Volumes have been stated on this matter, and the disquiet and discourse about where the "hot" slot machines are placed in a casino are still happening – over 60 years after one armed bandits were 1st installed in gambling dens.
The traditional rule is that the best one armed bandits were positioned just inside the main door of the casino; so that potential players going by would be able to see real jackpot winners and be mesmerized enough to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our determination is that this is not so anymore.
Just about all of the mega casinos these days are humongous complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slots near to any of the doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Importantly 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 slot machines.
