11.03
Slot Machine positioning
Volumes have been set forth on this matter, and the debates and disharmony about where the "hot" slot games are placed in a casino are still taking place – 60 years after one armed bandits were first installed in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the best one armed bandits were installed just inside the entrance of the casino; so that everyone going by would see actual jackpot winners … be stimulated to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our stance is that this is no longer the case.
Many of the big name casinos presently are giant complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slots close to any doorways.
An additional classic rule is that loose slot machines are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be galvanized 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 one armed bandits 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 machines.