Volumes have been said on this item, and the debates and face-offs about where the "hot" slot machines are located in the casino are still taking place – more than 60 yrs after slot machine games were first added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the best slot games were positioned just inside the door of the casino; so that everyone going by would see actual jackpot winners … be intrigued enough to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our conviction is that this is definitely no longer true.
Nearly all of the mega casinos these days are grand complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machines near to any entrances.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be inspired to play. Notably 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 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 perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.