Online gamblers are truly spoilt for choice these days. There are thousands of slots to choose from, with more being added on an almost daily basis. But there are a few slots that truly stand apart. These are the ones that changed the industry, introduced new concepts, new mechanics, and altered the industry forever. Most are still available and can be found online. Others are now lost, standing as nothing more than an important blip on an ever advancing technological wave.

Liberty Bell

If it wasn’t for the Liberty Bell slot the industry likely would not exist as it does today. A mechanic named James Frey had the idea of a device that offered the chance to win, without the need for a croupier. The year was 1895. After years of tinkering, an immense amount of effort, and extensive development, he came up with the Liberty Bell. The mechanical slot is simple by modern standards, but was a technological wonder at the time. His invention caught on quickly, and it wasn’t long before there was more demand than he was capable of producing.

Megabucks

The impact of the Megabucks slot cannot be understated, given that it introduced the idea of a shared jackpot system. Megabucks was developed in 1986 by IGT, based around the idea that the jackpot would grow over time. In order to make this possible multiple versions of the same game were linked, allowing each spin to contribute towards a jackpot.

The Progressive Jackpot is common now but was revolutionary at the time. It is, of course, also Megabucks that has created some of the biggest gambling millionaires of all time. This includes the now famous anonymous software engineer that bagged $39.7 million, the cocktail waitress Cynthia Lee Brennan that bagged $34.9 million, as well as many others.

Lion’s Share

Lion’s Share is an interesting game not because of a unique theme, or because it was offering a particularly big jackpot, but because it somehow didn’t pay out it’s jackpot for over 20 years. The lack of a jackpot quickly gained media attention, and in an instant Lion’s Share was suddenly at the top of everyone’s to-do list in Las Vegas.

Players lined up day and night to have their spin, with the most bizarre aspect being that that just a single cabinet still remained operational. Eventually the jackpot did get paid out, with $2.4 million going to Linda and Walter Wisco. It wasn’t long after that the game was finally retired, but for a brief time it was proven that the lack of a jackpot can be as exciting as the jackpot itself.

Mega Moolah

Last, we have Mega Moolah, releasing in 2006. It is perhaps the most popular Progressive Jackpot slot today, gaining attention after a massive £17,879,645 online payout. Mega Moolah established itself as the progressive jackpot to play online, and hasn’t lost the reputation since. Games with bigger jackpots have come out since and many can be found at sites like Black Lotus online casino. However, Mega Moolah remains an all time, all round favourite.