Books have been said on this topic, and the disquiet and feuds about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in the casino are still happening – sixty yrs after slot machines were 1st placed in casinos.
The traditional rule is that the most favorable one armed bandits were installed just inside the entry of the casino; so that potential gamblers walking by would be able to see real jackpot winners and be stimulated to come inside … play. Our reckoning is that this is no longer the case.
Nearly all of the big name casinos today are herculean complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machine games near to any entrances.
Another standard rule is that loose slot machine games are located on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Interestingly though, 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 machine games.