Books have been said on this matter, and the contention and discourse about where the "hot" video slots are placed in a casino are still rampant – over 60 yrs after slot games were 1st added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The traditional rule is that the better one armed bandits were positioned just inside the door of the casino; so that potential gamblers going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be intrigued enough to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our inference is that this is no longer the case.
The majority of the mega casinos these days are huge complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close to any exits.
Yet another classic rule is that loose slot machines are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Importantly however, we find that this also isn’t 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 slot 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.