Volumes have been stated on this topic, and the conflict and squabbling about where the "hot" slot machine games are located in the casino are still there – over 60 yrs after slot machines were first installed in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were located just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that folks walking by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be stimulated to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our philosophy is that this is not so anymore.
Most of the major casinos nowadays are giant complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any of the doors.
An additional classic rule is that loose slots are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be influenced 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.