Volumes have been written on this issue, and the contention and discord about where the "hot" one armed bandits are located in a casino are still taking place – over 60 yrs after slot machines were first placed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the best slots were installed just inside the main entry of the casino; so that casino fanatics going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be challenged to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our view is that this is definitely no longer true.
The majority of the big name casinos presently are huge complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits in close proximity to any doorways.
Another classic rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. However, 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 the 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 perspective about where to place the loose slot machine games.