Volumes have been written on this topic, and the disquiet and arguments about where the "hot" one armed bandits are installed in a casino are still intense – more than sixty years after slot machines were first placed in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the superior slot machines were located just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that everyone going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be tempted to come into the casino … play. Our conviction is that this is no longer the case.
Practically all of the mega casinos today are monstrous complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any doorways.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot machines are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be motivated 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 slot games 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 perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.