Volumes have been set forth on this topic, and the debates and feuds about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in a casino are still passionate – sixty years after slot machine games were first placed in the casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the superior one armed bandits were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that potential gamblers going by would see actual jackpot winners and be tempted to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our reasoning is that this is not so anymore.
Almost all of the major casinos these days are mammoth complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machines near any entrances.
Another standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Interestingly though, 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 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 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 slot games.
