12.30
Slot Machine Location
Books have been set forth on this item, and the conflict and disagreement about where the "hot" slot games are placed in the casino are still on-going – over sixty years after the slot machines were 1st installed in gambling dens.
The classic rule is that the better slot games were located just inside the main door of the casino; so that everyone walking by would see real jackpot winners and be challenged to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our frame of mind is that this is not so anymore.
Almost all of the big name casinos these days are monstrous complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slots close to any entrances.
Another traditional rule is that loose slot games are located on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Notably though, we find that this also is no longer a universal rule.
What casinos found over the years is that people walking down the busy aisles were frequently on the way to somewhere else. If they played the slots at all, they would simply put in their loose change because they happened to be walking by. Win or lose, they would very often not stop to keep playing. And the last thing a casino wants is for someone to win a jackpot by playing only a few coins and then not stay to put it all back in!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.