Books have been written on this subject, and the bickering and ruckus about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in the casino are still passionate – more than 60 yrs after slots were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The traditional rule is that the most favorable slot machines were located just inside the door of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would see actual jackpot winners … be infatuated enough to come inside … play. Our philosophy is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Almost all of the large casinos these days are grand complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot games close-by any doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot games are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. However, 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 the slot machines 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.