Volumes have been written on this topic, and the controversy and disagreement about where the "hot" one armed bandits are placed in a casino are still passionate – over sixty years after the slots were first placed in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the best slot machine games were placed just inside the main door of the casino; so that potential gamblers going by would be able to see jackpot winners … be impressed enough to come inside … play. Our resolve is that this is no longer the case.
Most of the mega casinos nowadays are enormous complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any entrances or exits.
Another classic rule is that loose slots are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Interestingly though, we find that this also is not 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 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.