11.13
Slot Machine positioning
Volumes have been written on this matter, and the disquiet and feuds about where the "hot" one armed bandits are positioned in the casino are still intense – over sixty years after slot machines were 1st installed in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the superior slot machine games were installed just inside the door of the casino; so that fun seekers going by would see jackpot winners … be convinced to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our feeling is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Many of the mega casinos these days are monstrous complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots near any of the doors.
Another classic rule is that loose slot machines are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be roused 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 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.