Books have been set forth on this matter, and the disquiet and disagreement about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in the casino are still raging – over sixty years after slot machine games were 1st added to the gaming floor in the casinos.
The standard rule is that the better slots were installed just inside the entry of the casino; so that fun seekers walking by would see real jackpot winners and be stirred to come inside and play. Our resolution is that this is definitely no longer so.
Many of the major casinos presently are magnificent complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machine games close to any doors.
Another standard rule is that loose slots are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be inspired 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 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 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 slot machine games.