Books have been stated on this topic, and the conflict and disagreement about where the "hot" one armed bandits are positioned in a casino are still bubbling – more than sixty yrs after one armed bandits were first installed in the casinos.
The classic rule is that the best slot games were placed just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that persons going by would see actual jackpot winners and be attracted to come inside and play. Our attitude is that this is no longer true.
Almost all of the large casinos presently are oversized complexes … it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to situate the ‘loose’ slot games near any of the doors.
An additional standard rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Interestingly 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 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.