09.13
Slot Machine Location
Volumes have been written on this subject, and the bickering and disagreement about where the "hot" slot machines are positioned in a casino are still raging – more than sixty years after slot games were 1st added to the gaming floor in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the most favorable slots were located just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would see real jackpot winners and be smitten to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our view is that this is no longer true.
Just about all of the mega casinos nowadays are humongous complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machine games close-by any entrances or exits.
Another standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Importantly however, we find that this also isn’t a universal rule any more.
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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slots.