12.22
Slot Machine Location
Books have been stated on this item, and the controversy and interchanges about where the "hot" slot games are located in a casino are still there – over 60 yrs after slot machines were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The classic rule is that the superior slots were installed just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that folks walking by would see actual jackpot winners and be intrigued enough to come inside and play. Our stance is that this is definitely no longer so.
Practically all of the major casinos nowadays are jumbo complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots close-by any entrances or exits.
Another standard rule is that loose slots are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Interestingly though, 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 the slot machines 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 one armed bandits.