Volumes have been stated on this item, and the contention and feuds about where the "hot" slot machines are located in the casino are still raging – over sixty years after the slot machines were 1st installed in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the better slot machine games were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that people passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners and be stimulated to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our theory is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Almost all of the mega casinos presently are monstrous complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot games in close proximity to any doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Notably though, 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 the slot machines 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slots.