Volumes have been written on this matter, and the contention and interchanges about where the "hot" one armed bandits are located in a casino are still raging – over 60 years after slot machine games were 1st placed in casinos.
The standard rule is that the better slot games were put just inside the main entryway of the casino; so that fun seekers passing by would see real jackpot winners and be mesmerized enough to come into the casino … play. Our speculation is that this is definitely no longer the case.
Practically all of the large casinos nowadays are humongous complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slot machine games close-by any exits.
Another classic rule is that loose one armed bandits are placed on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be roused to play. Notably however, we find that this also isn’t 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 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!
Nowadays, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.