Books have been written on this subject, and the bickering and discourse about where the "hot" one armed bandits are placed in the casino are still bubbling – 60 yrs after slots were first installed in casinos.
The traditional rule is that the superior slot games were put just inside the entry of the casino; so that people walking by would see real jackpot winners … be enthralled to come into the casino and play. Our inference is that this is no longer the case.
The majority of the big name casinos nowadays are magnificent complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot games close to any entrances or exits.
An additional standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be encouraged 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 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machine games.