The $50 bill is an interesting one as it has a lot of superstition around it. But many players have noticed that casinos tend to not favor them. The same goes for dimes amd $10 bills, as it happens. Here’s one player question on the topic:
I go to many casinos where the cashier cage does NOT carry $50 dollar bills. Why is that? That’s the denomination I prefer to use when playing slots.
Vicki R.
It’s a scenario of simplification. It’s the same sort of question that led to us wondering at one point why our local bank only had $20 bills in the ATM for so long. (Even now, ATMs at the bank near our office has $100s and $20s, but no $50s either).
$50 bills take up space that could be more easily served by just having $20 and $100 bills in the ticket machines. Similarly, you have to inventory more bills for the cashiers when you have more bill types, and that means the need to have more cash on hand. So you can have larger supplies of less bills, making the whole process more streamlined.
As such, many casinos have simply opted to stock just $1, $5, $20 and $100 bills – the other denominations just don’t prove to be important enough to stock.
We asked players if they found $50 bills unlucky, which comes up periodically. Most of those polled on Brian Christopher’s YouTube channel didn’t have an issue with a $50 bill.
Similarly, casinos don’t stock dimes, in part because their size made them less obvious a choice for slot machines, but also because it can easily be replaced with two nickels.
Taking those three options out of the 10 total currency possibilities makes stocking machines and cashier stations simpler to manage, and less frequent refilling in the machines’ cases. (And now, machines often don’t even carry change – it makes for a lot less work when you don’t have to refill the change.)
There are other theories out there, such as the $50 being the target of counterfeiting, and being less familiar to people because of their relative rarity. There’s also the fact that many players find them unlucky.
But casinos tend to know money, and they’re not going to stock a bill just because some find it unlucky. And we have seen some casinos who have them, whether because players brought them in or they just opt to have more options (similar to the $10 bill and the dime).
But ultimately it’s likely to keep things simpler, and make managing cash a bit easier. So for your purposes, as a player who prefers them, it may just make more sense to stop by a bank branch to pick them up ahead of time. Although you’ll probably have to visit the cashier of your ATM, too, doesn’t stock them by default.
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The interesting thing is that Wells Fargo ATMs nationwide, including the ones at the Las Vegas Airport, ONLY stock $50’s and $20’s. If I happen to use that one on the way out of the airport, I will have a stack of $50’s.
That’s a good data point, Henry – it does seem like each bank has their own approach to this, whether it’s more efficient for us or just for them :)
I love 50’s, thanks for the tip.
Thanks Michael! The bills definitely have their fans out there!
The “$50 bills are unlucky” belief started because when the Mob killed someone, they put a $50 in his pocket.
Thanks Amethyst for that additional color around the $50 bill!