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Is There Any Truth to The Machine Placement Myth? (2 of 2)

Yet, the myth of slot machine placement refuses to die. Superstitious gamblers reason that the most hospitable slots are nearest the door, because casino owners want to fill all their seats. People will naturally gravitate to one of the nearest slots when presented with a room full of them. Therefore, people walking in will hopefully see folks winning at these “warm” devices, and be inspired to pull up a seat of their own – preferably at a machine nearer to the back of the room.

Strangely enough, there are some veteran gamblers who swear that the OPPOSITE is the truth… that there are certain spots where the slots are likely to be the hottest, and it is NOT by the doors! If you follow this line of slot machine logic, the slot games near doors, the sports book, game tables, or the lines for floor shows will likely be “cooler” than others, because the casino does not want one to be distracted by the machines in these locations.

Of course, the biggest fallacy with the idea of strategic slot machine placement has to do with plain old logic. How, exactly, is a player supposed to KNOW that a machine is “hot” or “cold”? If a casino wants to keep players milling around the blackjack tables from being distracted by the slots and places a non-paying machine nearby, how exactly is the average casino-goer supposed to know this fact? Would the establishment not simply remove these machines? It makes no sense. Then again, most superstitions really don’t – that’s why they aren’t true!

Back to September 2008 Archive.