Volumes have been said on this matter, and the controversy and interchanges about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in a casino are still rampant – over 60 years after slot machines were first placed in gambling dens.
The standard rule is that the better slots were positioned just inside the entrance of the casino; so that fun seekers going by would see real jackpot winners … be challenged to come into the casino … play. Our opinion is that this is definitely no longer true.
Most of the large casinos these days are immense complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close-by any entrances or exits.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Notably however, 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.