also seem to have a triple pot. I was wondering - how long has it been this way? What are the current trends in the evolution of slot machine design?
From what I understand, slot machines just used to have 1 line, then they generally adopted a 3x5 matrix (with variations of course), invented different types of line pays, and eventually created the holdnspin round which itself birthed the buy-a-bonus concept. I could be wrong - and maybe some important things happened in between the events I described.
Do you think that slot machine evolution will ever slow down or stop? While I don't think that videogames will ever stop being created, some observers have noticed that the industry might run into trouble given that there are already so many existing high-quality video games that people really like. For example I think it's genuinely possible that people will still be playing Buffalo, Huff N Puff, and the dragoin coin one in 2096.
Tonight I was wondering if there was anywhere I could read about the history of slot machine design.
Most machines I see have some sort of line pay and then some sort of hold-n-spin jackpot mechanic. Many slots also seem to have a triple pot. I was wondering - how long has it been this way? What are the current trends in the evolution of slot machine design?
From what I understand, slot machines just used to have 1 line, then they generally adopted a 3x5 matrix (with variations of course), invented different types of line pays, and eventually created the holdnspin round which itself birthed the buy-a-bonus concept. I could be wrong - and maybe some important things happened in between the events I described.
Do you think that slot machine evolution will ever slow down or stop? While I don't think that videogames will ever stop being created, some observers have noticed that the industry might run into trouble given that there are already so many existing high-quality video games that people really like. For example I think it's genuinely possible that people will still be playing Buffalo, Huff N Puff, and the dragoin coin one in 2096.
September 3rd, 2026 at 1:25:30 AM
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Lightning Link machines have been around for over a decade, they have the hold and spins. Dragon link machines have been around for less than a decade and there have been at least 3 generations of them that came out in different years. Phoenix Link just started coming out recently. Those are the machines I focus on for reasons of hand pay odds. There's hundreds of other machines to choose from.
I started on Double Diamond nickel slots a long time ago when old ladies won playing dollar Hay Wire machines. I used to play VBJ for 2 or 4 quarters a hand at uncountable hands per hour. 30 years ago the slots with the 5 reels and 5 paylines were just coming out which most of these Lightning link machines look like; but the casino always tightened up new machines within a month of them being put on the floor and made them unplayable so the crowds to play them disbursed quickly.
Slots made huge gains in presentation in the mid-1990's with new video game technology.
I think the new tax law will be the end of casinos and the casinos will shut down permanently over the next few years.
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Just ran across Vegas Matt breaking in the high limit room at Fontainebleau, and he found Dragon Link machines with a $5 million Grand and a $50K major; denoms are $1, $2, $5, $10, and $25. First up is Panda Magic. The jackpots are only a few cents off the minimums so they are truly the first ones there. They lost $5K in about 15 minutes on $50 spins.
I started on Double Diamond nickel slots a long time ago when old ladies won playing dollar Hay Wire machines. I used to play VBJ for 2 or 4 quarters a hand at uncountable hands per hour. 30 years ago the slots with the 5 reels and 5 paylines were just coming out which most of these Lightning link machines look like; but the casino always tightened up new machines within a month of them being put on the floor and made them unplayable so the crowds to play them disbursed quickly.
Slots made huge gains in presentation in the mid-1990's with new video game technology.
I think the new tax law will be the end of casinos and the casinos will shut down permanently over the next few years.
**************************************************************************************************************************************
Just ran across Vegas Matt breaking in the high limit room at Fontainebleau, and he found Dragon Link machines with a $5 million Grand and a $50K major; denoms are $1, $2, $5, $10, and $25. First up is Panda Magic. The jackpots are only a few cents off the minimums so they are truly the first ones there. They lost $5K in about 15 minutes on $50 spins.
Last edited by: ChumpChange on Sep 3, 2026
September 3rd, 2026 at 1:41:44 AM
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Quote: ChumpChange
I think the new tax law will be the end of casinos and the casinos will shut down permanently over the next few years.
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I really doubt that but we'll see. Setting a reminder for December 2029.
September 3rd, 2026 at 2:00:28 AM
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Slot machines make up over 2/3rds of many casino's revenues. Take them out of circulation due to tax requirements, can casinos live on table games alone? Bankrupting every casino in the country seems to be the point. Go play in Canada.
