Volumes have been said on this subject, and the conflict and arguments about where the "hot" slot machines are placed in a casino are still bubbling – more than sixty yrs after slot machines were first placed in gambling houses.
The classic rule is that the best one armed bandits were placed just inside the main entry of the casino; so that persons walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be inspired to come inside and play. Our philosophy is that this is definitely no longer so.
Just about all of the large casinos presently are oversized complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machines near any of the doors.
Yet another classic rule is that loose slot machines are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Interestingly 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot games.