12.13
Slot Machine positioning
Volumes have been said on this matter, and the contention and interchanges about where the "hot" slot games are installed in a casino are still on-going – over sixty yrs after slot machine games were 1st placed in gambling dens.
The traditional rule is that the best one armed bandits were placed just inside the main entry of the casino; so that folks walking by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be titillated to come inside … play. Our reckoning is that this is no longer true.
Just about all of the mega casinos these days are giant complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits in close proximity to any doorways.
Another standard rule is that loose slot games are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Interestingly though, we find that this also is no longer a universal rule.
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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.