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- Casinos With The Best Slot Odds In Las Vegas
- Slot Machine Odds Vegas
- Best Slot Machine Odds In Las Vegas
RTP comparison reveals the best paying slot machines in Nevada.
BJ gives you the best odds, about a 1% edge over the house for single deck, double-split on anything, and allow surrender. If you must play a slot, look for the ones. The Boulder Strip is generally where you find the best slot odds in Las Vegas. There are two exception from this rule. One is USD25 machines that have better odds Down town and on the strip. The other exception is 1c machines where the odds are marginally better in. Winning At Slots - What Are My Odds? First of all you should know that slot machines, as with many casino games, are a type of game for which there is no 'winning strategy' - technically speaking they are a negative equity game, or –EV game for short. Unlike a game such as poker (against real opponents, not vs. The house) where proper application of skill can make a game profitable in. The best returns, all very similar, are nickel slots, dollar slots, quarter slots, and multi-denominational slot machines Get My Free Report Revealing A further detailed analysis would be to perform the same straightforward payout return study on downtown Las Vegas casinos separated into three ranges of gaming revenue.
When it comes to gambling, people have developed conceptions over theyears as to how and where they can achieve better odds of winning.Some say it's the games you play. Others say it's the casino in whichyou play them. I (and everyone else with a higher education ingaming) say it's both. But if there's a specific game you want toplay, location is everything!
I'm talking specifically about slot machines. Everyone knowsthese aren't the best paying games overall. If you want the highestpossible RTP, you have to play blackjack or video poker with aperfect strategy. That takes time and mental energy that some playerssimply aren't willing to expend.
Slots fans play for the simplicity and entertainment value above allelse. For these players, you won't convince them there's a betteroverall game out there. And since choice of game is out of thequestion, location becomes the primary focus. And with that, we'vedrug up statistical data that reveals…
…the best paying slot machines in Nevada.
Las Vegas, Nevada is the gambling mecca of the westernhemisphere. When we think of casino hubs, The Vegas Stripis the first place that comes to mind. But it's not the onlyplace in the Silver State that caters to gamblers. There's many more– some more famous than others. Downtown Vegas, North Las Vegas,Reno, Carson City, Henderson, Laughlin, Boulder Strip, SilverSprings, the list goes on and on.
When you compare the best paying slots from one area to the next,there are two locations that rank highest, appearing consistently onthe list more than any others, Downtown Vegas andBoulder Strip. And then there's the two obvious choicesto compare – Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Strip.
If you think Las Vegas and The Strip are the same thing, think again.As far as reports from the state's gaming regulators are concerned,Las Vegas refers to the casinos that are 'off the Strip'.Downtown Vegas is the area North of the Strip, including FreemontStreet. The Boulder Strip isn't a single location, but rather aseries of 30+ casinos that appear along a long strip of the BoulderHighway, from Downtown Vegas to Henderson and beyond.
Now that you know where they are, let's compare the average slotmachine RTP (return to player) between these four locations, based onrecent data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). For absoluteaccuracy, we'll divide the payout ratios by coin denominations (pennyslots, nickel slots, quarter slots, etc).
Highest Paying Slots by Denomination
| Location | RTP of 1¢ Penny Slot Machines |
| The Strip | 88.38% |
| Las Vegas | 90.88% |
| Downtown Vegas | 89.15% |
| Boulder Strip | 90.38% |
| Location | RTP of 5¢ Nickel Slot Machines |
| The Strip | 91.64% |
| Las Vegas | 95.29% |
| Downtown Vegas | 93.40% |
| Boulder Strip | 96.21% |
| Location | RTP of 25¢ Quarter Slot Machines |
| The Strip | 89.35% |
| Las Vegas | 96.41% |
| Downtown Vegas | 94.25% |
| Boulder Strip | 96.13% |
| Location | RTP of $1 Dollar Slot Machines |
| The Strip | 92.43% |
| Las Vegas | 95.39% |
| Downtown Vegas | 94.63% |
| Boulder Strip | 96.13% |
| Location | RTP of All Slot Machines Combined |
| The Strip | 91.96% |
| Las Vegas | 93.53% |
| Downtown Vegas | 92.67% |
| Boulder Strip | 94.34% |
Best Paying Slots are Off The Strip and Off theGrid
The table above clearly shows that the Las Vegas Strip is, in fact(and as rumored), the worst place to play slot machines. The bestpaying slot machines in Nevada are found on the Boulder Strip, withOff-Strip casinos in Las Vegas coming in a close second.
Not surprisingly, the penny slots are the worst of all. No matterwhere you play them, the best average RTP in the reporting period wasonly 90.88%. The highest average, 96.41%, was found on quarter slotsin off-Strip Las Vegas casinos. But overall, Boulder Strip casinoshad the highest RTP average out of all categories.
On a final note, you'll find similarly high RTP slot machinesentirely off the grid. The online casino industry is famous forhousing the highest paying slots of all. For the month of May 2019,RoyalVegas Casino recorded an average slots RTP of 96.87%. That'shigher than any of the slot machine RTPs recorded by the NGCB in asimilar time frame.
