Best Vegas Slot Machine Payouts

Best Vegas Slot Machine Payouts Rating: 7,0/10 6210 votes

So who pays for those Volcanic eruptions? Pirate Battles? Carnival Parades? and Glittering Showrooms? Slot Machines. 60-65% of casino revenue is generated by those bell-ringing one armed bandits that seem to multiply on casino floors like rabbits. So how does the average player gain an advantage and possibly win? Well... aside from cheating (which we really don't suggest you get involved in) the only way to gain some sort of advantage is to choose your slots with utmost care and discrimination.

It’s easy to find slot machines with payout percentages that are as high as 99%, which is quite hard to find in real-life casinos. With regards to payout percentages, it has everything to do with how the slot machines are designed. As if that is not enough, game developers and casinos do not publish numbers of certain pokies. 10 Best Payouts Slots – Which Online Slots Payout the Most. Slot games are a popular choice for online gamblers. And, if you are a big slots fan you might have wondered which slot machines pay the best. Have a look at the top 10 best payout slots below.

Slot machines in Las Vegas are required by law to payout 75% of the money that goes into them, actual payout in Las Vegas is approximately 95%. Will you be the one that takes the money instead of gives it? That is up to luck, but with a little investigation one can easily learn to identify which machines are more favorable to the player than others. Slot machines are all about the payout... Red White and Blue, Double Diamond, Dick Fucking Clark, Cherry whatever. At the end of the day what every slot player needs to do is look at the pay schedule on the machine they want to play. Very often the same machine one row over will pay 5,000 credits on 3rd credit jackpot while you're playing on a 2,000 3rd credit machine. Plain and simple you're cheating yourself.


Slot Spotlights

A few notable slot machines we here at VT have found more playable, or more interesting, than the other nonsense out there like Leprachaun's Gold or Tabasco Slots or whatever.

We like machines that have the best payouts on the lowest winning spins. These will keep you going longer between larger wins and not enact the ATM-In-Reverse principle seen at many of the larger joints (Venetian being the worst we've experienced).

100 or Nothing
Red, White and Blue
Slot Machine Jackpots Photo Gallery
Wheel of Fortune
Wild Cherry


Slot Machine Payback Percentages

Below are the slot payback percentages for Nevada's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2002 and ending June 30, 2003:

5¢ Slot Machines
The Strip - 90.32%
Downtown - 91.50%
Boulder Strip - 93.03%
N. Las Vegas - 92.97%
25¢ Slot Machines
The Strip - 92.59%
Downtown - 94.83%
Boulder Strip - 96.47%
N. Las Vegas - 96.63%
$1 Slot Machines
The Strip - 94.67%
Downtown - 95.35%
Boulder Strip - 96.48%
N. Las Vegas - 97.21%

$1 Megabucks Machines
The Strip - 89.12%
Downtown - 88.55%
Boulder Strip - 87.76%
N. Las Vegas - 89.41%
$5 Slot Machines
The Strip - 95.33%
Downtown - 95.61%
Boulder Strip - 96.53%
N. Las Vegas - 96.50%
All Slot Machines
The Strip - 93.85%
Downtown - 94.32%
Boulder Strip - 95.34%
N. Las Vegas - 95.32%

Payouts

The Math of Casino Slot Machines

For every dollar you wager in a slot machine, you will lose 100% - Payback% of that dollar. For example, you're at Bellagio playing the $1 Double Diamond slot, wagering Two Credits ($2) per spin. According to the table, for every $2 spin you will lose 5.33% of that bet... just shy of 11¢. Granted these 11 cents don't get extracted instantly... this is computed over time. So if your bank roll limit is $10 it will take you, on average 52 spins before your bankroll is toast (under $1) and you are out of credits.

How was this number derived:

STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = ...
Repeat calculation until the number gets below the minimum bet - if you play long enough, you're gonna go broke. THAT is a FACT. Slot machines are entertaining, relaxing, require little thought beyond pressing a button. IF you want to truly GAMBLE, you might want to look into Video Poker, and eventually Blackjack as other options.

