06.13
Slot Machine positioning
Books have been set forth on this subject, and the bickering and interchanges about where the "hot" one armed bandits are positioned in the casino are still intense – more than 60 years after slots were first placed in the casinos.
The classic rule is that the most favorable slot machines were located just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that fun seekers passing by would see jackpot winners and be mesmerized enough to come into the casino … play. Our viewpoint is that this is not so anymore.
The majority of the large casinos nowadays are massive complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot machine games close to any exits.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot games are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Importantly however, 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 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 perspective about where to place the loose slot games.