Books have been said on this subject, and the contention and arguments about where the "hot" slot machine games are located in the casino are still happening – sixty years after the slot machines were first placed in casinos.
The classic rule is that the superior slots were located just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that fun seekers walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be attracted to come inside and play. Our inference is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Just about all of the large casinos nowadays are gigantic complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close to any entrances.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot games are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Nonetheless, 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 slot machine games 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 machines.