02.11
Slot Machine positioning
Volumes have been written on this matter, and the contention and discourse about where the "hot" slot machine games are placed in a casino are still raging – over sixty years after slots were first installed in gambling houses.
The classic rule is that the best slot machine games were located just inside the door of the casino; so that individuals walking by would be able to see jackpot winners … be attracted to come into the casino and play. Our observation is that this is no longer true.
The great majority of the large casinos these days are jumbo complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots in close proximity to any doors.
An additional classic rule is that loose slot machine games are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Importantly though, we find that this also is not 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 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 perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.