Volumes have been said on this subject, and the debates and ruckus about where the "hot" video slots are installed in a casino are still happening – 60 years after the slot machines were first installed in the casinos.
The standard rule is that the very best slot machine games were located just inside the door of the casino; so that casino fanatics passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be smitten to come into the casino … play. Our leaning is that this is no longer the case.
The majority of the major casinos nowadays are gigantic complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot games close to any entrances.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot machines are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Notably 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 slots.