Slot Machine positioning
Volumes have been stated on this item, and the controversy and discourse about where the "hot" one armed bandits are placed in a casino are still on-going – more than sixty years after slot machines were 1st installed in gambling houses.
The traditional rule is that the superior slot machines were located just inside the main entry of the casino; so that individuals going by would see actual jackpot winners and be titillated to come inside and play. Our conclusion is that this is definitely no longer true.
The great majority of the big name casinos nowadays are behemothic complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ one armed bandits in close proximity to any doorways.
Another standard rule is that loose slot machines are located on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players 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 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.