Granted, sometime in there you just might hit that $500 win on the Wheel of Fortune, or The Elvis progressive might shake rattle and roll $1000 your way... but the math inside the machine determines that you will in fact lose a certain percentage of your wager on each spin, and the more you spin... the more you will lose despite short runs of successful jackpots. If you find you are UP... leave. Every spin of a slot machine generates a random number that has NOTHING to do with previous numbers. SLOT MACHINES do NOT run in streaks (even if you might wish to think they do). Don't expect to get any of the money you put into a machine out of it unless you learn to press the CASH OUT button.

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Las Vegas is home to 160,000+ slot machines. People who don’t gamble or visit Vegas much don’t realize how much variety exists among these tens of thousands of games. Thanks to strict regulatory work, we know that the return to player percentage of Vegas slots ranges from 78% to almost 99%. Whether you’re an advantage gambler or not, you should recognize that some Vegas slot machines are designed to take more of your money and at a faster pace than others. In the industry, this is referred to as a machine’s “tightness” or “looseness.”

The loosest slots in Vegas in 2021 (and probably 2022) are at off-Strip casinos and casinos in North Las Vegas, at places like Fiesta Henderson or Sam’s Town near the Boulder Strip. Some slots at these off-Strip spots in Las Vegas are similar in theoretical return percentage to the more traditionally player-friendly slot games in Reno, some are even better than the average Reno machine.

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In this post, I’ll prove everything I just said with specific statistics, showing you how to find the loosest slots in Las Vegas in 2021. And let’s be honest, this information isn’t likely to change much in 2022, either.

What Are Loose Slots (In Vegas or Anywhere Else)?

A slot is loose if its theoretical return to player is high relative to other machines. RTP is measured as a theoretical percentage representing how much of a player’s money will be paid back out in winnings. The RTP tells you how much you stand to lose over a given period of time.

Loose slots have higher percentages.

Tight slots have lower percentages.

Loose vs. Tight Slots in Vegas Example

Best

Let’s look an example:

Free Slots Vegas World

Best las vegas slot machine payouts

50 Lions slot machines by Aristocrat are popular on Vegas casino floors. This is a 5-reel and 3-row video slot with all the modern features players like, with bonuses, wild symbols, a scatter symbol, but nothing too much in terms of video cut scenes or complex side bets or bonus games. It’s accessible to a huge number of players and that’s why you can find it on lots of different gaming floors.

The standard issue game of 50 Lions has an RTP of 94.71%.

That doesn’t mean that every version you find in Vegas has that same RTP – casinos are allowed to alter games to change the theoretical return percentage. This is done mainly by changing the pay tables in subtle ways or by actually changing the programming of the game itself.

This means that playing 50 Lions slots at the Peppermill Reno will be a totally different experience than playing at The Venetian on the Vegas Strip.

In fact, there could be as much as a 10% difference between that game at The Venetian and the game at the Peppermill.

Does RTP Really Affect a Slot Machine’s Play?

I think this question really means “Will I notice any difference between two games with different RTPs?”

Maybe, maybe not.

You have to take RTP numbers with a Vegas-sized grain of salt. That’s because these numbers only become true when you consider them over an infinite period of time. In the short-term, you will not see exactly 97% of your money paid back when you play a slot with a 97% RTP for an hour or two. In fact, the shorter amount of time you play, the less a game is like its posted RTP figure.

That’s because these numbers are calculated for an infinite bankroll used for an infinite amount of time.

But don’t ignore RTP.

It’s the best (meaning the most scientific) way we have of quantifying a slot’s relative return to the player. We also like it because in most places where gambling is legal, operators are required to report RTP figures for all their games. This is true in Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada’s gambling areas.

Where Are the Loosest Slots in Las Vegas in 2021 and 2022?

Okay, now that you’re an expert on the meaning of RTP in slot play, let’s help you zero in on the slots with the best RTP figures in the entire city of Las Vegas.

