04.06
Slot Machine positioning
Books have been said on this item, and the contention and squabbling about where the "hot" slot machines are located in a casino are still taking place – sixty years after slots were 1st installed in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the better slot games were located just inside the entry of the casino; so that people passing by would be able to see jackpot winners … be enticed to come inside … play. Our verdict is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Many of the large casinos these days are mammoth complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machines close-by any of the doors.
An additional standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be inspired to play. Notably though, 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slots.