Books have been written on this subject, and the controversy and disagreement about where the "hot" slots are placed in a casino are still there – sixty yrs after the slot machines were 1st placed in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the best one armed bandits were located just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that individuals passing by would see jackpot winners … be convinced to come into the casino … play. Our reckoning is that this is definitely no longer true.
Most of the large casinos these days are titanic complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slots near any doors.
An additional standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Importantly 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 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slots.
