Volumes have been said on this matter, and the bickering and interchanges about where the "hot" video slots are installed in a casino are still ongoing – 60 years after slot games were first placed in gambling dens.
The quintessential rule is that the very best slot machines were positioned just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that people going by would see actual jackpot winners and be possessed to come inside and play. Our deduction is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Most of the large casinos today are giant complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ one armed bandits close to any entrances.
Yet another standard rule is that loose slot games are installed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential gamblers could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Importantly 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 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slots.