Books have been stated on this issue, and the disquiet and discourse about where the "hot" slot games are installed in the casino are still taking place – 60 yrs after slot machine games were 1st added to the gaming floor in casinos.
The traditional rule is that the better one armed bandits were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that everyone passing by would see actual jackpot winners and be stirred to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our reasoning is that this is definitely no longer true.
Many of the mega casinos presently are huge complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any exits.
An additional traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are located on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Importantly however, 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.
