It is one of the oldest and most believed myths in the casino business, slot machines that offer the biggest payouts, so-called “loose” machines, are always placed near the entrance to the casino. Even experienced casino gamblers still ascribe to this belief. Unfortunately, it simply is not true, according to casino and slot experts.

The thinking behind the myth seems reasonable. The casino wants to stimulate interest in the slots; it is the most profitable game in the room. There are far more slot machines on a casino floor than any other game and the casino owner would love to have everyone playing the slots, so why wouldn’t they place the “loose” machines where more people would be tempted to play?

Gaming Commissions

The biggest reason is that such practices probably are prohibited by the gaming commission that licenses the casino. Laws governing slot machines strictly regulate the payout of the machines; therefore, the casino is not allowed to tinker with the payouts to make some machines easier to beat than others.

Not So Fast

But then, there are other so-called slot experts that will say exactly the opposite. Casinos, they say, place loose machines - not near the entrance to the casino, they want to get people all the way inside the door first - but near where there is a lot of traffic, such as coin changers, crosswalks, and elevated platforms where they are more visible.

These experts can go into great detail about where to find the loose machines and where to avoid “tight” ones. In that case, they say avoid slots near the entrance, near sports book or gaming table locations, or lines for shows. In these places the house does not want patrons distracted by the slots.

Hit Frequency

While it is true that payouts are strictly controlled by gaming commissions, some of the contradiction and confusion about slot placement may have to do with what is called “hit frequency.” This refers to how often a machine pays off. A slot machine returns coins say one in every 10 spins while another would average one payout every 15 spins. The difference is that the machine with the lower hit frequency will have larger payouts, thus making the average payout of the same.

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