Volumes have been set forth on this matter, and the bickering and discourse about where the "hot" slot machines are installed in a casino are still bubbling – over sixty yrs after slot machines were first added to the gaming floor in the casinos.
The classic rule is that the better one armed bandits were installed just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that potential gamblers going by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be enticed to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our deduction is that this is no longer the case.
Most of the major casinos presently are gigantic complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slots near any entrances.
Yet another traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits 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 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slots.