The Las Vegas Strip is no doubt one of the most-popular places to play slot machines. Millions of tourists hit Las Vegas Boulevard every year to spin the reels.
As it turns out, that intuition about Downtown slots being more playable – and payable – was spot on. According to the NGCB, a survey of ever slot machine in Las Vegas shows games on The Strip hold an average house edge of 7.88 percent. Meanwhile, the exact same slots in the Downtown District offer a lower house edge of 7.13 percent.
Most of these gamblers aren’t too concerned about their exact chances of winning. They just want to enjoy fun games and get a few thrills.
Of course, your bankroll stands to last longer when you do choose slots with fair pay. Therefore, you might be interested to know how Vegas Strip slot machines stack up to the competition.
Whether you’re going to Sin City anytime soon, or just thinking about it in the distant future, you’ll want to know the following info on Vegas Strip slots payback.
A Look at Vegas Strip Slots Return to Player (RTP)
The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) regularly offers revenue reports on their casino gambling industry. These resources cover gaming wins for the past 12 months, including wins for slot machines.
You can get a composite view on how well Nevada slots pay and their house edges by looking at these reports. You’ll also be able to see a breakdown on prominent jurisdictions within the Silver State.
The NGC’s report breaks down how much the Strip’s slot machines pay based on coin denomination.
Here’s how much the most-popular coin denominations delivered in 2018:
- Penny slots – 88.30% RTP (11.7% house edge)
- Nickel slots – 91.63% RTP (8.37% house edge)
- Quarter slots – 89.40% RTP (10.60% house edge)
- Dollar slots – 92.30% RTP (7.70% house edge)
- Multi denomination – 93.61% RTP (6.39% house edge)
You can see that penny slot machines are at the bottom in terms of payback. They only offered 88.3% RTP, making them one of the worst choices of all casino games in terms of winning.
The multi-denomination machines featured the best rate at 93.61% RTP. You might want to stick with these games on the Strip, given that they both let you change the coin size and offer the best payback.
How Do Vegas Strip Slots Compare to the Rest of Nevada?
Knowing how much Vegas Strip slot machines pay is a great start. However, a reference point is needed to measure if the Strip’s slots do or don’t pay well.
Again, the NGC provides gaming win for the entire state as well as specific areas. These numbers can be pitted against the Vegas Strip’s figures to make a valid comparison.
Here’s how well slots paid throughout the Silver State in 2018:
- Penny slots – 90.0% RTP (10.0% house edge)
- Nickel slots – 94.39% RTP (5.61% house edge)
- Quarter slots – 92.83% RTP (7.17% house edge)
- Dollar slots – 93.61% RTP (6.39% house edge)
- Multi denomination – 94.74% RTP (5.26% house edge)
Comparing the numbers, the Vegas Strip definitely doesn’t pay slots players like Nevada as a whole. All of their coin denominations offer at least 1% lower RTP than the entire state.
The biggest difference can be seen in the quarter slots. The Strip only delivered 89.40% in 2018, while Nevada paid 92.83% overall.
Another large discrepancy can be noticed with nickel slot machines. The Strip delivered just 91.63% against 94.39% for the state.
Numbers Show That Vegas Strip Slots RTP Isn’t So Hot
Vegas Strip slot machines are far from generous. In fact, they’re some of the lowest-paying slots that you’ll find anywhere in the world.
The penny slots are especially awful. They only offered 88.3% RTP last year, which is about as bad as it gets with slot machines.
Penny slots are often thought of as “cheap” games, because they only require one cent per line. But you’re theoretically losing $11.70 for every $100 wagered on Vegas Strip penny games.
Surprisingly, the quarter slots barely paid better than the penny slots. The Vegas Strip’s quarter slot machines offered 89.40% RTP, which is really bad when considering the coin size.
Only nickel, dollar, and multi-denomination slots delivered over 90% RTP. Multi-denomination machines were the best deal at 93.61% payback.
Nickel slot machines paid 91.63% RTP, which is okay by the Vegas Strip’s standards. However, this payout percentage isn’t so great when looking across the board.
Why Don’t Vegas Strip Slot Machines Pay That Much?
The primary reason why Vegas Strip slots fail to offer reasonable payback is because they don’t have to. Casinos on the Strip can feature low slot machine RTP and still draw visitors.
This iconic four-mile stretch is home to some of the world’s most-lavish casinos. Bellagio, Caesars Palace, MGM Grand, and the Wynn are just some of the headlining establishments on the Strip.