September 3rd, 2026 at 4:13:43 AM
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I don't think that tax requirements will completely end slot machines - that sounds impossible.
And I actually do believe that casinos can survive on table games alone if all slot machines completely disappeared overnight, it would just be a bit less profitable but both players and casinos would adjust to the new reality.
And I actually do believe that casinos can survive on table games alone if all slot machines completely disappeared overnight, it would just be a bit less profitable but both players and casinos would adjust to the new reality.
September 3rd, 2026 at 4:30:07 AM
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If I'm not mistaken, the biggest jackpot on a slot machine when AC opened in the late 1970s was $500. For many years, slot machines were simple three-reel machines you stood at. In the late 90s, Australian-style slots got popular, and casinos added chairs for most machines. Computers enabled machines to be linked, and jackpots grew as a result.
In the year 2000, Monopoly games, Wheel of Fortune, Wolf Run/Bear Run, Life, and Battleship were among the most popular games. Only Wheel of Fortune is easy to find these days. I doubt any of today's popular games will be around in fifty years.
I'm of the opinion that 95% of casinos would shut down without slot revenue
In the year 2000, Monopoly games, Wheel of Fortune, Wolf Run/Bear Run, Life, and Battleship were among the most popular games. Only Wheel of Fortune is easy to find these days. I doubt any of today's popular games will be around in fifty years.
I'm of the opinion that 95% of casinos would shut down without slot revenue
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
September 3rd, 2026 at 5:03:51 AM
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Quote: billryan
In the year 2000, Monopoly games, Wheel of Fortune, Wolf Run/Bear Run, Life, and Battleship were among the most popular games. Only Wheel of Fortune is easy to find these days. I doubt any of today's popular games will be around in fifty years.
I'm of the opinion that 95% of casinos would shut down without slot revenue
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I imagine you're probably right that even popular slot machines don't have an infinite lifespan - did those games in the 2000 have graphics or play elements roughly equivalent to slot machines today? I am wondering if the past 25 years of technical and mathematical innovation are the reason new slots became popular, or if people simply get bored of the same theme.
California manages to sustain dozens of card rooms that don't have a single slot machine, despite the cosmically retarded and costly "third party player" situation.
September 3rd, 2026 at 5:07:10 AM
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The high limit slots I saw around that time had a $100K payout but you had to take it over 20 years.
From Reddit:
Originally Answered: What happens if I win a million dollars in a casino?
You’ll wait quite a long time - I hope you didn’t have anything else to do. I saw this happen one night when someone hit about a million dollars on the Wheel of Fortune slot. He was sitting at the machine inside a velvet rope when I arrived, and he was still there two hours later.
Before they pay you, they verify that the machine hasn’t been tampered with. This involves getting a representative from the manufacturer to come out to wherever the machine is and verify that the program EPROM hasn’t been altered and that the machine is in full working order - because see that little notice on the glass? “Malfunction voids all plays and pays”? It means what it says. They’ll only pay you if everything is exactly as it should be. If there’s a way to wriggle out of it, they will.
So after the machine is verified and (hopefully) found to be in proper working order, they take you to an office where you sign a W2(G) form so that your greedy Uncle Sam can take a third of your winnings (the US is the only western country that taxes gambling winnings as income) and then you get to read the small print - oh no, you don’t get a check for $1 million. Oh no. They keep it and let you have the interest on it for 25 years. Today you can have this year’s installment - a check for $40,000, less withholding taxes, so let’s say $24,000 - not even enough to buy a decent car. Just hope you don’t die soon, because the day you die the tax on that whole $1M comes due even though you haven’t been paid it yet, and your heirs won’t be happy with you. If there’s a lump sum option and you take it, you’ll be lucky to get $350k after tax, but at least you’ll have it..
Still, with that much money, in future you can afford to fly up and gamble in Canada, where your winnings are tax free. But you’ll never believe that number scrolling across the top of the machines again.
From Reddit:
Originally Answered: What happens if I win a million dollars in a casino?
You’ll wait quite a long time - I hope you didn’t have anything else to do. I saw this happen one night when someone hit about a million dollars on the Wheel of Fortune slot. He was sitting at the machine inside a velvet rope when I arrived, and he was still there two hours later.
