Slot Machine positioning
Books have been said on this issue, and the debates and interchanges about where the "hot" one armed bandits are placed in the casino are still intense – over 60 years after slots were first placed in casinos.
The standard rule is that the better slot machine games were positioned just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that fun seekers going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be infatuated enough to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our view is that this is no longer true.
Almost all of the big name casinos these days are giant complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any doorways.
Another standard rule is that loose slot machines are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Importantly however, 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 slot games 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.
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