Books have been set forth on this topic, and the bickering and arguments about where the "hot" slot games are installed in a casino are still raging – more than sixty yrs after the slots were first added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The classic rule is that the very best slot machines were installed just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that persons passing by would see real jackpot winners and be keen enough to come into the casino and play. Our conclusion is that this is not so anymore.
Many of the mega casinos these days are grand complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any exits.
Yet another standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be galvanized 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 one armed bandits 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.