Volumes have been said on this issue, and the debates and arguments about where the "hot" video slots are installed in a casino are still taking place – sixty years after slot machines were 1st placed in gambling dens.
The standard rule is that the most favorable one armed bandits were installed just inside the door of the casino; so that fun seekers passing by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be baited to come inside and play. Our thought is that this is not so anymore.
Practically all of the big name casinos presently are behemothic complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machines close-by any entrances or exits.
Another classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Notably however, 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 slot 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.