Books have been set forth on this topic, and the debates and discord about where the "hot" slot machines are positioned in the casino are still rampant – over sixty years after one armed bandits were first placed in casinos.
The traditional rule is that the most favorable slot machines were placed just inside the door of the casino; so that potential gamblers passing by would see jackpot winners and be tempted to come inside … play. Our belief is that this is definitely no longer true.
Just about all of the mega casinos these days are huge complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machines close-by any entrances or exits.
Another standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. However, 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slots.