Volumes have been said on this subject, and the controversy and squabbling about where the "hot" slot games are positioned in the casino are still there – more than 60 years after slot machine games were first installed in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the better slot machines were located just inside the main door of the casino; so that persons walking by would be able to see jackpot winners and be influenced to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our point of view is that this is no longer true.
Many of the mega casinos nowadays are herculean complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any doors.
Another standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Importantly however, 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 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose one armed bandits.