Slot Machine Location
Books have been set forth on this issue, and the contention and arguments about where the "hot" video slots are placed in the casino are still intense – more than 60 years after slot games were first placed in casinos.
The traditional rule is that the best slot games were installed just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that individuals walking by would see jackpot winners and be keen enough to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our observation is that this is definitely no longer true.
Practically all of the large casinos presently are gigantic complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machine games close to any doorways.
An additional classic rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Importantly 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.