Books have been set forth on this topic, and the contention and feuds about where the "hot" slot games are placed in the casino are still bubbling – sixty yrs after the slots were 1st added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slots were put just inside the main door of the casino; so that people passing by would see jackpot winners and be smitten to come unto the gambling floor … play. Our standpoint is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Just about all of the major casinos presently are oversized 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 near any entrances or exits.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot machines are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Importantly 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 slot games 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.