The conventional wisdom for some time now is that it’s a better gamble to play in Downtown Las Vegas vs. the Strip. But this is one of those casino myths that have gotten more complicated over time.
There’s data out there that can prove or disprove this, and there’s resources like Flip The Switch contributor John Mehaffey’s table surveys that examine the gambling conditions across Las Vegas, that can help determine whether this is really true.
So let’s take a look and see what players can expect.
Slots & Electronic Machines (including Video Poker and Keno)
Slot machine data in Nevada isn’t reported by casino, but by region. But the good news is that the Strip and Downtown are separated into their own buckets, so we can review each bucket side by side.
Here’s the data for the 12 months ending June 30, 2025 in terms of the payback percentage (the inverse of this, the hold percentage, is the percentage of wagers casinos held as profit during this period):
| Denomination | Las Vegas Strip | Downtown |
| 1 cent | 89.08% | 89.21% |
| 5 cent | 91.88% | 93.5% |
| 25 cent | 88.38% | 92.6% |
| 1 dollar | 92.27% | 93.74% |
| 5 dollars | 95.58% | 93.08% |
| Multi Denomination | 92.35% | 91.92% |
| Total | 91.98% | 91.68% |
Source: Nevada Gaming Control Board
A funny thing happened on the way to the data. While more buckets on the sheet are won by Downtown casinos, the most critical one, multi-denomination machines, was a win for the Strip. And, as it turns out, that’s the bulk of the machines, more than 75 percent of those reported for Strip volume alone (which makes sense, given the shift to multi-denomination machines).
Overall, the machines in this 12 month range paid out a little bit better on the Strip. The thing is, this isn’t a new phenomenon – around the time Circa opened, it began to shift more heavily in favor of the Strip. On occasion Downtown will beat the Strip, but more frequently the Strip has been beating downtown.
We suspect there is a mix of players Downtown offering better conditions than others, as there is in any scenario like this. But that contrast starts to become more clear when you examine table games.
Table Games
Flip The Switch contributor John Mehaffey isn’t just a Las Vegas area resident – he regularly visits the casinos to check out what table games they offer, what the rules are, and so forth to assemble for his table games surveys. He’s also shared some of this information here on Flip The Switch.
The strip has the best Blackjack games, for instance, but they’re also high limit offerings, with limits often at the $100 and up level to be able to access them. Downtown has lower limit options, but the rules aren’t quite as good either (although they’re still better than lower limit strip options).
Similar to the slots conditions, some of the downtown casinos have some of the worst Blackjack options as well – mandatory side bets tend to be the biggest culprit for this scenario, pushing the house edge up significantly more than 6/5 blackjack payouts would do to the game.
You can find single 0 roulette and triple 0 roulette in both locations, depending on the minimums. Crapless craps and craps both exist in both areas now.
These differences can mean different expected payback levels over time, so it’s important to know the difference and select carefully. Unlike slots, you have more information at your disposal about the rules and expected return to player over time, so a little homework is always smart to maximize time with your entertainment budget.
Takeaway
There are definitely some opportunities for better gaming conditions downtown, but it’s not the lock it used to be. Players who care about this (and some don’t – how else do you explain triple 0 roulette tables being so busy with a double 0 roulette and the same minimum empty right next to it) can do their homework to decide where and what to play if they want to pursue better a higher return to player over time.