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- Appendices
- Slots Analysis
- Miscellaneous
Introduction
The following table ranks the Las Vegas casinos according to the looseness of their video display reeled nickel slot machines. The returns are based on a sampling of five different types of machines. The data collected goes back as far as October 2001 so the information is a bit dated.
Las Vegas 5 Cent Slot Survey
| Rank | Casino | Average Return |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palms | 93.42% |
| 2 | Gold Coast | 92.84% |
| 3 | Sahara | 92.81% |
| 4 (tie) | Bourbon Street | 92.63% |
| 4 (tie) | Imperial Palace | 92.63% |
| 4 (tie) | Slots a Fun | 92.63% |
| 7 | Key Largo | 92.60% |
| 8 | Western | 92.57% |
| 9 | Ellis Island | 92.56% |
| 10 | El Cortez | 92.56% |
| 11 | Orleans | 92.56% |
| 12 | Circus Circus | 92.56% |
| 13 | Gold Spike | 92.55% |
| 14 | Fitzgeralds | 92.54% |
| 15 | Fiesta - Rancho | 92.53% |
| 16 | Arizona Charlie's East | 92.51% |
| 17 | Barbary Coast | 92.50% |
| 18 | Terrible's | 92.49% |
| 19 | Arizona Charlie's | 92.49% |
| 20 | Hard Rock | 92.47% |
| 21 | Town Hall | 92.47% |
| 22 | Longhorn | 92.47% |
| 23 | Riviera | 92.23% |
| 24 | California | 92.14% |
| 25 | Lady Luck | 92.10% |
| 26 | Nevada Palace | 92.06% |
| 27 | Plaza | 91.94% |
| 28 | Luxor | 91.92% |
| 29 | Paris | 91.92% |
| 30 | San Remo | 91.88% |
| 31 | Excalibur | 91.84% |
| 32 | Palace Station | 91.84% |
| 33 | Ballys | 91.82% |
| 34 | Las Vegas Club | 91.76% |
| 35 | Four Queens | 91.75% |
| 36 | Texas Station | 91.71% |
| 37 | Casino Royale | 91.67% |
| 38 | Boulder Station | 91.55% |
| 39 | Aladdin | 91.5% |
| 40 | O'sheas | 91.48% |
| 41 | Hilton | 91.40% |
| 42 | Boardwalk | 91.28% |
| 43 | New York New York | 90.99% |
| 44 | Horseshoe | 90.96% |
| 45 | Sam's Town | 90.89% |
| 46 | Santa Fe Station | 90.87% |
| 47 | Flamingo | 90.86% |
| 48 | Golden Nugget | 90.85% |
| 49 | Stratosphere | 90.8% |
| 50 | Tropicana | 90.71% |
| 51 | Golden Gate | 90.64% |
| 52 | Silverton | 90.57% |
| 53 | Main Street Station | 90.56% |
| 54 | Westward Ho | 90.40% |
| 55 | Fremont | 90.37% |
| 56 | Castaways | 90.36% |
| 57 | Monte Carlo | 90.24% |
| 58 | Stardust | 89.97% |
| 59 | Frontier | 89.91% |
| 60 | MGM Grand | 89.81% |
| 61 | Harrahs | 89.32% |
| 62 | Treasure Island | 89.32% |
| 63 | Mirage | 89.3% |
| 64 | Caesars Palace | 89.05% |
| 65 | Mandalay Bay | 88.87% |
| 66 | Rio | 88.72% |
| 67 | La Bayou | 88.26% |
| 68 | Mermaids | 88.26% |
| 69 | Bellagio | 87.42% |
| 70 | Venetian | 86.66% |
| 71 | Airport | 85.02% |
Excluded Casinos
The Suncoast and Rampart Casino in Summerlin do not allow playing slots and taking notes at the same time. I can not include any casino that prohibits the method in which I gather data.
Location Averages
The next table shows the average return by location.
Casinos With The Best Slot Odds In Las Vegas
Returns by Region
| Location | Average Return |
|---|---|
| Off strip | 92.07% |
| Downtown | 91.66% |
| Strip | 91.47% |
| Total | 91.74% |
The above sign can be found across the street from the Palms. Although I did the study Anthony Curtis published it in the LasVegas Advisor, which is how it become well known. The'...' in the sign encompases quite a bit of information,which was conveniently left off the sign. Actually the study only says that the Palms had the lowest nickel video slotsof the casinos surveyed in Las Vegas. The small print at thebottom says, 'Independent study conducted between November2001-February 2002 on Austin Powers, Fortune Cookie, Reel'em In, and Wheel of Fortune games. They left off LeopardSpots, and the study began in October.
Observations
There seemed to be no truth behind slot placement myths. Machines on the end of a bank did no better on average than those in the middle. There was also no correlation between return and proximity to such things as the main door, table game pit, high traffic areas, and low traffic areas.
Most casinos were very consistent in their slot returns.If one nickel machine had a return of x% then all others like it also returned x%. However some casinos did mix up loose and tight machines, most notably Treasure Island and the California casinos.
