A slot is a narrow opening or groove that you can put something into, like the hole in a door or the gap between the primary feathers of a bird. You can also use it as a name for an amount of time on a schedule or calendar, like the three-hour slot for collections at the post office. The term is also used in computer science, where a slot refers to an empty space on a motherboard that can be filled with an expansion card for more computing power.
Modern slot machines still look very much like the mechanical ones, with spinning reels of symbols, but they work on a different principle. Instead of mechanical gears, they now contain electronic components that generate random numbers. These are then translated into directions that the machine’s motor carries out on its discs. There are many different types of slot games, ranging from simple one-reel machines to elaborate multi-reel machines with multiple pay lines and special features.
The popularity of slots grew during Prohibition, when they provided an alternative to the skill-based casino games of poker and blackjack. But their conquest of the casino floor was slow, and they were regarded as Rodney Dangerfield-type fixtures: the games that just couldn’t get any respect. In part, that was because the machines were viewed as a waste of money. But a lot of the dislike stemmed from their relatively low payouts, which often left players feeling shortchanged.