Books have been said on this topic, and the disquiet and arguments about where the "hot" video slots are installed in the casino are still passionate – over 60 years after one armed bandits were first added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the superior slot machine games were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that fun seekers passing by would be able to see jackpot winners and be convinced to come inside and play. Our attitude is that this is no longer true.
Just about all of the big name casinos these days are immense complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machine games close-by any doors.
Another classic rule is that loose slots are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Notably however, 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 machine 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slots.