10.27
Slot Machine Location
Volumes have been set forth on this topic, and the bickering and ruckus about where the "hot" video slots are installed in a casino are still ongoing – more than 60 yrs after the slots were first placed in gambling dens.
The standard rule is that the superior slot games were placed just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that everyone going by would see real jackpot winners and be challenged to come inside … play. Our view is that this is no longer true.
Just about all of the big name casinos nowadays are massive complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot games close to any of the doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot games are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Importantly however, 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 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.