Volumes have been said on this issue, and the contention and ruckus about where the "hot" one armed bandits are positioned in the casino are still intense – more than sixty years after slot machine games were 1st placed in the casinos.
The traditional rule is that the better slot machines were positioned just inside the main entry of the casino; so that people going by would be able to see actual jackpot winners … be attracted to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our interpretation is that this is no longer true.
Most of the mega casinos presently are huge complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot games close-by any entrances.
An additional standard rule is that loose slot machine games are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be energized 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose one armed bandits.