Books have been said on this issue, and the controversy and arguments about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in the casino are still taking place – over sixty yrs after slot games were 1st placed in casinos.
The standard rule is that the better one armed bandits were installed just inside the entry of the casino; so that persons walking by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be possessed to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our belief is that this is no longer the case.
Many of the large casinos presently are huge complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot games close to any entrances or exits.
Another classic rule is that loose slot machines are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be galvanized 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 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.