Henderson is the biggest Las Vegas suburb. It is so large that it is the second most populous city in Nevada.
Henderson casinos are different than Las Vegas ones. Most don’t have live table games. Many have small hotels or no rooms at all. Most customers live in the surrounding neighborhoods. Few tourists make it out to Henderson. However, consider making the area part of your Las Vegas rotation when visiting. Locals in other parts of the valley will find it is worth the drive.
Largest Henderson Casinos
Green Valley Ranch and Sunset Station are the two largest Henderson casinos. These are also the most upscale in the area. Each offers large table game pits and sportsbooks. Large slot selections are available at both. Video poker players will enjoy the full-pay games, including banks of 100% machines. Green Valley Ranch has a high-limit table game room that includes single zero roulette and blackjack that stands on soft 17.
Green Valley Ranch and Sunset Station are similar to other Las Vegas locals casinos. The ones mentioned below offer unique experiences and small casino floors.
Skyline Casino
Skyline Casino is on Boulder Highway north of downtown Henderson. It is like walking into a time capsule. Satellite ‘70s radio plays in the background. Weekends feature old Casey Kasem Top 40 Countdowns.
The machines are also a blast from the past. About half of the games are coin droppers. Most coin video poker offers 99% and better payouts. Many are unusual titles, like White Hot Aces, Joker Poker, Nevada Bonus Poker, and Sevens Wild. Quarter and dollar are the coin-dropper denominations. Modern ticket machines are also available, as well as slots and bartop machines.
Weekends feature two live games. One is a $10 3/2 six-deck blackjack game. The other is 2/4 fixed limit hold’em, which plays like a home game and has a low $3 maximum rake.
Don’t miss the $3.45 shrimp cocktail special. Need a haircut? An old-school barber shop is on the premises.
Emerald Island
Emerald Island is in downtown Henderson just off Water Street. It bills itself as “Nevada’s Only All-Penny Casino.” Most machines have a penny denomination, even video poker. The main exceptions are bartop video poker machines.
Penny video poker usually has the worst paytables imaginable. That is not true at Emerald Island. Machines with $0.01, $0.02, and $0.05 Triple Play, Five Play, and Ten Play have 99.5% and better paytables. Video poker variants like Ultimate X, Spin Poker, and Split Poker also have high returns.
Many other machines are penny slots. These often have point multipliers available.
Emerald Island does not offer cash back or free play for points, or on mailers. However, loyal players never pay for meals. Points may be spent in the cafe. Higher players club tiers get free daily meals. The menu changes daily with regular specials. Treats are served gameside daily.
Emerald Island is all slots and video poker. It has no hotel, live table games, or electronic ones.
Rainbow Club
Rainbow Club has the same owner as Emerald Island. The two casinos are across the street from each other. It offers all the same games. It has a different restaurant with daily specials. Points may be used at either Emerald Island or Rainbow Club. It also does not have live or electronic table games. No hotel is on the property.
Pass Casino
Pass Casino was once Eldorado. Boyd Gaming sold Eldorado to the owners of Railroad Pass in 2020. Pass Casino opened in 2021. At the time of opening, it had live table games. However, those disappeared in January 2024. Pass Casino offers the worst value of the three downtown Henderson casinos. A Circa Sportsbook is on the property.
Pass Casino opened an Atwell Suites hotel in 2025. It also has an Italian restaurant and a cafe.
Railroad Pass
Railroad Pass is just outside Boulder City. It is Nevada’s longest-running casino. It has the same owner as Pass Casino. Like Pass, Railroad Pass removed live table games in 2024. Its value is closer to a typical locals casino, maybe a bit lower. Railroad Pass has four restaurants and a hotel.
Club Fortune
Club Fortune is another Henderson casino that once had live table games but is now only slots. It also had a poker room until the pandemic closure. It was the last poker room in the market to deal a $0.50/$1 no-limit hold’em game. Today, it has a typical variety of slots and video poker. Payouts for video poker are usually in the 98% to 99% range. Club Fortune has a cafe and snack bar.
Cadence Crossing
Cadence Crossing is Henderson’s newest casino. It opened on March 25, 2026. Cadence Crossing replaced Jokers Wild, which has since been demolished. That property will be part of Cadence Crossing’s next expansion.
Like most Henderson casinos, Cadence Crossing does not deal live table games. It has about 450 machines with a mix of slots, video poker, and electronic table games. About 100 player favorites moved from Jokers Wild when it closed. Cadence Crossing has two restaurants. It does not have a hotel.
Great post. I’ve always loved Henderson and Summerlin. We would love to drink and eat at Barley’s Brew Pub. We are big Station Fans. My wife and I were sad to see that the Reserve was changed over. I thought the theme was great. At least we were able to play there when it opened!
If you had a choice of staying at Green valley Ranch or Red Rock, what would you choose? Thanks!
If we were to answer today, Robin, we’d vote for Red Rock, but GVR is in the process of a remodel, with plans to complete it next year, so it’s going to be worth another look then!