They were the brain child of Charles August Fey. An immigrant to America from his native Bavaria, he developed what we now know as the slot machine. The first one was ‘born’ in 1887 and later versions became smaller, making them easier to add to a variety of establishments.
Slot machines soon graced towns across America in bars and then casinos, and spread across the borders to Canada, followed by Europe. Thanks to the internet,, Charles’s invention now has the potential to reach billions.