Books have been written on this issue, and the bickering and discussion about where the "hot" video slots are located in the casino are still bubbling – more than sixty years after one armed bandits were first added to the gaming floor in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the most favorable slot machines were put just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that potential players walking by would be able to see jackpot winners and be aroused to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our stance is that this is definitely no longer so.
Almost all of the major casinos these days are grand complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slots close to any exits.
An additional classic rule is that loose slot machines are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Notably however, 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 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slots.