Casino Stats & Facts

I have been going to Las Vegas since the very late 90's. To say Vegas has changed over that time, is an understatement.

Long gone are some of my favorite seedy shit holes I used to gamble in. I have seen the old Aladdin reborn, then morph into whatever the fuck Planet Hollywood is. Seriously, why are they still using the Planet Hollywood name on anything? There are only a half dozen of these left, and most of those are outside the US where it might be cool still.

My beloved Boardwalk casino, and all the interesting sites and smells in there, gave way to the rise of City Center over 15 years ago now. The Riviera is just a parking lot now. And the Frontier is nothing more than a sandpit these days.

While I have lamented over the losses of the MGM Grand Adventure Amusement Park or the talking camels over at Luxor in the past. Really, just all the stupid cheesy aspects of 90's Vegas that are now but a memory. I understand progress. I respect that Las Vegas keeps reinventing itself. If the Vegas of the 80's did not give way to the Mega-Resort Vegas of the 90's, I never would have had the interest to even visit the place.

While not a secret by any means, the gaming in Las Vegas has turned to shit as well. I mean, something has to pay for these multi-billion dollar resorts right? But have you ever wondered just how bad it has gotten?

I am not just talking about triple zero roulette or 6:5 Black Jack. By the way, I have had people ask me what the difference is between the "old" 3:2 BJ and the "normal" 6:5 BJ that is everywhere. It is pretty simple, for every black jack you get, you win $3 dollars for every $2 that you bet. The much shittier 6:5 is just that, you get $6 for every $5 you bet. IE, if you bet $10 in the before times, you would be paid $15 on your win. Now, for the same bet, you are paid $12 on your win.

The fact that people don't know that, shows just how easy it is for the casino to fuck you over, while still dealing the same game they always have.

Getting back to the slots, penny machines used to take most of the blame for the sudden increasing slot holds. While true, at first, once these casinos figured out that the vast majority of players couldn't tell if the machine they were playing returned 85% VS the once typical 95%, the floodgates to higher holding machines were open.

Sure, it only looks like 10 points difference. But on the 95% return, on average, you would lose $5.00 for every $100 you ran through the game. 85% would have you losing a whopping $15 for the same hundo through. That is triple the expected loss! If your bankroll could last you 6 hours back then, it will only last you 2 hours right now. And that makes for a very different casino experience.

Charting Nevada, going back to 2004, you can see the holds climbing nearly every year. Inch by inch, so you wouldn't notice what was happening. Sort of like me getting fat over the years. Half a pound a month, so what? 5 years later that is 30 pounds overweight. My wife didn't notice, as she saw me every day. But for those that haven't seen me for awhile: "What the Fuck Happened to you?"

Stop sidetracking me!

Looking at where the tourist go, and you can see the Strip held 6.52% back in 2004. That is the sum of all machines, video poker which hardly holds anything (on the right games) averaged into the latest themed penny slot, which typically returns in the high 80s.

Going from 6.52 to 6.56 the very next year, really is just a blip. As was going from 6.82 the year after that, into 6.92 the very next. Inch by inch, it all adds up. And none of that is good news for you.

Bringing us to current, and those averages went from 6, to over 8. That 6.52 to 8.26 means they are holding a third more of your money, on average, every time you sit down on a typical machine on the Strip now. In other words, a shit ton more lost by you!

Back when I was still new to Vegas, everyone said only suckers play on the Strip. If you wanted a good gamble, hit Fremont Street. Looking at the above, they weren't wrong. The odds were nearly 10% better Downtown just over 15 years ago. But look at Downtown now. My Gawd, what happened to them? This is what happens when you kill off all the smaller, fair, casinos. Bye Bye Mermaids and La Bayou casinos. Hello Mega Casinos, like the Billion Dollar Circa casino.

Downtown went from 5.87% held, to a staggering 8.33 in 2021. I guess that is better than the 8.41 they racked the year prior. That is still almost 50% more bled from you. Crazy to type the words, but gambling on the Strip is actually a better deal now. And apparently it has been, for the past few years.

If you want to see just how fast and hard Downtown has crept up the leader board of greed, just look at the chart above (Stolen from UNLV, who does great work tracking and reporting these figures)

They went from 6.7% hold in 2010, to 8.41 just a decade later. Sure, statewide was up as well. But look at stalwarts like Reno. Now that is a gambling town I can get behind! Over the same 15+ years, they went from 5.16 to 5.43. Which is nothing, especially compared to inflation.

North Shore Lake Tahoe, just around the bend from Reno, actually improved the odds for their players over this span. From 5.89 to 5.60!

None of this is meant to sway your choices as to where to gamble. I always considered playing in a fabulous Strip casino, as a tax on my gaming. They have to hold more than the gas station over in Sparks Nevada to pay for all the glitz and glamor. But as I get older, I am not really looking for fine dining, the hottest clubs, the biggest mall or the wettest pools. I just want to gamble while I am on vacation. Put in enough mindless hours, chasing the big hit, and stretching my budget while doing so.

Looks like I will be giving Reno a shot next.

The casinos here in Illinois are a double whammy. That is to say, they are small and shitty, with really none of the amenities you get in Vegas. AND, they hold way too fucking much. Think over 10% (88% payback at some places). I hardly ever gamble locally. I understand the high tax rate, and the reasons why these casinos cant return as much to players, why they cant comp as much when you do play and why they wont reinvest in their properties. But honestly, none of that has anything to do with me.

If you cut yourself a shitty deal for your business, too bad. Why would I risk my money with you, where there are much better deals to be had elsewhere. Sometimes, you want to scratch that itch. But I always end up feeling like an idiot, when I drop decent coin on these local machines, and the casino doesn't even have a buffet to allow me to drown my tears in food. Or a hotel for me to cry myself to sleep in.

Lake Tahoe anyone?