Slot Machines and Slot Clubs

A friend of mine is an avid slot player and is planning her first trip to Las Vegas next month. She can play for hours on the $1 slot machines and will occationally play the $5 slot machines as well. She will go to Vegas with about $10,000 to $12,000.

Her question to me was where's the best place for her to play? I told her that she would probably get tons of comps at even the best hotels on the strip. Maybe even RFB'd. But she has heard about slot clubs and that some places have a higher slot return then other places.

I know very little about slot machines and slot clubs. Any suggestion as to where the best (most generous) places are? Should she try to Total Rewards program of Harrahs? What slot clubs are the most friendly and easy to redeem points? Are slot machine hosts the same as table game hosts? If so, should I pass on my host's (table games) contact information to her?

Since this is her first trip to Las Vegas, I don't think she would want to be very far from the main strip. Maybe downtown at one of the nicer properties there. But if the Hard Rock or Palms have a good deal, she probably would think that's close enough.

Need advice, slots players!

its a function of how much you need to wager to acquire a point and how many points you need to convert to a $1 cashback. then just comparing different slot clubs to eachother. you also should sign up at places that have good promotions for new players like free slotplay or loss rebates. you should also go on days with point multipliers.

I would think based on her bankroll, that either the Wynn or MGM properties would be pretty good. Bellagio can be quite sedate in terms of atmosphere for slot play. Both offer approx .67% in freeplay based on coin-in, which is the best percentage rate that I know of on the strip. Harrah's would be ok, but their comps are approximately .2% for comparison. I'm not a slot player, just know the percentages back for the major programs...

-B

At that level of play, she is gold to any casino. So she should try whichever one she likes the best. She should probably spread it around to 3 of the big "chains." Those would certainly include (1) Harrah's (because of their great loyalty program) (2) MGM (many properties) and (3) Palms (best payouts).

I would also try one of either Wynn or Venetian, depending on which strikes her fancy more. Don't bother with downtown unless it's the Golden Nugget and don't bother with any off-strip unless it's Hard Rock or Palms.

To the very best of my knowledge only the Wizard has done a completely scientific comparison of slot machines in Vegas. Michael did a study on nickel slots conducted between October 2001-February 2002 on Austin Powers, Fortune Cookie, Reel 'em In, Wheel of Fortune and Leopard Spots machines. The results of his study are below, and I added a column of notes. He does not show any desire to update the study.

The Palms had just opened on November 15, 2001 right in the middle of this study. The data only applies to nickel machines. One may assume that their philosophy extends to other machines as well. Ownership has not changed but there is no way to know if they set the machines loose for their grand opening,

Harrah's Entertainment only owned the original Harrah's hotel and the Rio at the time, but they were both ranked pretty low.

My guess is the best slot odds are at the El Cortez in downtown. Your friend seems like she probably wouldn't like the El Cortez since it is the oldest purpose built casino in Vegas (opened before the end of WWII). But I know they put people like her up for months at a time. The Tower rooms have a nice view of downtown. But she has to have some sense of adventure. If she is at all fragile she will run away screaming. They will show you a certified letter at the cashier that their slots average higher than a 95% win percentage. You can't take a copy with you however.

Rank	Casino	Average	Notes
1	Palms	93.42%	open 15 Nov 2001
2	Gold Coast	92.84%	new owner
3	Sahara	92.81%	new owner
4	Bourbon Street	92.63%	closed
4	Imperial Palace	92.63%	new owner
4	Slots a Fun	92.63%	new owner
7	Key Largo	92.60%	closed
8	Western	92.57%	dangerous
9	Ellis Island	92.56%
10	El Cortez	92.56%
11	Orleans	92.56%	new owner
12	Circus Circus	92.56%	new owner
13	Gold Spike	92.55%	new owner
14	Fitzgeralds	92.54%	changed ownership Dec 2001
15	Fiesta - Rancho	92.53%
16	Arizona Charlie's East	92.51%	new owner
17	Barbary Coast	92.50%	new owner
18	Terrible's	92.49%	opened Dec 2000
19	Arizona Charlie's	92.49%	new owner
20	Hard Rock	92.47%	new owner
21	Town Hall	92.47%	closed
22	Longhorn	92.47%	remote
23	Riviera	92.23%
24	California	92.14%
25	Lady Luck	92.10%	closed
26	Nevada Palace	92.06%	closed
27	Plaza	91.94%	new owner
28	Luxor	91.92%	new owner
29	Paris	91.92%	new owner
30	San Remo	91.88%	new owner/name
31	Excalibur	91.84%	new owner
32	Palace Station	91.84%
33	Ballys	91.82%	new owner
34	Las Vegas Club	91.76%	new owner
35	Four Queens	91.75%	new owner
36	Texas Station	91.71%
37	Casino Royale	91.67%
38	Boulder Station	91.55%
39	Aladdin	91.50%	new owner /name
40	O'sheas	91.48%
41	Hilton	91.40%	new owner
42	Boardwalk	91.28%	closed
43	New York New York	90.99%	new owner
44	Horseshoe	90.96%	new owner
45	Sam's Town	90.89%
46	Santa Fe Station	90.87%
47	Flamingo	90.86%
48	Golden Nugget	90.85%	new owner
49	Stratosphere	90.80%	new owner
50	Tropicana	90.71%	new owner
51	Golden Gate	90.64%
52	Silverton	90.57%
53	Main Street Station	90.56%
54	Westward Ho	90.40%	closed
55	Fremont	90.37%
56	Castaways	90.36%	closed
57	Monte Carlo	90.24%	new owner 50%
58	Stardust	89.97%	closed
59	Frontier	89.91%	closed
60	MGM Grand	89.81%
61	Harrahs	89.32%	HET
62	Treasure Island	89.32%	new owner
63	Mirage	89.30%
64	Caesars Palace	89.05%	new owner
65	Mandalay Bay	88.87%	new owner
66	Rio	88.72%	HET
67	La Bayou	88.26%	new owner
68	Mermaids	88.26%	new owner
69	Bellagio	87.42%
70	Venetian	86.66%
71	Airport	85.02%

