Volumes have been set forth on this subject, and the contention and ruckus about where the "hot" slot machines are located in the casino are still there – more than sixty years after the slot machines were first added to the gaming floor in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the most favorable one armed bandits were positioned just inside the entry of the casino; so that people walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be impressed enough to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our perspective is that this is definitely no longer true.
The great majority of the mega casinos nowadays are magnificent complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machines near to any doors.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machine games are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Nonetheless, 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 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.