Books have been written on this issue, and the bickering and disharmony about where the "hot" slot machines are positioned in a casino are still there – more than sixty yrs after slot games were 1st placed in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the very best one armed bandits were positioned just inside the entry of the casino; so that potential gamblers passing by would see actual jackpot winners … be enthralled to come inside … play. Our assessment is that this is no longer true.
Nearly all of the large casinos presently are grand complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near to any of the doors.
Another classic rule is that loose slot machines are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Importantly 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.
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