Books have been written on this topic, and the debates and interchanges about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in the casino are still rampant – more than 60 years after one armed bandits were first installed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the better slots were positioned just inside the door of the casino; so that individuals going by would be able to see jackpot winners … be inspired to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our resolution is that this is definitely no longer true.
Just about all of the big name casinos nowadays are magnificent complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any of the doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Notably though, we find that this also is not 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot games.