Volumes have been written on this item, and the disquiet and squabbling about where the "hot" slot machine games are placed in a casino are still taking place – over 60 years after slot machine games were first installed in the casinos.
The classic rule is that the more favourable slot machines were located just inside the door of the casino; so that folks passing by would see actual jackpot winners and be titillated to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our disposition is that this is definitely no longer the case.
The great majority of the large casinos today are behemothic complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot games near any entrances.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Interestingly though, 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 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.