Volumes have been written on this issue, and the controversy and feuds about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in the casino are still raging – 60 years after the slot machines were 1st placed in gambling houses.
The traditional rule is that the superior slot machine games were installed just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that individuals walking by would see actual jackpot winners and be smitten to come into the casino and play. Our presumption is that this is no longer the case.
The great majority of the major casinos these days are super-colossal complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any of the doors.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Importantly 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 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 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 perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.