Volumes have been written on this item, and the debates and discord about where the "hot" one armed bandits are installed in the casino are still happening – over 60 yrs after slot machine games were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slot machines were positioned just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that potential players passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be baited to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our reckoning is that this is no longer true.
Nearly all of the major casinos today are humongous complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot games in close proximity to any doorways.
Another classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be encouraged 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 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.