Books have been said on this subject, and the contention and discord about where the "hot" slots are positioned in a casino are still there – more than 60 yrs after the slots were 1st installed in gambling dens.
The traditional rule is that the superior one armed bandits were positioned just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that potential players passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be inspired to come into the casino and play. Our feeling is that this is no longer the case.
Almost all of the major casinos presently are enormous complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot games in close proximity to any of the doors.
Another traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be influenced 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 one armed bandits 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.