Volumes have been said on this item, and the controversy and feuds about where the "hot" one armed bandits are installed in the casino are still ongoing – more than 60 yrs after slot machine games were first placed in casinos.
The traditional rule is that the more favourable slot games were located just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that persons passing by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be titillated to come into the casino and play. Our conclusion is that this is no longer the case.
Practically all of the major casinos nowadays are giant complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot games close to any exits.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot machines are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Notably 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.