Books have been written on this item, and the debates and arguments about where the "hot" slot games are positioned in the casino are still taking place – 60 yrs after one armed bandits were 1st placed in the casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slot machines were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that everyone going by would be able to see jackpot winners and be titillated to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our reasoning is that this is no longer true.
Just about all of the large casinos nowadays are massive complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slots near any doors.
Another standard rule is that loose slots are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more folks 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 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 one armed bandits.
