Books have been written on this matter, and the debates and interchanges about where the "hot" slot machine games are placed in the casino are still raging – over sixty yrs after the slots were 1st installed in the casinos.
The classic rule is that the better slots were put just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that fun seekers going by would be able to see real jackpot winners and be stimulated to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our philosophy is that this is no longer true.
Almost all of the big name casinos these days are magnificent complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machines close-by any of the doors.
Another classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Nonetheless, 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.