Five Reel Slot

Slot machine with 5 reels instead of the traditional 3 reel slot machine.

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Reels are the spinning wheels with numerous symbols painted on them. The spinning reels randomize the position of the reel symbols when they come to rest. Traditional slot machines had 3 reels, meaning that three different symbols had to match correctly for the player to win money. The 3-reel slots game was often a matter of necessity, because adding extra mechanical reels often made the slot machine to large and unwieldy to fit inside the limited space of a casino or saloon.

Adding extra reels was something that casinos and players often wanted, though. More reels meant that players could win more money when hitting the jackpot. More reels also meant higher odds of the player ever hitting the jackpot and more money being spent in the slot machine, and therefore more profits for the casino. So the mechanical limitations of slot machines were what limited the number of reels on a slot machine. Attempts were made to create larger slot machines, such as the 8-reeled monstrosity, Super Big Bertha, but these efforts were limited to larger casinos with more space for big slot machines and more money to buy them. (Super Big Bertha cost $150,000, a huge amount for the time -- or now, for that matter.)

Random number generators eliminated the need for mechanical reels, and therefore opened up new possibilities for slot machine designers. Additional reels became possible, and the reel number was limited mainly to the increased possibilities of hitting winning combinations (and the resultant player dissatisfaction) and the confusion of adding to many moving parts (and, once again, player disenchantment). So while classic 3-reel slots remained on casino floors, the 5-reel slot machine became a major player in the market. In fact, while you can find 7-reel slots, 5-reel slots appear to be a natural favorite for most slot machine players.

Many video slots are 5-reel slots. Some of the most popular games in the casinos are 5-reel slot machines, such as Wheel of Fortune Slots. Modern slots also are able to add more reel symbols than old-style slot machines. Once again, this increases the odds of hitting the jackpot combination, and therefore slot machine jackpots can be much larger than they were in an earlier generation.

Five-reel slots with an increased number of reel symbols make it possible to have progressive jackpot slot machines. Progressive jackpots grow every time the machine is played and the jackpot is not hit. The jackpots on progressives can range into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, which makes five-reel progressive jackpot slot machines some of the most-frequented machines in the casinos.