Books have been written on this topic, and the disquiet and disagreement about where the "hot" one armed bandits are installed in a casino are still bubbling – over sixty yrs after the slots were first placed in the casinos.

The quintessential rule is that the very best slot machines were put just inside the main doorway of the casino; so that persons walking by would be able to see actual jackpot winners and be enthralled to come into the casino … play. Our persuasion is that this is not so anymore.

Many of the large casinos nowadays are titanic complexes and it is not possible to see inside from the sidewalk, so there is no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ one armed bandits near any doorways.

Yet another traditional rule is that loose slots are installed on the major aisles inside the casinos, again so that more fun seekers could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Notably however, 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 perspective about where to place the loose one armed bandits.