Slot Machine positioning
Books have been written on this item, and the controversy and discourse about where the "hot" video slots are installed in a casino are still taking place – over sixty years after slot games were first installed in gambling dens.
The standard rule is that the very best slot games were put just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that potential gamblers walking by would be able to see jackpot winners … be intrigued enough to come into the casino and play. Our view is that this is no longer the case.
The majority of the mega casinos these days are enormous complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near to any entrances or exits.
Another traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be inspired to play. Importantly though, 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 the slot machines 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.