Las Vegas Boulevard also offers many other attractions that draw tourists. The Park, LINQ Promenade, Neon Museum, and Fountain of Bellagio are some of the spectacles located here.
Few people go to the Vegas Strip in search of the highest-paying slot machines. The small number that do would be severely disappointed upon seeing the numbers.
The Vegas Strip is instead about the experience, with gambling mixed into the equation. Slot machines found here could probably pay even less, yet millions would still gamble on this famed boulevard every year.
But the fact remains that the Strip doesn’t offer good slots payback. It lags behind many other areas of Vegas and the rest of the state.
Vegas’ Boulder Strip exemplifies what good land-based slots payback should be. They offer some of the best-paying slots in the country.
Here’s the Boulder Strip’s slots RTP for 2018:
- Penny slots – 90.21% RTP (9.79% house edge)
- Nickel slots – 96.23% RTP (3.77% house edge)
- Quarter slots – 95.93% RTP (4.07% house edge)
- Dollar slots – 95.13% RTP (4.87% house edge)
- Multi denomination – 95.42% RTP (4.58% house edge)
You can see a tremendous difference between slots payout percentages on the Vegas Strip and Boulder Strip. The latter offers around 2% or higher RTP with every coin denomination.
A glaring difference can be seen in how much each location pays on quarter slots. The Boulder Strip delivered 95.93% RTP in 2018 — over 6.5% higher than what the Strip paid.
Another notable difference included nickel slots RTP. The Boulder Strip featured 96.23% payback, versus just 91.63% for Las Vegas Boulevard.
However, the numbers are far enough apart to show that the Boulder Strip offers a much-better deal. The Vegas Strip, meanwhile, lags behind the state. But you also have to remember that Boulder Highway doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it.
The Eastside Cannery Casino Hotel, Sam’s Town Gambling Hall, and Boulder Station are all popular casinos. They just don’t have anywhere the amenities as a Bellagio or MGM Grand. You therefore want to consider if the higher slots RTP is worth it.
Getting the Most Bang for Your Slots Buck on the Strip
The Strip isn’t the greatest gambling destination in terms of slot machine RTP. But again, it’s not defined by offering great chances to win at casino games.
Las Vegas Boulevard is instead an all-around entertainment hub that gives you the opportunity to gamble. Nevertheless, you should at least know which games will help stretch your bankroll further.
The best deal is multi-denomination slots for two reasons:
- They offered an average of 93.61% RTP last year.
- These machines let you choose the coin size.
You should definitely seek out multi-denomination games when you’re in Vegas. They offered at least 1.31% higher RTP than the rest of the slots last year.
Dollar slot machines are your next-best bet purely in terms of payback. They delivered 92.30% RTP. But you’ll actually get more play out of nickel slots.
Here’s a theoretical comparison between both slots to show the difference:
- You perform 1,000 spins on dollar slot machines.
- House edge is 7.67%.
- 1,000 x 1 = $1,000 in total bets
- 1,000 x 0.0767 = $76.70 in losses on dollar games
- You perform 1,000 spins on nickel slot machines.
- House edge is 8.37%.
- 1,000 x 0.05 = $50 in total bets
- 50 x 0.0837 = $4.19 in losses on nickel games
The theoretical losses with both types of slots can differ when there are varying amounts of paylines involves. But if all lines are equal, then the nickel games are cheaper.
The same can be said of penny slot machines when compared to nickel slots. They only charge one cent per line, meaning they’re fairly cheap to play.
However, RTP is the problem with penny games. You have to weigh whether it’s worth facing 3.3% lower RTP with penny slots just to enjoy lower risk on a per-bet basis.
Do Some Bankroll Calculations Before Visiting the Vegas Strip
Slot machines aren’t cheap on the Vegas Strip. Penny slot machines are especially expensive, boasting an average house advantage of 11.70% last year.
You therefore want to have a strategy in place for handling your gambling funds before leaving for your trip. The first order of business is to make sure that you don’t bet money you can’t afford to lose.
A good way to do this is by going through your bills and figuring out how much free money you have each week or month.
You can then set aside a percentage of this amount (some should be used for savings) for a slots bankroll.
The next step is to think about important variables, such as your spins per hour, average bet, and hourly losses. You can either come up with these estimates by tracking them yourself or merely thinking about the proper numbers.
Most slots players spin the reels between 500 and 700 times per hour, depending upon breaks. You likely fall somewhere in this range too.
Your average bet size should be fairly easy to figure out. You probably have a typical wager size, such as $0.25 or $0.50.
