Books have been said on this subject, and the conflict and face-offs about where the "hot" one armed bandits are installed in the casino are still intense – over sixty yrs after the slot machines were first placed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the most favorable slot games were placed just inside the entrance of the casino; so that potential players walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be possessed to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our assessment is that this is no longer the case.
Many of the big name casinos today are enormous complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machine games close to any of the doors.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose slots are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be inspired 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 the slot machines 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 one armed bandits.