Volumes have been said on this issue, and the bickering and discourse about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in the casino are still rampant – sixty years after the slots were first placed in gambling dens.
The traditional rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were put just inside the door of the casino; so that fun seekers walking by would see real jackpot winners … be impressed enough to come into the casino … play. Our conclusion is that this is no longer the case.
Almost all of the big name casinos today are monstrous complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near to any entrances or exits.
An additional traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Importantly though, 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 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 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 slots.