Slot Machine Location
Volumes have been said on this matter, and the contention and discussion about where the "hot" slots are positioned in a casino are still bubbling – sixty yrs after slot machines were first placed in gambling houses.
The classic rule is that the best slot machines were placed just inside the main entry of the casino; so that potential gamblers going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be mesmerized enough to come inside … play. Our feeling is that this is not so anymore.
Just about all of the major casinos nowadays are magnificent complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any entrances or exits.
Another standard rule is that loose slot games are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Notably 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 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 slots.