Volumes have been said on this item, and the contention and feuds about where the "hot" video slots are placed in a casino are still bubbling – over 60 yrs after slot games were first installed in the casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the most favorable one armed bandits were placed just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that people going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be stirred to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our persuasion is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Many of the major casinos nowadays are titanic complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot games in close proximity to any of the doors.
Another traditional rule is that loose slots are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be encouraged 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 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 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 perspective about where to place the loose slot games.