Volumes have been set forth on this issue, and the contention and discord about where the "hot" one armed bandits are placed in the casino are still raging – over 60 yrs after one armed bandits were first installed in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the best slots were installed just inside the entry of the casino; so that everyone passing by would see real jackpot winners … be attracted to come inside and play. Our observation is that this is no longer true.
Nearly all of the mega casinos nowadays are titanic complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ one armed bandits in close proximity to any entrances.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be influenced 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machine games.