Books have been written on this issue, and the disquiet and disagreement about where the "hot" slot games are positioned in a casino are still happening – more than 60 yrs after the slots were first installed in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the better slots were placed just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that individuals passing by would see real jackpot winners … be smitten to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our philosophy is that this is definitely no longer so.
Most of the large casinos these days are humongous complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots near to any entrances or exits.
An additional traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Importantly however, we find that this also is not 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.