Books have been stated on this subject, and the debates and discord about where the "hot" slot machines are placed in a casino are still ongoing – 60 years after the slot machines were first installed in the casinos.
The classic rule is that the superior slot machines were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that folks passing by would see real jackpot winners and be possessed to come inside and play. Our leaning is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Just about all of the large casinos presently are grand complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot games in close proximity to any of the doors.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot machine games are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Importantly 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 slot games 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slots.
