Volumes have been said on this issue, and the bickering and disharmony about where the "hot" slots are positioned in a casino are still ongoing – 60 yrs after slot games were 1st placed in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the very best one armed bandits were installed just inside the entrance of the casino; so that folks going by would be able to see jackpot winners and be possessed to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our opinion is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Almost all of the big name casinos nowadays are grand complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ one armed bandits in close proximity to any doors.
Another standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Importantly however, 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 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 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 one armed bandits.