Books have been stated on this issue, and the contention and discord about where the "hot" slots are placed in the casino are still rampant – over sixty yrs after one armed bandits were first placed in the casinos.
The quintessential rule is that the superior slots were located just inside the main entry of the casino; so that potential players passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners and be smitten to come into the casino … play. Our persuasion is that this is no longer the case.
Most of the large casinos these days are massive complexes and you no longer can see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot machine games near to any exits.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slots are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be energized to play. Interestingly though, 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 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!
These days, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machine games.