Slots Facts and Trivia

If you’re already a bit of a bingo expert—or you fancy yourself one after completing our bingo facts and trivia—you might be wondering what else there is to know. Well, we’re willing to bet that even if you know everything there is to know about bingo, we can surprise you with some slots facts.

So, whether you’re interested just for your own entertainment or so you can regale your fellow bingo roomies, here’s some fun slots facts and trivia for you to enjoy…

#1: The first slot game was created in 1887.

The first ever slot machine was the Liberty Bell, built by Charles Fey in between 1887-1891. While basic in design, it was soon followed by the fruit machines you see today. You can read more about this interesting development in our slots guide for beginners.
 

#2: Slot machines are otherwise known as…

• Fruit machines or fruities (British English)
• Puggy (Scottish English)
• The slots (Canadian and American English)
• Poker machine or pokies (Australian and New Zealand English)
 

#3: The largest slot machine was the Super Big Bertha.

Made in the 1950s, the Super Big Bertha clocked in at 2 metres wide and 2.5 metres high. It cost the equivalent of $1.2 million in today’s dollars to make. It was so big in fact, that it was impossible for anyone to pull the lever to kickstart the eight reels—it was powered by a five horsepower motor instead.

If you’ve ever complained about losing at bingo or not having great odds, you’ll find it pales in comparison to the odds of winning with this giant. With eight reels and twenty symbols, the odds of winning were 25.6 billion to one! That certainly puts things into perspective.
 

#4: Slots are always random.

We’ve all had a bingo roomie at some point claim that they know how to beat the system—we’ve even covered it before in our guide to bingo myths debunked. Unfortunately, these people couldn’t be any more wrong.

All slot machines—land-based and online—make use of a Random Number Generator (RNG), which, as the name suggests, generates a number randomly, even if they’re being used. It doesn’t matter how much you try to make sense of the numbers or create patterns—it’s always random. This means that there is absolutely no such thing as a slot machine being ‘due’ for a payout.
 

#5: It doesn’t matter if you use the button or the handle.

If you’re a fan of the old-school slot machines rather than online slots, you might have wondered whether using the handle or the spin button has any effect on the likelihood of winning. The truth is, it doesn’t matter which method you use. Whether you press the spin button or pull the handle, it has absolutely no impact on the odds of you winning a jackpot.
 

#6: Las Vegas is the centre for slot machines.

As you may have been able to guess, Las Vegas is the most densely populated slot capital out there. You’ll find almost 200,000 slot machines there. That works out at about one slot for every eight people living in Vegas.
 

#7: There is no strategy for slots.

So, we already know that aspects like the handle and the spin button don’t impact your odds of winning. But what about strategies?

It’s time to face the cold, hard truth—there is no effective strategy for slots, either land-based or online. There isn’t any way that you can positively affect the likelihood of you winning. Before you start weeping, however, we do have a few great tips to help you play online bingo.
 

 

#8: The highest slot machine win so far is $39.7 million.

On March 21, 2003, a 25-year-old software engineer from LA managed to nab the biggest jackpot payout ever. The anonymous engineer put $100 in the Megabucks machine at the Excalibur and ended up winning an eye-watering $39.7 million! That’s almost as impressive as BingoPort’s top bingo world records.
 

#9: RTP differs between land-based and online slots.

RTP—or Return To Player—is the theoretical payout percentage of a slot. It’s essentially the percentage of winnings awarded out of the total stakes played. It’s calculated over a theoretical lifetime of games played.

The RTP percentage of online slots is typically much higher than land-based slot machines. You’re looking at an 85% average RTP for land-based machines and 96% for online slots. This difference is mainly due to the fact that land-based machines undergo a lot of maintenance and development, which can be more costly than online slots.
 

#10: Slots are always themed.

There’s no such thing as a regular fruit machine anymore—at least with online slots. No, nowadays, slots have to be themed in some way.

We’ve obviously got regular themes involving werewolves and vampires that are always enticing to beginners. Or if you’re a big movie-watcher, you can enjoy slots based on films like Titanic or Tomb Raider. You can even find games based on celebrities like Elvis!

Of course, some themes go down the outright strange route. Believe it or not, there are slots featuring karate pigs, KGB bears and even space-invading cows. Yes, you read that correctly—space-invading cows. Check out our top 12 weirdest slot games for more hidden gems.

 

Not enough for you? Keep an eye on BingoPort’s news section for articles ranging from the best game show themed slots to a guide to charity bingo.