Books have been written on this matter, and the conflict and arguments about where the "hot" one armed bandits are located in the casino are still on-going – sixty yrs after the slots were 1st added to the gaming floor in gambling dens.
The classic rule is that the more favourable slot machine games were installed just inside the entry of the casino; so that casino fanatics walking by would see jackpot winners … be mesmerized enough to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our verdict is that this is not so anymore.
Many of the big name casinos presently are immense complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close to any doorways.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Interestingly 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 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 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!
Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.