Volumes have been written on this subject, and the conflict and face-offs about where the "hot" slot machines are located in the casino are still raging – 60 years after the slot machines were 1st installed in gambling houses.
The traditional rule is that the more favourable slot machines were located just inside the door of the casino; so that persons walking by would see real jackpot winners … be keen enough to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our verdict is that this is no longer the case.
Just about all of the major casinos today are jumbo complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Importantly though, we find that this also is not 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 slot games 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.