Books have been set forth on this issue, and the bickering and discourse about where the "hot" slot games are positioned in a casino are still intense – over 60 yrs after one armed bandits were first placed in the casinos.
The classic rule is that the most favorable one armed bandits were positioned just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that individuals walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be baited to come into the casino … play. Our sentiment is that this is definitely no longer the case.
The majority of the major casinos today are colossal complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot games near any entrances.
Another traditional rule is that loose slot machines are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people 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 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 machine games.