The Best Slot Machines In Las Vegas
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Casinos across Nevada are required to report revenue figures to the Nevada Gaming Control Board to include what percentage of wagers they held as profit on slot games. A nerdy annual tradition of ours is to dig into that real-world data from the previous year to help our readers find the loosest slots in Las Vegas.
As evidenced above, the best places around Las Vegas to play slots are the Boulder Area (6.10% casino win percentage) and North Las Vegas (7.24% win percentage). In an abnormal twist, slots were slightly tighter in 2020 downtown (8.24% win percentage) than on the Strip (7.95% win percentage). Historically, slots downtown have been reliably. In Las Vegas, the RTP of slot machines can vary widely – anywhere from 80% up to 95%, or, in some rare instances slightly higher. Comparing the Looseness of Slot Machines at Las Vegas Casinos The Nevada Gaming Control Board regularly releases reports on the revenue made from slot machines in Las Vegas.
Unfortunately, the data we have access to isn’t granular enough to tell us how loose or tight slots were at individual casinos. Rather, the reporting will highlight groups of casinos based on where they are located (ie The Strip, Downtown, Boulder, etc). We’ll make sure to point out what casinos reside in zones identified as having looser slots.
As a matter of housekeeping, casino slot “win percentage” is defined as the percentage of the total amountwagered by the player that the casino held as profit. For instance, a 10% casino win percentage means the casino, on average, kept 10 cents of every dollar wagered on slot machines.
Example: A player put $20 into a slot machine and made her money last for a while playing a total of $200 in spins before losing it all. The total amount wagered by the player was $200 and the casino won, or held, $20 resulting in a 10% casino win percentage.
Now that we cleared that up, lets dig into where you can find slots that are more apt to pay out around Las Vegas.
Where you play matters. The graph below details casino slot win percentages by area, which lumps together all slot denominations. You can quickly surmise that casinos in tourist centers hold a larger percentage of slot play as profit.
As evidenced above, the best places around Las Vegas to play slots are the Boulder Area (6.10% casino win percentage) and North Las Vegas (7.24% win percentage).
In an abnormal twist, slots were slightly tighter in 2020 downtown (8.24% win percentage) than on the Strip (7.95% win percentage). Historically, slots downtown have been reliably looser than those found on the Strip.
In another rare twist, Slots on the Las Vegas Strip loosened slightly year over year in 2020 vs. 2019 (8.16% in 2019 vs. 7.95% in 2020), while slots downtown tightened by a slight margin (7.78% in 2019 vs. 8.24% in 2020).
Keep in mind that video poker also figures into these slot statistics. Lower casino win percentages away from the Strip are in part, but not completely, due to better video poker pay tables offered by establishments away from tourist centers.
Where to Find the Loosest Penny Slots in Vegas
Since penny slots are the most popular denomination with players, we also broke down where the loosest penny slots in Vegas can be found by region. Since the data below looks exclusively at the penny denomination, it’s untainted by video poker and thus provides a clearer window into where looser slots can be found across Las Vegas.
Clearly, there is again a correlation between an area being “touristy” and higher slot hold rates. Downtown and Strip penny slots came in as the tightest with casino win percentages of 11.26% and 11.45% respectively.
Similar to our previous data set that looked at all denominations, penny slots more apt to pay out can be found in the Boulder (9.61% win rate) and North Las Vegas (9.71% win rate) areas.
So, What Las Vegas Casinos Have Looser Slots?
Although most players aren’t typically able to tell the difference between a “tight” or a “loose” slot, the data suggests getting away from the Strip and Fremont Street will give you a slightly better chance of winning.
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Casinos that fall into the looser Boulder and North Las Vegas reporting zones are broken down below. Note that these aren’t the most scenic areas, but if winning is more important to you than bright lights, fountains, and celebrity chef restaurants then order up an Uber and make the trip.
Casinos in the Boulder Area: Sam’s Town, Eastside Cannery, Arizona Charlie’s, Boulder Station, Sunset Station, M Resort, Fiesta Henderson and Green Valley Ranch.
Casinos in the North Las Vegas Area: Jerry’s Nugget, Silver Nugget, The Cannery, Fiesta Hotel and Casino, Texas Station, Cannery, and Aliante.
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The Denomination You Play Matters
Slot denominations also play a role in finding lose machines which is demonstrated by the statewide data below. In 2020, penny slots were the tightest variety of slot in Nevada by a large margin with a 9.74% win percentage, with quarters coming in a distant second place at a 7.31% win percentage.
Although the above data is slightly “polluted” by video poker at the quarter denomination and up, the view is still beneficial to demonstrate the poor bet penny slots are comparatively. It is also interesting to note the correlation between denominations and how loose or tight machines are. Generally speaking, the higher the denomination, the looser the slot.
