Books have been said on this issue, and the conflict and disharmony about where the "hot" slot machines are located in a casino are still taking place – sixty years after the slot machines were 1st added to the gaming floor in gambling houses.
The traditional rule is that the superior one armed bandits were positioned just inside the main entry of the casino; so that persons walking by would see jackpot winners … be stimulated to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our view is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Nearly all of the big name casinos today are colossal complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots near any doors.
Another traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. However, 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 slot 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.