Volumes have been set forth on this subject, and the conflict and disagreement about where the "hot" one armed bandits are positioned in the casino are still ongoing – more than 60 yrs after slot machine games were first placed in gambling houses.
The classic rule is that the very best slot machines were placed just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that casino fanatics going by would see real jackpot winners and be stirred to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our estimation is that this is no longer the case.
The great majority of the large casinos these days are monstrous complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot machine games near any doorways.
Yet another classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Nonetheless, 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 machine 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 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.