Slot Machine Location
Books have been set forth on this subject, and the debates and arguments about where the "hot" slot machines are positioned in the casino are still intense – over 60 years after slot games were first installed in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the most favorable slot machines were located just inside the door of the casino; so that everyone walking by would see actual jackpot winners and be enticed to come inside and play. Our theory is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Almost all of the large casinos today are enormous complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any exits.
An additional standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Nonetheless, 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.