Books have been written on this matter, and the bickering and arguments about where the "hot" slot machines are located in the casino are still taking place – sixty years after slot machines were first installed in the casinos.

The quintessential rule is that the more favourable slot machines were installed just inside the main entrance of the casino; so that fun seekers going by would be able to see real jackpot winners … be smitten to come unto the gaming floor … play. Our estimation is that this is definitely no longer so.

Nearly all of the major casinos today are mammoth complexes and you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot games in close proximity to any entrances.

An additional traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are located on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more potential players could see winning jackpots and be influenced to play. Nonetheless, 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 slots 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 philosophy about where to place the loose slot games.