When slots games first began populating casinos in the 1970's, they all consisted of 3-reel, one-payline (classic) machines. At this point, slots technology wasn't exactly advanced so variety sufferd quite a bit. However, these days, it seems as if 5-reel slots games have become all the rage in both brick and mortar and online casinos.

The reason why is because 5-reel slots offer players lots of options such as the ability to play multiple paylines and get more winning combinations. So does this mean that the death of classic slots is imminent? Absolutely not because there are still plenty of classic games to be found. This being said, here's a closer look at why classic slots are still very popular in the gaming world.

Perfect for New Players

As mentioned before, classic games have only 3 reels and one payline. The low amount of reels and paylines means that there aren't many options or winning combinations to keep track of. Contrast this to 5-reel games where there are sometimes 20-30 paylines, which can be really confusing to a new player. So for anybody who's new to the slots experience, trying classic machines is a great way to get used to playing.

Still Big Prizes to be won

One common myth in the slots world is that 3-reel games don't offer large prizes. And while you may not see the multi-million dollar progressive jackpots involved with classic slots, there are still some very big prizes available. Most of these games feature 5,000 or 10,000-coin jackpots, while a few offer 100,000-coin prizes or larger. So if you're looking to win big money, you can still do it with both land-based and online classic slots.

Non-Progressive Games

It should also be mentioned that a lot of classic games are non-progressive, meaning the jackpot doesn't grow with each wager. The best aspect to playing non-progressive slots is that you don't have to worry as much about making max bets. For example, if coin denominations are $0.25, $0.50, $0.75 and $1.00, you can make a $0.25 bet and not be penalized from a payout percentage standpoint. This isn't normally the case with progressive slots, which require maximum wagers just to be eligible for the jackpot.

As you can see, there are plenty of things to like about classic slots - especially as a beginner and/or low stakes player. So next time you visit a brick and mortar or online casino, make sure to check out the classic games.