Books have been stated on this item, and the conflict and feuds about where the "hot" one armed bandits are positioned in the casino are still intense – sixty years after slot machines were 1st placed in casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the best one armed bandits were installed just inside the entry of the casino; so that potential players walking by would see actual jackpot winners … be titillated to come into the casino … play. Our perspective is that this is no longer the case.
Just about all of the major casinos today are mammoth complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slot machine games near any entrances.
An additional traditional rule is that loose one armed bandits are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Notably 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 one armed bandits 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!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot games.