Volumes have been said on this issue, and the disquiet and discussion about where the "hot" one armed bandits are located in a casino are still intense – over 60 years after the slot machines were first installed in casinos.
The classic rule is that the most favorable slot machine games were placed just inside the main foyer of the casino; so that people going by would be able to see jackpot winners … be stimulated to come into the casino … play. Our inference is that this is definitely no longer so.
Nearly all of the major casinos nowadays are grand complexes and it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots close-by any of the doors.
Another standard rule is that loose slot machines are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more persons could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Notably though, we find that this also isn’t 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose one armed bandits.