Books have been stated on this issue, and the controversy and squabbling about where the "hot" video slots are placed in the casino are still taking place – more than sixty years after one armed bandits were first placed in gambling houses.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slot machine games were placed just inside the entry of the casino; so that casino fanatics passing by would be able to see jackpot winners and be enticed to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our theorem is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Many of the large casinos these days are mammoth complexes … you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near to any of the doors.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot games are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Importantly though, we find that this also is no longer a universal rule.
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 slot machines 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 very 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 games.