Volumes have been written on this subject, and the contention and discourse about where the "hot" one armed bandits are installed in the casino are still passionate – 60 yrs after slot machine games were first installed in gambling houses.
The standard rule is that the better slots were located just inside the main entry of the casino; so that persons passing by would see jackpot winners … be mesmerized enough to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our viewpoint is that this is not so anymore.
Many of the large casinos today are colossal complexes and now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near to any doorways.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slot games are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be galvanized to play. Importantly 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 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.