Slot Machine Location
Books have been stated on this subject, and the disquiet and arguments about where the "hot" slot machines are positioned in a casino are still there – over sixty years after one armed bandits were 1st placed in the casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the best slots were located just inside the door of the casino; so that potential players passing by would see jackpot winners and be stimulated to come inside … play. Our observation is that this is no longer true.
Nearly all of the large casinos these days are behemothic complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close-by any entrances or exits.
An additional classic rule is that loose slot machine games are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Importantly 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.