Volumes have been said on this matter, and the contention and ruckus about where the "hot" one armed bandits are positioned in the casino are still there – 60 yrs after slot machines were first installed in casinos.
The classic rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were placed just inside the main entry of the casino; so that folks walking by would see jackpot winners and be stirred to come inside … play. Our viewpoint is that this is not so anymore.
The great majority of the major casinos presently are enormous complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots near any entrances or exits.
Yet another classic rule is that loose slots are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Notably though, 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 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slots.