Volumes have been written on this topic, and the conflict and ruckus about where the "hot" slots are positioned in a casino are still taking place – more than 60 yrs after the slots were first placed in gambling dens.

The quintessential rule is that the most favorable one armed bandits were put just inside the main door of the casino; so that folks passing by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be influenced to come into the casino … play. Our estimation is that this is definitely no longer true.

Practically all of the major casinos these days are massive complexes … it’s no longer possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to have the ‘loose’ slots in close proximity to any exits.

Yet another traditional rule is that loose slot machine games are positioned on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be galvanized 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 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!

Today, casinos are constantly changing their philosophy about where to place the loose slot machine games.