Volumes have been said on this topic, and the contention and disharmony about where the "hot" slot machines are positioned in the casino are still ongoing – more than 60 years after slot machine games were 1st installed in casinos.
The classic rule is that the more favourable slot machines were installed just inside the entrance of the casino; so that potential players going by would be able to see jackpot winners … be stimulated to come into the casino and play. Our conviction is that this is no longer the case.
Nearly all of the major casinos presently are colossal complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machine games close to any doors.
An additional classic rule is that loose slot machines are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Importantly 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 the slot machines 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.