Volumes have been written on this issue, and the disquiet and face-offs about where the "hot" slot machines are placed in a casino are still intense – over sixty years after slot games were first placed in casinos.
The traditional rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were positioned just inside the entrance of the casino; so that potential players walking by would see real jackpot winners and be challenged to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our standpoint is that this is definitely no longer true.
The majority of the large casinos nowadays are massive complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near to any exits.
Another classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. However, we find that this also is no longer a universal rule.
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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.