Slot Machine positioning
Books have been set forth on this issue, and the bickering and face-offs about where the "hot" one armed bandits are placed in the casino are still passionate – over 60 years after the slots were first installed in gambling houses.
The traditional rule is that the more favourable slot machines were located just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that potential players passing by would see actual jackpot winners and be convinced to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our stance is that this is definitely no longer so.
Many of the large casinos these days are massive complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot games near to any entrances or exits.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot games are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be energized 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 the 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.