Books have been set forth on this topic, and the contention and disagreement about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in the casino are still passionate – more than 60 years after the slots were 1st placed in the casinos.
The standard rule is that the superior slot machine games were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that folks walking by would be able to see jackpot winners and be inspired to come into the casino and play. Our belief is that this is not so anymore.
Nearly all of the major casinos today are behemothic complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machines near to any entrances.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be inspired to play. Nonetheless, 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 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 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.