so what can we learn from this study? dont play at the airport :p

Quote: rudeboyoi

so what can we learn from this study? dont play at the airport :p

Well of course, but you probably didn't need a study to tell you that.

I would say that we learn that it is stupid to play nickel slots. I like the El Cortez, and with the new air filtration system the smoke is not nearly as bad. But there are a lot of homeless in the neighborhood. They still have about 200 of the old machines that use coins for the most hard core reactionaries.

It suggests that slots in the large corporate hotels are pretty tight. I would still think you might be better off at the Orleans or Gold Coast (a locals Boyd casino near the strip). You can bowl and go to movies when you are not playing at the Orleans.

if you have never been to vegas before, id definitely suggest going to the strip just for the experience. but if you make trips here frequently or live in the area, stay as far away from that place as possible.

Best place?
If its her first trip to Vegas she should at least see the strip.

From a purely percentage point-of-view however the best returns on slots are usually found at the Boulder Strip area ... which means a less than tourist oriented part of town.
The next best area is the Downtown area which has some glitter to it but not much of the impressive opulence of the Strip.

Is she absolutely against playing "tourist" and only wants to be glued to a slot machine?

Also does she really want to go to the casino with the best slot returns. Overall there isn't that much difference.
On the Strip she will have a nicer room and generally better buffets and entertainment attractions, better drink service (perhaps) and a better sampling of the crowds and bright lights.

Just be sure that wherever she goes she signs up for and uses the Player Club card. Playing where she stays is a good way to get RFB status. So she would have fine restaurants and the generally better buffets on the Strip.

She might love a new place such as The M Resort,,, but its geographically isolated and several miles away from the Strip which has what most tourists consider to be "Las Vegas".

Quote: gambler

A friend of mine is an avid slot player and is planning her first trip to Las Vegas next month. She can play for hours on the $1 slot machines and will occationally play the $5 slot machines as well. She will go to Vegas with about $10,000 to $12,000.

Her question to me was where's the best place for her to play? I told her that she would probably get tons of comps at even the best hotels on the strip. Maybe even RFB'd. But she has heard about slot clubs and that some places have a higher slot return then other places.

I know very little about slot machines and slot clubs. Any suggestion as to where the best (most generous) places are? Should she try to Total Rewards program of Harrahs? What slot clubs are the most friendly and easy to redeem points? Are slot machine hosts the same as table game hosts? If so, should I pass on my host's (table games) contact information to her?

Since this is her first trip to Las Vegas, I don't think she would want to be very far from the main strip. Maybe downtown at one of the nicer properties there. But if the Hard Rock or Palms have a good deal, she probably would think that's close enough.

Need advice, slots players!

Let's make some assumptions about your friend's play:

* $1 slots
* One coin per spin
* 600 spins per hour
* 4 hours of play a day
* 5% house edge

She figures to lose, on average, $480 a day. At a minimum, she'd get a free room from wherever she wants to stay. Most places would give her RFB. Some would go beyond that.

At some of the smaller places, the slots hosts are the same as the table game hosts. Most of the time they aren't. It's still a good idea to pass on her information to your hosts. Don't be surprised if they're a lot more interested in her than you. With a $10k bankroll, she's certainly in the top 5% of gamblers, and probably in the top 1%. She deserves to be treated well.

As far as generosity, it depends on what she values most. Most of the most luxurious hotels are on the Strip, but they generally have the worst returns. The best returns are off the beaten path, but, well, they're off the beaten path. If she values cashback and self-serve comp value, I don't know that much about it. You and she should do some research into it. It will end up being worthwhile in the long run.

Have fun. Good luck.