Books have been set forth on this issue, and the contention and feuds about where the "hot" slots are located in a casino are still raging – over 60 yrs after slot machine games were 1st installed in casinos.
The classic rule is that the very best one armed bandits were positioned just inside the main door of the casino; so that folks going by would see real jackpot winners … be convinced to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our persuasion is that this is definitely no longer so.
Just about all of the big name casinos these days are jumbo complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots close to any doors.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot games are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Interestingly though, 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 perspective about where to place the loose slot games.