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If you’re a penny slot player that plays 75 cents per spin or more, you would likely give yourself a better chance of winning by playing the same bet on a higher denomination machine. We would also recommend that penny slot players brush up on their video poker skills as the returns are more favorable in comparison.
While looking at the numbers is a fun exercise, ultimately, the random number generator could select you as the next big winner anywhere. Good luck, and hopefully our breakdown of 2020 slot data will help you on your quest in finding the loosest slots in Vegas!
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Ever since the 1980s, casinos have discovered that they make more profits off their slot machines than they do from their table games. This is just as true of online casinos as it is of land-based gambling halls. In Las Vegas, where free drinks and loyalty rewards have long been used as inducements for slot play, the latest promotional craze is bragging about payback rates. Where are the biggest jackpots being hit? Who can offer the best slot machine odds?
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If you listen to Las Vegas locals, they say never play the slots at casinos that line Las Vegas Boulevard. “Strictly for tourists,” they will tell you. Then, they’ll point downtown where many of the city’s oldest casinos are grouped within easy walking distance from one another and add, “The best payouts are along Fremont Street.”
But what do the actual numbers say? Is Vegas street wisdom to be believed? And what to make of claims made by casinos themselves? Who really has the loosest slots in town?
Downtown vs. the Strip
Overall, slots generate nearly 60% of Nevada’s annual gaming revenues and almost twice as much as table games. The Nevada Gaming Control Board breaks down its Las Vegas slot statistics in two major tourist areas: downtown and the Strip. Additionally, there is a large locals market, which reports of gaming revenue classify as the Boulder Strip and North Las Vegas areas.
In the full fiscal year between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, the payback percentages for all slots in Clark County were 93.51%. By area, the downtown paid back 93.47% and the Strip returned 92.62%, so there is a certain ring of truth to the locals’ claim. However, what goes unsaid is that North Las Vegas slots returned 93.91% and the Boulder Strip slots paid back 94.76%, so the best advice is to avoid the tourist areas and play where the locals play.
Compared to fiscal 2011, all of the areas except the Boulder Strip showed a slight reduction in paybacks in 2012. Slots located along Boulder Highway paid out exactly the same year on year; they include the machines of such popular casinos as Sam’s Town, Arizona Charlie’s, and Boulder Station, to name a few.
Odds by Slot Type
The Gaming Control Board statistics also indicate which slots pay out the best in order of the denomination of credit played. In fiscal 2012, Megabucks progressive slots showed the worst payback percentage overall, just 87.16%. However, the appeal of a massive jackpot obviously outweighs the poor odds during hard economic times, as Megabucks revenues rose 59% versus fiscal 2011—the biggest gain among all types of slots.
At the other end of the spectrum, the very best payback percentages came from high roller slots. Those accepting denominations of $5, $25 and $100 returned 94.67%, 96.52% and 96.30%, respectively—proving once again that it takes money to make money.
For those whose champagne tastes come with beer budgets, the most fruitful games are on the nickel and quarter slots, which also include video poker machines of those denominations. Fully 94.48% of all 25¢ wagers were returned in fiscal 2012. Coming in right behind were nickel slots, paying back 94.40%.
Many slot players enjoy multi-denomination slots, which were a reasonably good bet in 2012 with a 94.65% payback rate. Meanwhile, dollar machines were not bad performers, yielding a 94.42% return of the cash invested. Much less favorable to players were penny machines, returning just 89.33%—the worst bet other than Megabucks.
What About Other Games
If slots aren’t your cup of tea, and you much prefer real money blackjack, then visit our dedicated page to online blackjack. United States Blackjack typically affords better odds than the slots, especially if players are willing to learn card counting. Bet your real money wisely with the tips you garner from reading legitimatecasino.com.
Who’s Really #1?
For those looking for a specific casino to frequent or a certain machine offering the very best slot odds, it is hard to separate the hoopla from the reality. The Gaming Control Board statistics do not reveal the results casino by casino or machine by machine. And the claims made by the casinos themselves have to be taken with a grain of salt.
For example, in 2010 the Palms Casino Resort launched a massive advertising campaign based upon the results of an “independent survey by the Las Vegas Advisor (that) indicates Palms’ slots and video poker returns are better than the average payback percentages in Nevada.” Their claim was that Palms’ slots were “28.278 percent looser than Clark County and 36.856 percent looser than the Strip.”
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Not to be outdone, in 2011 the downtown’s El Cortez Casino shot back with advertising claiming that their slots were “39% looser than the Strip,” implying looser than the Palms’ slots by inference. Most lists of “hot slots” in Las Vegas mention the two properties as #1 and #2, but with three Megabucks jackpots awarded since 2004, perhaps the Palms deserves a slight edge. The El Cortez has paid no Megabucks winners to date.