Books have been set forth on this subject, and the bickering and feuds about where the "hot" slots are placed in the casino are still intense – over 60 years after slot machine games were first installed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the most favorable one armed bandits were located just inside the entrance of the casino; so that everyone passing by would see jackpot winners … be challenged to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our view is that this is not so anymore.
The majority of the major casinos today are giant complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machine games close-by any exits.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose slots are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Importantly though, we find that this also is not a universal rule any more.
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 machine 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot games.