Volumes have been set forth on this issue, and the contention and arguments about where the "hot" video slots are located in a casino are still intense – more than sixty yrs after the slot machines were first placed in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the more favourable slots were positioned just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would be able to see jackpot winners and be baited to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our observation is that this is definitely no longer so.
Just about all of the big name casinos nowadays are humongous complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ one armed bandits in close proximity to any exits.
Yet another classic rule is that loose slot machines are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Nonetheless, 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 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 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.