Books have been said on this subject, and the controversy and discussion about where the "hot" slot machines are located in the casino are still intense – over sixty years after one armed bandits were first placed in casinos.
The standard rule is that the better slots were located just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that potential players passing by would be able to see jackpot winners … be titillated to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our sentiment is that this is not so anymore.
Practically all of the major casinos presently are enormous complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machines near to any of the doors.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machines are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Interestingly 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.