Best Places To Game in Town
No matter where you may end up in Las Vegas, odds are you won’t be more than 10 minutes from a casino. Almost every hotel, gas station and even our airport attempt to entice you into throwing down a few bucks and hitting it big. With so many choices and so little time (visitors should definitely work on that last part), where should you go to bring home the major jackpot?
Craps
Winner: Casino Royale at the Best Western
This hotel/casino seems to get overlooked by many when they come down to Las Vegas, but don’t let its old exterior motif fool you. With lower minimums, $3 weekday and $5 weekends, and 20x the odds, you literally can’t find a better deal on the Strip. To put it into comparison, most other casinos offer $10 weekday and $25 weekend minimums with 5 to 10x the odds. Another plus to Casino Royale are the dealers. With the exception of some casinos off the Strip, I’ve never had a better experience with dealers than I have with Casino Royale. Friendly dealers, high odds, and low minimums make Casino Royale the ideal choice for craps on the Las Vegas Strip.
Blackjack
Winner: Aria
While Aria might not offer the largest selection of tables and definitely doesn’t have the lowest minimums (not recommended if you’re on the college budget), the layout and atmosphere help make it my number one place for blackjack. One of the key things to look out for in Vegas are the blackjack tables with the automatic shufflers (these are the large, black cylindrical devices next to the dealers). These completely diminish your odds and give the house an incredible edge, even if you know basic strategy. I have only seen one of these at Aria and the other 15 or so blackjack tables will go through the entire deck before a shuffle. Since Aria kept it old school in a modern casino, they get my vote as the number one blackjack zone in Vegas.
Sports Betting
Winner: MGM Grand Hotel and Casino
One of the first casinos I ever went inside was MGM Grand and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw their sports book. A wall that could probably fit two movie theatre screens was completely filled with large flatscreen TV’s and multiple projector-style displays that made you feel as though you are actually at every game they are showing. All odds will be roughly the same at any sports book, so don’t fall for a casino trying to advertise better sports bets. MGM offers the nicest seats in any sports book and it is always clean, which is something I noticed other sports books seem to lack. The one downside is they don’t have smaller individual TV’s at each seat, but I’ve never personally enjoyed the smaller TV's. Tip on sports books: If you want to watch an NFL game on Sunday, get down there 2+ hours before the game starts. They fill up much faster than you’d think.
High Rollers
Winner: Bellagio
I’m not talking about the high roller rooms (I wish I made that much to go there), just the casinos that will typically offer higher minimums. Higher minimums mean higher payouts, but also much higher risks. If that’s your flavor, Bellagio is your place to call home. The Bellagio’s elegant and sophisticated dealers fit nicely with the décor and layout that boasts high rollers only.
Best Overall Casino
Winner: The M Resort Spa Casino
While this is still on Las Vegas Boulevard, it is about 10 miles South of the Strip. If you want to spend a full day in a casino, I’d highly recommend driving down and checking it out. The first thing you’ll notice is the smell of the casino. Now, if you’ve ever been in a casino on the Strip (or anywhere for that matter), you’ll know that even some of the best casinos will have a smoky presence to them. The M invites you in with one of the most pleasant smells of any hotel or casino you’ll ever go to and invites you to stay all day. The table games are all surrounded by an enormous number of flatscreen TV's and have incredible dealers that truly seem to enjoy their jobs. The sports book is one of the few that I could say parallels MGM’s, but just isn’t quite as large (still one of the best around). The casino floor is much larger than it first appears and has every table game or slot machine you’d want to play on. If you’ve got the time, take the trip down to The M and spend a day at the best casino in Las Vegas.
