Books have been written on this issue, and the contention and disharmony about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in the casino are still raging – more than 60 yrs after slot machine games were 1st installed in the casinos.
The standard rule is that the best slot machine games were installed just inside the main entry of the casino; so that folks walking by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be titillated to come unto the gambling floor and play. Our speculation is that this is definitely no longer true.
Most of the major casinos today are oversized complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slots near any doorways.
Another classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be motivated 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot games.