Books have been stated on this issue, and the disquiet and ruckus about where the "hot" slot machine games are placed in the casino are still bubbling – more than 60 years after the slot machines were 1st added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The standard rule is that the superior slot machines were located just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that folks going by would see actual jackpot winners and be smitten to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our finding is that this is not so anymore.
Many of the major casinos today are colossal complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any of the doors.
An additional standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. However, 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.