Volumes have been set forth on this issue, and the contention and discussion about where the "hot" slots are installed in the casino are still raging – over sixty yrs after slot games were first added to the gaming floor in casinos.
The standard rule is that the superior slot machine games were positioned just inside the main entry of the casino; so that individuals walking by would be able to see jackpot winners … be intrigued enough to come into the casino and play. Our finding is that this is definitely no longer so.
Many of the major casinos today are titanic complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot machine games close to any doorways.
Yet 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 inspired to play. Interestingly though, 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 slot machine 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 one armed bandits.