Books have been written on this item, and the disquiet and arguments about where the "hot" slot machines are placed in the casino are still there – over 60 years after one armed bandits were first added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slot games were located just inside the entry of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would see real jackpot winners … be keen enough to come into the casino and play. Our verdict is that this is definitely no longer so.
Almost all of the major casinos presently are giant complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machines close to any of the doors.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machine games are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be motivated 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot games.