07.31
Slot Machine positioning
Books have been written on this topic, and the contention and discussion about where the "hot" video slots are positioned in the casino are still passionate – sixty years after one armed bandits were first installed in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the better slot machine games were placed just inside the entrance of the casino; so that potential players passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be infatuated enough to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our theory is that this is definitely no longer so.
Just about all of the large casinos these days are gigantic complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machines close to any doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot games are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be influenced 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.
