Volumes have been set forth on this matter, and the controversy and feuds about where the "hot" slots are installed in the casino are still on-going – more than sixty years after slot machines were first added to the gaming floor in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the best one armed bandits were placed just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that individuals going by would be able to see jackpot winners … be challenged to come into the casino and play. Our inference is that this is no longer true.
Almost all of the big name casinos presently are gigantic complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near to any doorways.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot games are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. 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 one armed bandits 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose one armed bandits.