Books have been written on this item, and the controversy and interchanges about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in the casino are still bubbling – 60 years after the slot machines were first added to the gaming floor in casinos.
The traditional rule is that the better one armed bandits were put just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that folks going by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be stimulated to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our point of view is that this is not so anymore.
Most of the big name casinos these days are behemothic complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machine games near any exits.
Another classic rule is that loose slots are located on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Interestingly 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.