Books have been written on this subject, and the debates and discord about where the "hot" slot machine games are placed in a casino are still bubbling – more than 60 years after one armed bandits were 1st added to the gaming floor in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the more favourable slots were installed just inside the main door of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would be able to see real jackpot winners and be influenced to come inside and play. Our opinion is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Most of the mega casinos nowadays are magnificent complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ one armed bandits in close proximity to any doorways.
Another standard rule is that loose slots are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be influenced 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slots.