Books have been set forth on this item, and the disquiet and disagreement about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in a casino are still raging – 60 yrs after slot machine games were first installed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the best slot machines were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that potential gamblers going by would see actual jackpot winners and be inspired to come inside and play. Our sneaking suspicion is that this is not so anymore.
Most of the big name casinos presently are immense complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot games close-by any doors.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Notably 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 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 perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.