Books have been said on this subject, and the bickering and arguments about where the "hot" slots are placed in the casino are still taking place – over sixty years after slot machines were first placed in gambling dens.
The traditional rule is that the better slot machines were positioned just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that potential gamblers passing by would see real jackpot winners and be smitten to come into the casino and play. Our reasoning is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Almost all of the large casinos nowadays are enormous complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near to any doors.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machines are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. However, we find that this also is no longer a universal rule.
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 slots 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.