Volumes have been said on this issue, and the conflict and ruckus about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in the casino are still intense – sixty yrs after slots were 1st placed in the casinos.
The standard rule is that the more favourable slot machine games were placed just inside the entrance of the casino; so that fun seekers walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be convinced to come inside … play. Our sneaking suspicion is that this is definitely no longer true.
Many of the large casinos today are titanic complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close-by any of the doors.
Another traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Importantly 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.