The Luckiest Casino in Las Vegas
By
Kevin Lentz
Writer at Casinos.US Updated: 09/11/2024
Kevin has been involved in the gambling industry since the ‘80s. From winning tournaments to casino management, he’s ultimately done it all. Throughout the years, he’s written for various iGaming publications on topics such as the legal landscape of online casinos and strategies behind winning. His favorite game is blackjack.
Luckiest Casino in Las Vegas
You’re headed out to Las Vegas and determined that this time, you’re going to win big. But there are so many casinos to choose from, and you need a hot tip on the luckiest casino in Las Vegas to get you started. Well, we have some ideas.
So whether it’s the locals-friendly casinos up in North Las Vegas, one of the gritty downtown joints that made Las Vegas famous in the first place, or even some palace of opulence out on the neon Strip, we can show you some of the places people have won millions. Some of the casinos in Las Vegas where people consistently mention getting lucky and even where the math says you’ve got the best chance. So get in, folks, we’re going gambling!
- 🍀 What Is the Luckiest Casino in Vegas?
- 🍀 Ways of Finding the Other Lucky Casino in Vegas
- 🍀 What We Know about the Luckiest Slots in Vegas
- 🍀 Conclusion
What Is the Luckiest Casino in Vegas?
It’s hard to pick just one lucky casino because so many people have won huge jackpots in this town. Still, one of the biggest came more than twenty years ago at the Excalibur, a castle-themed casino at the south edge of the infamous Las Vegas Strip. A 25-year-old from Los Angeles put his first three dollars in a Megabucks slot and hit for $39.7 million. And we guess what happens in Vegas really does stay in Vegas because he remains anonymous to this day, but we have to feel like he at least thinks the Excalibur is the luckiest casino in Las Vegas. After two decades, we feel that this record is due to fall.
While not quite as impressive from a money angle, but certainly from a determination one, we have the strange case of Ashley Revell, a young Englishman who sold his house, car, and all his possessions, including his clothes, to fly over to Las Vegas and make a single bet on red or black on the roulette wheel.
While only $135,300, it was literally his entire life savings. Now, he had hundreds of casinos to pick from, but he chose the Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. How he decided this was the place to put everything he owned all on the line. We have no idea how, but he won, and we feel like he must have known something about the luckiest casino in Las Vegas.
William Lee Bergstrom thought he had found a lucky casino in Binion’s Horseshoe when he wandered into the downtown joint back in 1980 with his infamous suitcase in hand. He piled $777,000 on the don’t pass line, established a point of six, and rolled his seven two rolls later, walking out with what would be almost three million in today’s money.
He returned a couple of times over the years, making a single don’t pass bet each time and collecting another $538,000 on one play and $117,000 on another. But in 1984, his luck ran out when he put a million dollars on the don’t pass and the shooter rolled a seven on the come out role. Bye-bye, $1,000,000.
Ways of Finding the Other Lucky Casino in Vegas
One way to find the other lucky casino in a sea of casinos in this day and age might be through the web. We could probably ask AI for some tips, but we know it’s been known to lie from time to time. But what about if we data mined Trip Adviser reviews for words like “luck” or “won or “jackpot”? The casino with the highest number of these words would seem pretty lucky, right?
That’s exactly what one team of researchers did, and they may have been on to something because they decided the luckiest casino in Las Vegas was the Mirage. And of course, six months later it was closed. Hmmm. Not to worry, though, both the Venetian and the Aria scored pretty close, and they are still open, at least for now.
We would have liked to have included some of the large online casinos like BETMGM, which owns both the Aria and owned the Mirage, but unfortunately online slots still aren’t legal in Nevada.
What We Know about the Luckiest Slots in Vegas
If we want to track down the luckiest slots in Vegas, we could also resort to math. It turns out that all of the casinos report their RTP to the Nevada Gaming Authority. RTP is short for return to player, which is the amount the casino pays back to the player over time. It’s reported as a percentage, so if we say 91.0% RTP, think of it as if you wagered $100; on average, you would get back $91. This can help us narrow down which casino has the most winners in Las Vegas.
It turns out that the loosest slots on the Las Vegas strip, those paying back the most to players, are at Circus Circus, which probably surprises no one. Many locals will tell you that the loosest slots are at the older, out-of-the-way properties, and Circus Circus fits that bill. Although we have to say it is certainly worth a visit, even if you aren’t planning on hitting the slot machines, just to witness the spectacle at this infamous Vegas attraction.
Now, if you are going to Downtown Las Vegas, the aptly named Glitter Gulch, you might want to pop your head in El Cortez. While there is no longer sawdust on the floor or a $2.99 Steak and Egg special, this is the oldest continuously running casino in Las Vegas and is a legend in the gambling world. The stories about this place would fill a book, but it also turns out they also have the highest RTP on their slots in the downtown area, so that’s a win/win.
Another odd detail in the Nevada state reporting is nickel slot machines. Nickel slot machines pay back about 94.5% on average, while the average penny slot machine only pays back a bit over 90%. In fact, nickel slots, on average, are a better bet than even dollar slots. So keep your eye out for the rather hard-to-find nickel slots, and you may find that your luckiest slot actually turns out to be the one with the highest reported payback.
Conclusion
There are a lot of ways to think about what the luckiest casino might entail, but to us, lucky is the one where we win. That being said, there is no end to the folks who have found their own luckiest casino in Las Vegas, and we hope that the next time you are in Sin City, you can find a lucky casino to brag to your friends back home about.
Whether its slots or craps or even online poker, which interestingly enough is legal in Nevada, we hope you hit that jackpot or an hour roll or that monster bad beat so you have some Vegas luck stories to tell.
