Books have been set forth on this item, and the bickering and discourse about where the "hot" slots are installed in the casino are still intense – sixty yrs after one armed bandits were first installed in gambling dens.
The standard rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were located just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that fun seekers walking by would see jackpot winners and be tempted to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our attitude is that this is definitely no longer so.
Practically all of the mega casinos today are huge complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machines close-by any exits.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slots are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Nonetheless, 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.