Volumes have been said on this subject, and the bickering and disharmony about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in a casino are still bubbling – more than sixty yrs after slots were 1st placed in casinos.
The classic rule is that the very best slot machine games were put just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that potential gamblers walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be stimulated to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our conclusion is that this is definitely no longer true.
Almost all of the big name casinos nowadays are colossal complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any entrances or exits.
Another standard rule is that loose slot machine games are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Interestingly though, we find that this also isn’t 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.