Books have been set forth on this subject, and the controversy and discord about where the "hot" slot games are placed in a casino are still taking place – over sixty years after the slot machines were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the most favorable one armed bandits were located just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that potential players passing by would see actual jackpot winners … be aroused to come inside … play. Our persuasion is that this is not so anymore.
The great majority of the large casinos today are colossal complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machines near any entrances or exits.
An additional standard rule is that loose slots are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Interestingly 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 the slot machines 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.