Volumes have been said on this topic, and the bickering and squabbling about where the "hot" one armed bandits are positioned in the casino are still taking place – more than 60 yrs after slots were first added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The traditional rule is that the superior slots were installed just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that potential players walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be tempted to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our theory is that this is no longer the case.
Almost all of the mega casinos presently are humongous complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits in close proximity to any entrances or exits.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot games are located on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Interestingly 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.