Books have been set forth on this topic, and the conflict and disharmony about where the "hot" one armed bandits are located in a casino are still there – over 60 years after slot machines were 1st placed in gambling dens.
The classic rule is that the very best slot machine games were placed just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that potential players passing by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be enticed to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our point of view is that this is definitely no longer so.
Many of the major casinos nowadays are enormous complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slots close-by any doorways.
Yet another classic rule is that loose slot machines are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Notably 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 slots 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 perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.