Books have been written on this matter, and the debates and discussion about where the "hot" slot games are installed in the casino are still intense – more than sixty years after the slots were 1st installed in gambling dens.
The classic rule is that the superior one armed bandits were put just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that individuals passing by would see jackpot winners and be influenced to come inside and play. Our reasoning is that this is definitely no longer true.
Almost all of the big name casinos these days are massive complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machines close to any entrances or exits.
Another standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Nonetheless, 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 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 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 one armed bandits.