03.13
Slot Machine positioning
Books have been said on this topic, and the controversy and interchanges about where the "hot" slot games are installed in the casino are still passionate – 60 yrs after slots were 1st placed in the casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the best slot games were installed just inside the main door of the casino; so that folks walking by would see actual jackpot winners … be attracted to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our resolve is that this is definitely no longer so.
Many of the big name casinos these days are jumbo complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any doors.
An additional standard rule is that loose slots are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Interestingly 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.