Las Vegas Slot Machines

Las Vegas slot machines fall into three general categories: on the Strip, downtown, and off the Strip. You’re likely to find the best payouts off the Strip, where tourists are less likely to be.

Think about it: the Strip is where all the big resorts are and where the tourists are going to congregate. The slots players on the Strip may not want to venture out too far, so they are less likely to walk away from slots row, even if they have the vague idea the odds may be better elsewhere. They’re likely to be waiting to gather with friends for dinner, or hanging around to watch a show.

Slot Machine in Vegas – Off the Strip

The casinos off the Strip aren’t going to have as many natural customers, at least among the millions of bright-eyed tourists coming in from across America and around the world. These casinos and resorts need to attract gamblers to their games, so they set better odds. This might attract a different clientele, and it’s probably going to attract a more loyal, local type of slot machine player.

Downtown Las Vegas – Fremont Street Experience

Meanwhile, you have the shopping and other tourist areas downtown in Las Vegas, like the Fremont Street Experience. The casinos down here are going to attract some of the tourist run-off and the guys who want to gamble while family members shop, but still aren’t going to have as many out-of-towners who are attracted to the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas Strip. So the slot machine payouts are likely to be somewhere in the middle.

That’s the broad overview of Las Vegas slot machines, at least. You’ll find major deviations from that basic model, since all of the casinos face competition from resorts sitting next door to them. There might be special days of the week or times of the year when one casino offers better payouts than other times of the year, and casino management is going to drive action wherever they can be found. But if you want a general guide to the house advantage to be expected throughout the slot machines in the Las Vegas gambling area, you should look at the off-the-strip Las Vegas casinos first, the downtown casinos second, and the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip third.

Las Vegas Gamblers

Slot machines are for gamblers who don’t want to socialize with other people, who feel intimidated by learning card games while gambling their money, or who don’t understand the math of slot machines.

Slot Machines Explained

If you want a good explanation and breakdown of slot machines and an overview of the numbers, take a look at
the Wizard of Odds Slots pages.

You’ll learn how slots work, some of the basic slots myths, other tips for playing the slots, and serious discussion of the slots scams you can expect to hear online and in books on slot machines. It’s a good idea to read all of this, because you don’t want to get a bunch of bad information from slots con men about what’s otherwise a fine game.

One thing I would not put a lot of stock into is the list of the best Las Vegas slots casinos on Wizard of Odds or Wizard of Vegas. While El Cortez, Ellis Island, and the Palms may have been among the Top 10 in 2002, that information may not and probably does not apply anymore. Heck, you might find certain casinos aren’t under the same management they were nearly a decade ago, or they might not exist at all.

Slot Machines in Las Vegas

Don’t take this to mean I recommend against you playing slot machines in Las Vegas or throughout Nevada. If you’re planning a trip and you don’t enjoy blackjack or craps, or you don’t trust yourself at the poker tables, then you might find slot machines to be a good way to get that Las Vegas casino experience without dealing with card experts. If that’s the case, enjoy slots row, set a gambling budget, and view whatever money you lose as an entertainment expense. You might even get lucky and walk out of the casino with more than you started with.

But if you are coming to this website to learn about the loosest Las Vegas slot machines in 2011 or later, then you should know the truth. If what you’re looking for are bargains and you don’t want to deal with people, then you might consider stepping up to the video poker machines and giving them a try. But if you still insist on finding the best slots games in Sin City, then you’re best searching off the Vegas Strip.