Books have been stated on this item, and the controversy and discourse about where the "hot" slots are placed in the casino are still happening – more than sixty yrs after slots were first added to the gaming floor in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were positioned just inside the entry of the casino; so that potential players going by would see jackpot winners and be impressed enough to come inside and play. Our leaning is that this is definitely no longer true.
Almost all of the major casinos today are grand complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any of the doors.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be inspired 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 the slot machines 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 slot machine games.