Books have been written on this subject, and the contention and discourse about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in a casino are still ongoing – sixty yrs after the slot machines were 1st placed in the casinos.
The classic rule is that the more favourable slot machine games were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that potential gamblers passing by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be convinced to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our theorem is that this is no longer true.
The majority of the big name casinos nowadays are super-colossal complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close to any entrances or exits.
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 galvanized to play. Nonetheless, we find that this also isn’t 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 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.