Books have been written on this issue, and the debates and feuds about where the "hot" slot machines are placed in a casino are still happening – more than sixty yrs after slot machine games were first placed in casinos.

The traditional rule is that the more favourable slots were installed just inside the door of the casino; so that folks going by would see real jackpot winners … be baited to come inside and play. Our finding is that this is definitely no longer true.

Almost all of the mega casinos today are behemothic complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to position the ‘loose’ slot machine games close to any entrances or exits.

Another traditional rule is that loose slots are put on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be motivated 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 slot machine 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 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 slots.