Best Slot Machine Odds In Las Vegas
One of the best slots to play that invokes the vintage feel of Las Vegas is Phoenix Gold, which is a 1×3 feels with 1 payline. This game has the standard slot symbols such as 7, cherries, and BAR as well as 2x and 3x bet multipliers that boost the payouts. The casino nearest to offering the loosest slots in Las Vegas is Palms resort, which has an average game payout percentage of about 94%. Lower payout slot machines also have distinct locations on the casino floor. Some of those include the leading slot machine on the floor, those near the table games, and close to the poker room.
Best las vegas slot machine odds. How to Beat the Odds in Las Vegas Casinos. The data collected goes back as far as October 2001 so the information is a bit dated Best Las Vegas Casino For Slots – Payouts and odds of winning at slot machines Parts of a slot machine How to win always on a slot machine the feature thrilled players with both its originality and big-win potential, in fact there.
What Are The Best Slot Machines To Play In Vegas
- 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.
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%.
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.
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
The most fruitful games, when it comes to odds and cost, are the nickel and quarter slots. In June, nickel slots had a win percentage of 94.2% while quarter slots paid back 93.06%. Next to Megabucks, penny slots have the worst win percentage, returning 88.83%. Casinos with the Most Slots in Las Vegas The Orleans Hotel and Casino.
Slot machines have an extensive history at having success stories, with everybody that visits Las Vegas trying their luck on at least one slot machine. However, is it as easy as just finding a slot machine that is centrally located and staying there for the whole day? Or, are there certain slot machines that have better odds that all visitors must look to play?
Slot Machines On The Strip
When you visit Las Vegas, you instantly feel drawn to spending your time on the strip. After all, that’s the main reason for visiting the city, as you want to be in and amongst the brightest lights and the biggest casinos. There have been a number of huge wins that have been well documented at some of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas.
California Hotel and Casino
Slot Machine Odds Las Vegas
Slot machine: The ‘Mega Jackpot’ machine at California Hotel and Casino.
Everybody loves a success story, and there haven’t been many more exciting than Jessica Agbunag’s first trip to Sin City. The story had everything. Agbunag was visiting Vegas in honour of her grandmother, who was a constant visitor to the city and loved unwinding by playing slots. In honour of her grandmother, she decided to embrace the world of slots during her trip, and it reaped immediate returns. She won a number of small returns playing Wheel of Fortune before she struck gold at the California Hotel and Casino. Here, she was playing a mega-jackpot machine and managed to win $2.4 million.
Excalibur
Slot machine: Anonymous by request.
A 25-year-old changed his life forever when visiting Las Vegas to support his basketball team. He arrived at the strip with a couple of hours to kill before having to make his way to the game. So, in true Vegas fashion, he decided to settle down and play on a couple of slots games. The Los Angeles-born player spent over $100 in Excalibur before the most incredible thing happened- jackpot signs. The win remains one of the biggest in Vegas history, as he took home $39,713,982. He decided against going public with his win, and also asked for the casino to transfer him $1.5 million every year instead of receiving the full payout in one go.
Palace Station
Best Slot Machine Odds In Las Vegas
Slot machine: Megabucks slot machine
What’s better than winning a life-changing amount of money once? Well, winning it twice of course. That was the case for a 60-year-old woman who played on the Wheel of Fortune machine at Palace Station. She won $680,000 on her first win, before returning to play the slots titles in the same casino again and again. It was reported that she spent her fortune into playing casino games, but she reaped the rewards once again later in life when she won more than $27 million playing on the Megabucks slot in the same casino.
Should You Play Off The Strip?
The majority of people that live in Nevada typically gamble away from the strip. This isn’t saying that there is an increased chance of success away from the bright lights, but there certainly could be method in the madness. One user on Quora, who is a local, claimed that the best advice for those looking for a win is to bet away from the strip.
She claimed that he has won over $20,000 throughout her gambling career, and her tips for success include betting away from the strip. As well as that, she claimed that you should always bet the maximum bet that is allowed and should opt to play the newer machines rather than the older ones. She also claimed that casinos on Boulder Highway are where she has gained most of her returns on slots titles.
Online Vegas Slots
Of course, not all of us will be able to fly over to Las Vegas to play some of the lucrative casino slot games that are available. However, the advancements in technology means that you will be able to play on some of the most popular slots on Vegas sites such as Caesars and MGM. Caesars is one of the most popular online casinos for those looking to feel as though they are in Vegas, and there are a wide range of classic and progressive slot games available.
Among the most popular and potentially lucrative titles that you will be able to play are Megaways, 88Fortunes and Smokin’ Hot Gems. MGM also offers a number of the most exciting slots, and there are a varied mixture of titles available. Some of the most popular that you will be able to play on this site include Ozzy Osbourne Video Slots, Divine Fortune and Melon Madness Deluxe.
Which Slots Pay The Most In Vegas
The evolution of online slots means that you are now able to get the Vegas experience that you dream of but online in the comfort of your own home. However, it’s fair to say that nothing will come close to being in Las Vegas in person.
Slot machine odds aren’t what they used to be. Back in the days of purely mechanical slot machines, the odds were very easy to calculate. You could just count the number of symbols on each reel and calculate your odds of hitting the jackpot. For example, a slot machine with three reels each with 15 symbols and one play line would have 3375 different possible combinations (15x15x15). Your odds of hitting the jackpot would be 1 in 3375.
Slot Machine Odds In Vegas
Things are much different these days. Nowadays, most slot machines are 100% computerized with the combinations determined by a random number and payback percentages set by the casinos. The number of symbols and reels are no longer the governing factor in the odds equation.
The reels and combinations you see are just a manifestation of the slot machine’s “random number generator”. The random number generator is the computer program that decides what combinations will come up. The program doesn’t have any quota of jackpots to pay in an hour or day or year even. Over the course of the machine’s life it will average a certain preset payback percentage.
Best Odds Slots
Only the casino knows what this percentage is. Because of this, it is not feasible to calculate the odds of any machine unless you somehow know the payback percentage. The percentage has nothing to do with the type of slot machine either. A Wheel of Fortune machine a Harrah’s in Vegas may have a percentage of 92% while the Wheel of Fortune machine next to it may have percentage of 85%.
Published slots machine payout information does give us some slot machine odds guidelines to follow. One of these is that the higher the denomination of the slot machine, the higher the payback percent. This is because the casinos can take a smaller portion of the higher denomination bets to generate the same profit as a cheaper machine.
Vegas Casino Slot Odds
Bigger casinos also tend to offer higher return percentages, because of the higher volume of players they have. Las Vegas is generally considered to have the best slots paybacks due to the extreme competition between casinos. Also, slots with higher jackpots, especially progressive slots, tend to have lower payback percentages than lower jackpot machines.
Odds Of Winning In Vegas
No matter what slot machine you’re playing your odds will always be less than 100%. There are some slot machines that have a payback of 99% and some that have a payback of 70%. One of the best ways to find a higher payback machine is to try different machines until you find one that pays out in regular intervals. Even then, only stick with this machine until it stops paying. Don’t expect it to always return to its generous behavior.
Best Casino Slot Machine Odds
In general, the odds of hitting the jackpot on most land based casinos is somewhere between 500,000 to 1 and 1,000,000 to 1. Consider yourself very lucky if you happen to hit one of these.