07.31
Slot Machine positioning
Books have been written on this topic, and the controversy and disharmony about where the "hot" slot games are placed in the casino are still taking place – over sixty years after the slot machines were first installed in gambling dens.
The classic rule is that the better slots were positioned just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that potential players going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be keen enough to come inside and play. Our viewpoint is that this is no longer the case.
The majority of the big name casinos these days are huge complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machine games near any exits.
An additional classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be galvanized 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 slot machines 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.