09.03
Slot Machine positioning
Books have been stated on this subject, and the debates and discourse about where the "hot" slot games are located in the casino are still rampant – sixty years after slots were first added to the gaming floor in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the better one armed bandits were put just inside the main entry of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would see jackpot winners … be tempted to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our sentiment is that this is no longer true.
Practically all of the large casinos nowadays are immense complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots in close proximity to any entrances.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machine games are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be inspired to play. 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 slots 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.