Books have been set forth on this subject, and the controversy and feuds about where the "hot" slot machines are located in a casino are still passionate – more than sixty years after the slot machines were first placed in gambling houses.
The traditional rule is that the more favourable slot machines were put just inside the door of the casino; so that fun seekers walking by would see real jackpot winners and be titillated to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our opinion is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Nearly all of the large casinos presently are enormous complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slots close to any doorways.
An additional classic rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Nonetheless, 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.