Books have been written on this item, and the disquiet and discussion about where the "hot" video slots are located in the casino are still taking place – more than 60 years after slot games were 1st installed in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slot machines were located just inside the main door of the casino; so that fun seekers walking by would see real jackpot winners and be impressed enough to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our reckoning is that this is definitely no longer so.
The majority of the mega casinos these days are huge complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machines near any doorways.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. However, we find that this also isn’t 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 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.