Slots

San Francisco is the home of the earliest slot machine on record. Attributed to the inventor Charles Fey, the original machine comprised a tin box showing three small windows. Behind each window, spinning wheels containing playing card symbols would stop showing a specific formation after each spin. In addition to the traditional card symbols, Fey also added an image of the Liberty Bell, a famous symbol of the American Civil War. Today, modern, electronic versions boast a bevy of different slot machine images from geometrical shapes to face pictures of the Spice Girls and super heroes. However, Fey's Liberty Bell icon still maintains a presence on most modern slot machines.

Game play simply involves feeding coins or notes into the slot machine and pressing a button or lever to spin the reels. A range of winning formations normally appears on the face of each slot machine in a pay table that provides the player with the odds and rewards of winning spins.

Most slot machines today provide the player with a crack at a progressive jackpot win. This means that a large winning prize gains in value with each successive spin, but nobody knows when it will actually occur. When it does, open up your pockets and purses, because you'll have a ton of change to take to the bank!

Game play summary:

• Place your coins or notes in the slot machine
• Push the start button to activate the spinning reels
• Compare the reel window with the pay table on the front of the machine
• Use extra features such as multiple coin spins and progressive wins as available
• Shout "Yippee!" if you're the lucky winner of a slot machine jackpot