Books have been written on this issue, and the debates and feuds about where the "hot" slot machine games are located in a casino are still on-going – over sixty yrs after the slots were 1st added to the gaming floor in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slots were installed just inside the entrance of the casino; so that folks passing by would see jackpot winners … be intrigued enough to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our persuasion is that this is no longer true.
The great majority of the mega casinos nowadays are enormous complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machine games in close proximity to any entrances or exits.
Another classic rule is that loose slot machine games are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Interestingly though, we find that this also is no longer a universal rule.
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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machines.