Books have been written on this subject, and the debates and disagreement about where the "hot" slots are positioned in a casino are still happening – over sixty yrs after the slots were 1st placed in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the better slot machines were positioned just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that potential players walking by would see actual jackpot winners and be titillated to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our verdict is that this is no longer the case.
Just about all of the large casinos presently are giant complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot games near any doors.
Another standard rule is that loose slots are located on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Notably however, we find that this also is not 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 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 machines.