11.04
Slot Machine Location
Books have been stated on this item, and the disquiet and face-offs about where the "hot" video slots are located in a casino are still intense – 60 yrs after slot machine games were 1st installed in casinos.
The classic rule is that the best slots were positioned just inside the entrance of the casino; so that persons walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be enthralled to come into the casino and play. Our position is that this is no longer true.
The great majority of the major casinos nowadays are monstrous complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machine games near to any of the doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot games are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Importantly however, 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 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.