03.17
Slot Machine positioning
Books have been stated on this issue, and the controversy and disharmony about where the "hot" slot machine games are placed in the casino are still rampant – sixty yrs after slot games were 1st installed in the casinos.
The standard rule is that the very best slots were placed just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that potential gamblers going by would see actual jackpot winners and be stirred to come into the casino … play. Our standpoint is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Practically all of the major casinos today are monstrous complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slots in close proximity to any entrances or exits.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot machines are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Nonetheless, 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 machine 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.