Books have been said on this topic, and the debates and face-offs about where the "hot" slot games are positioned in a casino are still ongoing – more than sixty years after the slot machines were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the superior slot machine games were positioned just inside the entry of the casino; so that people passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be impressed enough to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our assurance is that this is definitely no longer so.
Just about all of the large casinos these days are colossal complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machine games near to any doors.
Another traditional rule is that loose slot games are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Interestingly though, 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose one armed bandits.