Books have been set forth on this item, and the controversy and ruckus about where the "hot" slot machines are located in a casino are still raging – more than sixty yrs after one armed bandits were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the superior slot machine games were placed just inside the door of the casino; so that people going by would see jackpot winners and be captivated to come into the casino and play. Our speculation is that this is not so anymore.
The majority of the big name casinos presently are mammoth complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot games close to any of the doors.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machines are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Importantly though, 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 the 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose one armed bandits.