Books have been set forth on this matter, and the conflict and ruckus about where the "hot" video slots are positioned in the casino are still rampant – more than 60 years after slots were 1st installed in the casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slot games were located just inside the main door of the casino; so that folks passing by would see actual jackpot winners … be influenced to come unto the gaming floor and play. Our feeling is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Most of the large casinos presently are magnificent complexes … now you can’t see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot games in close proximity to any exits.
An additional classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more folks could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Notably however, 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 the slot machines 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 one armed bandits.