Volumes have been stated on this subject, and the debates and discourse about where the "hot" slots are placed in a casino are still intense – 60 yrs after slots were 1st added to the gaming floor in the casinos.
The standard rule is that the best one armed bandits were put just inside the main door of the casino; so that potential gamblers passing by would be able to see jackpot winners and be aroused to come into the casino … play. Our belief is that this is definitely no longer true.
Many of the mega casinos today are mammoth complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slots near to any entrances or exits.
Another standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players 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 philosophy about where to place the loose one armed bandits.