Books have been said on this issue, and the conflict and interchanges about where the "hot" video slots are placed in the casino are still rampant – sixty years after slot games were first placed in casinos.
The standard rule is that the most favorable slot machine games were located just inside the main door of the casino; so that persons walking by would see real jackpot winners and be convinced to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our belief is that this is definitely no longer the case.
The majority of the big name casinos nowadays are immense complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machines near any doors.
Another standard rule is that loose slot machines are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Importantly 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 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 one armed bandits.