Books have been stated on this topic, and the debates and squabbling about where the "hot" slot machines are positioned in the casino are still raging – 60 years after the slots were first placed in gambling dens.
The standard rule is that the more favourable slot games were located just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that folks passing by would see jackpot winners and be drawn to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our attitude is that this is definitely no longer true.
Just about all of the big name casinos nowadays are mammoth complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slots near to any entrances or exits.
Another traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. However, 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 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 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 perspective about where to place the loose slot machine games.