Methodology
A kind and anonymous source provided me with par sheets for the games in question. The EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) chip is what tells the machine the order of the symbols on the reel, in some cases how the stops are weighted, how much each winning combination pays, and any other pertinent information about how much the machine pays.It is up to the slot manager to select which EPROM chip to order according to the return percentage desired. On atypical game there might be about 8 different possible return percentages, ranging from about 85% to 98%.
Slot Machine Odds Vegas
Each of the different par sheets has five sets of distinct reels. On video display slots the stops are not weighted; in other words all stops are equally likely. The distribution of each symbol on each reel is what determines the theoretical return of the machine. For example a higher paying machine may have more of the higher paying symbols.
On the machine itself three consecutive symbols arevisible on five different reels. By comparing actualobservations of results to the par sheets it is possible todetermine which reels the machine uses, and thus which par sheet and which return. There are various three-symbol combinations that appear in at least one but not all par sheets. So if one of these combinations occurs on an actualmachine it narrows down the possible par sheets. By playingenough the player can narrow down the possible par sheets tojust one.
To help identify the unique combinations I wrote a computer program for each game, which had the exact reel order of all 5 reels of all the par sheets. The program then counted the number of par sheets with each possible three-symbol combination. If the number was greater than 0 and less than the maximum then that combination was identified along with the associated par sheets it belonged to.
Best Slot Machine Odds In Las Vegas
It is then a matter of simply playing the game and comparing the outcomes to the list of partially unique combinations. It only takes about 5-10 plays per machine to narrow down the possibilities to just one par sheet.
The averages in the table are actually an average of averages. For each kind of machine at each casino I took an average return. Then I took the average of these averages over the five kinds of machines I tested for.
Slot Machine Definition
There is some confusion about what constitutes a 'slot machine' or 'slot.' My definition, and that of most gamblers, is a gambling machine with either actual spinning reels or video representations of the them.
Methodology
A kind and anonymous source provided me with par sheets for the games in question. The EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) chip is what tells the machine the order of the symbols on the reel, in some cases how the stops are weighted, how much each winning combination pays, and any other pertinent information about how much the machine pays.It is up to the slot manager to select which EPROM chip to order according to the return percentage desired. On atypical game there might be about 8 different possible return percentages, ranging from about 85% to 98%.
Slot Machine Odds Vegas
Each of the different par sheets has five sets of distinct reels. On video display slots the stops are not weighted; in other words all stops are equally likely. The distribution of each symbol on each reel is what determines the theoretical return of the machine. For example a higher paying machine may have more of the higher paying symbols.
On the machine itself three consecutive symbols arevisible on five different reels. By comparing actualobservations of results to the par sheets it is possible todetermine which reels the machine uses, and thus which par sheet and which return. There are various three-symbol combinations that appear in at least one but not all par sheets. So if one of these combinations occurs on an actualmachine it narrows down the possible par sheets. By playingenough the player can narrow down the possible par sheets tojust one.
To help identify the unique combinations I wrote a computer program for each game, which had the exact reel order of all 5 reels of all the par sheets. The program then counted the number of par sheets with each possible three-symbol combination. If the number was greater than 0 and less than the maximum then that combination was identified along with the associated par sheets it belonged to.
Best Slot Machine Odds In Las Vegas
It is then a matter of simply playing the game and comparing the outcomes to the list of partially unique combinations. It only takes about 5-10 plays per machine to narrow down the possibilities to just one par sheet.
The averages in the table are actually an average of averages. For each kind of machine at each casino I took an average return. Then I took the average of these averages over the five kinds of machines I tested for.
Slot Machine Definition
There is some confusion about what constitutes a 'slot machine' or 'slot.' My definition, and that of most gamblers, is a gambling machine with either actual spinning reels or video representations of the them.
People in the gaming business and regulators generally refer to a slot machine as any gambling machine, including reeled slots, video poker, video keno, video blackjack,etc.. For purposes of statistics both casino managers and regulators combine all the electronic gambling machines together. For example, the Slot Chart in Casino Player magazine and reports by the Nevada Gaming Control Board do not isolate just reeled slots but consider all electronic games a 'slot.' Therefore my return percentages should not be expected to agree with those reported by the casinos or regulators. As far as I know mine is the only source to isolate just the return of reeled slots.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Rob Feldheim for helping with the slot play and record keeping. Rob helped me with most of the casinos on the east side of town and part of downtown. I would also like to thank par Sheet Pete (not his real name)for providing the par sheets, without which this project would not have been possible.
Internal Links
Go to slot machine appendix3B (Jean/Primm slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3D(Henderson slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3E(Las Vegas quarter and dollar slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3F(Montreal slot return).
Go back to slot machines.
External Links
The main-stream media has covered this study in depth. Here are links to some articles.
- Turning'em loose, an article that appeared in the Las VegasReview Journal on May 19, 2002, about the possible effectsof this study.
- One-Armed Bandit or Robin Hood?, an article by myself for Contingencies Magazine explaining the methodology, results, and weaknesses of the study.
- Play by the rules and the one-armed bandits will still win. Boston Globe article about slot machines, in which my Las Vegas survey is mentioned and my advice quoted. (cache)
Written by: Michael Shackleford
