Books have been said on this item, and the disquiet and discussion about where the "hot" one armed bandits are installed in the casino are still intense – over 60 yrs after one armed bandits were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slots were installed just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that fun seekers walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be impressed enough to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our presumption is that this is not so anymore.
Practically all of the major casinos these days are super-colossal complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machine games close-by any doorways.
Yet another classic rule is that loose slot games are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. However, 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 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 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 games.