Volumes have been stated on this matter, and the conflict and arguments about where the "hot" slot machine games are placed in a casino are still rampant – sixty years after one armed bandits were 1st installed in the casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the most favorable slot machine games were placed just inside the main door of the casino; so that potential gamblers walking by would be able to see real jackpot winners and be smitten to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our determination is that this is definitely no longer true.
Just about all of the mega casinos presently are jumbo complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any exits.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Interestingly 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 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.