Books have been set forth on this issue, and the disquiet and feuds about where the "hot" slot machines are placed in a casino are still raging – more than 60 years after one armed bandits were first installed in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the better slot machines were located just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that folks passing by would see real jackpot winners … be smitten to come into the casino and play. Our view is that this is definitely no longer so.
Almost all of the big name casinos these days are gigantic complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot games close to any doors.
An additional 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 influenced 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.