10.17
Slot Machine Location
Books have been set forth on this issue, and the conflict and discord about where the "hot" slot games are placed in a casino are still bubbling – more than sixty yrs after the slot machines were 1st added to the gaming floor in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the very best slot machines were positioned just inside the entry of the casino; so that potential gamblers going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be stirred to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our standpoint is that this is no longer true.
Almost all of the mega casinos these days are jumbo complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot games in close proximity to any entrances or exits.
An additional classic rule is that loose slots are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Notably 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 slot games 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 games.