Books have been written on this topic, and the controversy and disharmony about where the "hot" slots are positioned in a casino are still intense – more than 60 yrs after the slots were 1st placed in gambling dens.
The classic rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were placed just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would be able to see jackpot winners … be titillated to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our feeling is that this is no longer true.
The majority of the major casinos today are enormous complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machines in close proximity to any exits.
Another traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Nonetheless, 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.