Volumes have been written on this subject, and the conflict and squabbling about where the "hot" slot machines are positioned in a casino are still bubbling – over 60 years after the slots were first placed in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the very best one armed bandits were put just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would see jackpot winners and be inspired to come inside and play. Our sentiment is that this is no longer true.
Many of the large casinos presently are magnificent complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot games close to any doorways.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot games are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Notably however, we find that this also isn’t 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slots.