Books have been written on this item, and the controversy and feuds about where the "hot" slot machines are located in the casino are still intense – sixty years after the slots were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were positioned just inside the main door of the casino; so that people walking by would be able to see jackpot winners … be attracted to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our thought is that this is no longer the case.
Practically all of the mega casinos presently are massive complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slots close to any entrances or exits.
Another standard rule is that loose slots are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Interestingly though, 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 machine games.