Books have been set forth on this subject, and the conflict and discord about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in a casino are still there – over 60 years after the slots were first placed in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the best slot machines were placed just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that everyone going by would see real jackpot winners … be drawn to come inside and play. Our estimation is that this is no longer the case.
Many of the big name casinos today are titanic complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot games near any entrances or exits.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machine games are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Notably 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 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 slots.