Books have been written on this topic, and the contention and feuds about where the "hot" video slots are located in a casino are still passionate – 60 years after slots were first installed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the best slots were placed just inside the main entry of the casino; so that people passing by would see actual jackpot winners and be stirred to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our viewpoint is that this is definitely no longer so.
Nearly all of the mega casinos today are mammoth complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close-by any of the doors.
An additional classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Importantly however, 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 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.