06.24
Slot Machine positioning
Books have been stated on this item, and the debates and feuds about where the "hot" slot games are positioned in the casino are still ongoing – 60 years after slots were first installed in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the most favorable slot machines were installed just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that fun seekers going by would be able to see jackpot winners … be tempted to come inside and play. Our finding is that this is not so anymore.
Nearly all of the big name casinos today are monstrous complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any of the doors.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Interestingly though, we find that this also is not 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 one armed bandits 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 very 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 games.