Volumes have been set forth on this issue, and the disquiet and arguments about where the "hot" slot games are positioned in the casino are still intense – more than sixty years after slots were first placed in gambling houses.
The classic rule is that the most favorable slots were put just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that persons going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be influenced to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our view is that this is not so anymore.
Almost all of the large casinos today are jumbo complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any exits.
An additional classic rule is that loose slot machines are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers 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 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 slot machines.