Books have been written on this subject, and the debates and discord about where the "hot" video slots are installed in the casino are still ongoing – sixty years after the slots were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The classic rule is that the better one armed bandits were installed just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that individuals going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be enticed to come inside … play. Our theory is that this is definitely no longer true.
Just about all of the large casinos nowadays are colossal complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slots near any entrances or exits.
Yet another classic rule is that loose slots are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Notably 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.