Books have been set forth on this matter, and the contention and face-offs about where the "hot" one armed bandits are installed in the casino are still intense – over sixty years after one armed bandits were 1st placed in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the best slot machines were positioned just inside the door of the casino; so that people passing by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be possessed to come inside and play. Our view is that this is definitely no longer so.
Many of the major casinos presently are massive complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot games near any entrances.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot machine games are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Interestingly 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 slot games 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slots.