Before they pay you, they verify that the machine hasn’t been tampered with. This involves getting a representative from the manufacturer to come out to wherever the machine is and verify that the program EPROM hasn’t been altered and that the machine is in full working order - because see that little notice on the glass? “Malfunction voids all plays and pays”? It means what it says. They’ll only pay you if everything is exactly as it should be. If there’s a way to wriggle out of it, they will.
So after the machine is verified and (hopefully) found to be in proper working order, they take you to an office where you sign a W2(G) form so that your greedy Uncle Sam can take a third of your winnings (the US is the only western country that taxes gambling winnings as income) and then you get to read the small print - oh no, you don’t get a check for $1 million. Oh no. They keep it and let you have the interest on it for 25 years. Today you can have this year’s installment - a check for $40,000, less withholding taxes, so let’s say $24,000 - not even enough to buy a decent car. Just hope you don’t die soon, because the day you die the tax on that whole $1M comes due even though you haven’t been paid it yet, and your heirs won’t be happy with you. If there’s a lump sum option and you take it, you’ll be lucky to get $350k after tax, but at least you’ll have it..
Still, with that much money, in future you can afford to fly up and gamble in Canada, where your winnings are tax free. But you’ll never believe that number scrolling across the top of the machines again.
September 3rd, 2026 at 5:43:10 AM
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Quote: billryan
In the year 2000, Monopoly games, Wheel of Fortune, Wolf Run/Bear Run, Life, and Battleship were among the most popular games. Only Wheel of Fortune is easy to find these days. I doubt any of today's popular games will be around in fifty years.
I'm of the opinion that 95% of casinos would shut down without slot revenue
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I played Wolf Run yesterday. It was a modern cabinet, not one of the ancient artifacts.
I don't recall seeing any Wheel of Fortune in the place, so I'm guessing the slot directors still have some influence in game selection.
May the cards fall in your favor.
September 3rd, 2026 at 9:02:00 AM
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I am just a big dummy who is into this stuff as a hobby (and to destroy the casino industry for being evil, obvs), but the biggest shifts in game design were the telnaes patent and video slots. Ignorant people argue that it was about random numbers, but it was not. Randomized spins preexisted Telnaes. Allowing slots to have "virtual stops" enabled massive wins. The old school digital conversions were still based on the mechanical nature of slots. Telnaes decoupled the reels from the math.
Video reels gave way more options, including multiple reel sets per game. You can have a game that swaps out the entire "standard" reel for a completely different game and bolt on features to increase cover to cost (and expect loss, of course).
Is the future bright? No, I do not think so. The shift to everything being a "buy a pay" is creating horrific distributions. Yeah, old games were bad (pinball 2 coin has 60% of the return in the stupid bonus feature), but the lower bonus frequency and generally low wins on new games angries up the blood for a lot of gamblers. I was in a gambleplace and a gentleman would not stop cursing because his bonus on a $15 bet was only like $75. Boy, was he steamed. He was also old, like most casino goers. You see some kids, but the industry is going to have trouble getting the kids to waste all their money on stupid casino games. I doubt that Uno, Yahtzee, and Battleship are going to do it.
re: perceived persistence. it works significantly better than true persistence. the data is clear. people avoid true persistence when it is in a bad state state, but will throw everything in their wallet at a piggy bank "almost ready" to a splode.
Video reels gave way more options, including multiple reel sets per game. You can have a game that swaps out the entire "standard" reel for a completely different game and bolt on features to increase cover to cost (and expect loss, of course).
Is the future bright? No, I do not think so. The shift to everything being a "buy a pay" is creating horrific distributions. Yeah, old games were bad (pinball 2 coin has 60% of the return in the stupid bonus feature), but the lower bonus frequency and generally low wins on new games angries up the blood for a lot of gamblers. I was in a gambleplace and a gentleman would not stop cursing because his bonus on a $15 bet was only like $75. Boy, was he steamed. He was also old, like most casino goers. You see some kids, but the industry is going to have trouble getting the kids to waste all their money on stupid casino games. I doubt that Uno, Yahtzee, and Battleship are going to do it.
re: perceived persistence. it works significantly better than true persistence. the data is clear. people avoid true persistence when it is in a bad state state, but will throw everything in their wallet at a piggy bank "almost ready" to a splode.
