Books have been set forth on this issue, and the disquiet and feuds about where the "hot" slot machines are placed in the casino are still intense – more than sixty years after slot games were 1st placed in casinos.
The standard rule is that the superior slot machines were put just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that casino fanatics passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be challenged to come inside and play. Our disposition is that this is definitely no longer true.
Almost all of the large casinos these days are monstrous complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machine games close-by any exits.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machine games are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Interestingly though, 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 slots 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.