For starters, it’s important to know the average RTP figures for various slot game denominations on the Strip. Here’s a quick guide to the most common:

  • $0.01 Slot Machines – 88.38%
  • $0.05 Slot Machines – 91.64%
  • $0.25 Slot Machines – 89.35%
  • $1 Slot Machines – 92.43%

If you’re looking for loose Vegas slots on the Strip in 2021 and 2022, head for either the nickel slots or the more expensive $1 games, mostly found in the high limit area.

Let’s compare those figures to the same ones for North Las Vegas:

  • $0.01 Slot Machines – 90.88%
  • $0.05 Slot Machines – 95.29%
  • $0.25 Slot Machines – 96.41%
  • $1 Slot Machines – 95.39%

Obviously, every denomination offers a better RTP in North Vegas than their companion machines on the Strip. Will players notice the difference on penny slots?

Maybe not, but the higher the denomination of the machine, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to tell that you’re playing on a machine with a better theoretical return percentage.

The final set of numbers shows the theoretical return for games on the Boulder Strip:

  • $0.01 Slot Machines – 90.38%
  • $0.05 Slot Machines – 96.21%
  • $0.25 Slot Machines – 96.13%
  • $1 Slot Machines – 96.13%
Best las vegas slot machine payouts

Notice that some denominations are technically higher in the Boulder area than in North Vegas, while others are the opposite.

It’s not clear to me that you’ll notice much difference in a typical session of slot play, but some bettors really like to play on the best possible machines they can.

Where Are the Tightest Slots in Las Vegas in 2021 and 2022?

As a fun exercise, and as a cautionary tale for advantage gamblers looking to avoid tight slots, let’s take a quick look at the casinos with the tightest slots in Sin City.

Take note that all five of these are located prominently on the Vegas Strip.

The Venetian currently holds the title of Tight Slot Champion, with an average RTP across all their slots of 86.66%. That’s lower than the average slot RTP for the city of Las Vegas, which is right at 93%. It’s even lower than the overall RTP average for the Strip, which is 91.47%. About the only place you can play slot machines with a lower RTP average than the Venetian is the airport, where the average return is just over 85%.

The Bellagio is an icon, a gorgeous symbol of Vegas excess and American wealth. It’s also home to some really bad slots, in terms of RTP – the average slot machine here has a RTP of 87.42%. Sure, you can play at 2,300 different machines, among the biggest variety in the world, but you’re paying a small price for that privilege.

You should visit Caesars Palace for the Bacchanal Buffet, the world-class resort and amenities, and its poker room, which is among the best in the world. You should not visit if you’re looking for slots with low RTP figures, since the average here is 88.87%.

Which Slots Pay The Most In Vegas

Mandalay Bay and its gold-plated windows give off a heck of a Vegas vibe. The average slot RTP here is 89.05%, well below average even for a Strip property.

Best Vegas Slot Machine Payouts

The Mirage is a new entry to this list, and offers a similar product to Mandalay Bay, down to the average RTP on their slot machines. In 2020, the Mirage tightened up even more, producing a slot RTP average of 89.3%, middling at best for the Vegas Strip, where the tightness of the slots is a well-known thing.

Conclusion

In my experience, two kinds of people are looking for “loose slots.”

You’re either an advantage gambler looking for the mythical 98.8% layout of 50 Lions so you can squeeze every penny out of the casino, or you’re a newcomer who thinks you can find a magical slot that will guarantee winnings. To the first kind of gambler, I say “Carry on.” Using the information in this post, and a little bit of time on Google, you can easily find out where the slots are loose and tight in Las Vegas in 2021. And 2022 looks to be much the same – it’s unlikely that looser slots are on the horizon as soon as next year.

If you’re the type who believes that they can find a slot machine so loose that it guarantees a payday, a word of warning. Slot machines are literally designed to take your money, and the manufacturers and gaming providers advertise this information publicly. Gambling is entertainment, with a fun and distracting game that gives you the chance to win a little bit of prize money. There’s no sure-thing in Las Vegas – not on the Strip, not in the North, and not in the airport gate.

Best Slot Machine Payouts In Vegas

If you want to find loose slots because it will increase the value of your entertainment budget, use the tools here to do just that. If you’re looking for loose slots as part of your retirement strategy, please understand that all gambling entails risk. Play for fun, not for profit.