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Books have been written on this subject, and the debates and disagreement about where the "hot" slot machine games are installed in the casino are still passionate – more than 60 years after slots were first installed in the casinos.

The quintessential rule is that the more favourable one armed bandits were installed just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that potential gamblers passing by would be able to see jackpot winners … be keen enough to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our conviction is that this is definitely no longer the case.

Most of the large casinos nowadays are gigantic complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to put the ‘loose’ slots close-by any of the doors.

An additional classic rule is that loose slots are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be encouraged to play. Notably though, 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slots.