Hourly losses can be difficult to determine, because they change based on the volatility and house edge of the games you’re dealing with. But a nice round number to consider is 250 lost bets per hour.
You’ll probably lose around 250 wagers each hour until you’re able to hit some big payouts. If you’re wagering $0.50 per spin, this equals $125 in losses per hour.
The final step is to run the variables and figure out how long your bankroll should last. The goal is to get an idea on if you should bring more money or make smaller bets to extend your entertainment.
Here’s an Example:
- You have a $1,000 bankroll
- Your average bet size is $0.25
- 1,000 / 0.25 = 4,000 total bets
- You lose 250 bets an hour
- 4,000 / 250 = 16
- Your bankroll will theoretically last for 16 hours
Slot machines are so unpredictable that it’s tough to determine if your bankroll will last X amount of hours, even with in-depth calculations.
But you can at least get a nice estimate on how long your bankroll will hold up. Of course, you could also win some huge payouts and be up big at the end of your session.
Play Some Online Slots on Your Vegas Trip
You’re probably heavily into the land-based casino experience if you want to play slots on the Vegas Strip. But you might try mixing up your play with online slots during the excursion.
Internet slots pay far better than those on the Vegas Strip or in any other land-based casino destination. The average online slot offers around 95% or 96% RTP, which is unrivaled in most brick-and-mortar casino hubs.
The aforementioned Boulder Strip is about the only place that compares to internet slots RTP. Even then, you have to bet at least a nickel per line to play games with 95% payback.
Again, you probably aren’t going to the Vegas Strip to sit in your hotel room and play online slots. But you might consider lounging around the hotel, a bar, or elsewhere and spinning the cyber reels for a little bit to preserve your bankroll.
Conclusion
It would be great if you could enjoy the amenities of a Mandalay Bay or Wynn and have a great change to beat slot machines. Unfortunately, you can’t because Vegas Strip casinos don’t offer great slots RTP.
Multi-denomination games led the way with 93.61% payback in 2018. But this figure is nothing to get excited about in the overall scheme of things.
Penny slot machines paid just 88.30% RTP on average last year. You’d therefore be facing an 11.70% house edge with the average penny slot, which is horrible.
You’ll get an okay deal with dollar slots (92.30% RTP). Then again, betting $1 per spin and still facing low payback isn’t anybody’s vision of gambling bliss.
The truth is that you should head elsewhere in Vegas, such as Boulder Highway, if you want the best chance to win. The Boulder Strip offered over 95% RTP for all of its denominations, except penny games, in 2018.
You can also play online slots on the side during your trip enjoy the best payout percentages of all. Of course, the key drawback here is that internet slots don’t offer the same experience as land-based casinos.
Overall, you can’t go into a Vegas Strip casino expecting to beat the slot machines. They just don’t pay enough to give you a strong chance of winning.
What you can do, though, is combine proper bankroll management with reasonable expectations. Performing bankroll calculations helps you go into each slots session with a realistic mindset. This process also keeps you from betting money that you can’t afford to lose.
New Slots 2020
We use cookies on our site to improve our content. Please click 'Agree' to accept the use of cookies.Agree & CloseLucky Mobile SlotsHomeYour Home of Mobile Slots
Mobile slots reviews and ratings
Mobile casino reviews and bonuses
Find your next slot by provider
Latest mobile slots, casino & bonus news
Best mobile casino bonus offers
List of helpful links
Slot & mobile casino faqs and answers
If there’s one thing we are really, really, good at here at LuckyMobileSlots.com, it’s passing judgment.
It’s kinda what we do; we write hundreds of slot reviews a year, helping you pick the games you should be playing at your local Android and iPhone casinos.
As such, it’s only natural we look back at the last year and see where we got it right, where we got it wrong, and where you should be playing.
A special thank-you to Vera & John casino who provided us with a lot of the data needed to get an idea of the most popular slots of the year, worldwide.
The Slot Razzies of the year: Nostalgia
This category was going to be simple: what was the absolutely worst slot games of the last year?
Play Hundreds of Slots at Vera&JohnSign up to Vera&John casino to play their full range of slot games
Sign Me Up to Vera&John
18+ New customers only. Wagering and Full T&Cs apply.Once we removed all the software providers no one has heard of, and couldn’t be expected to provide good games, we were left with two obvious choices.
Our problem is that they were both so bad, it was hard to pick between them, so we decided to compromise and blamed nostalgia, and possibly some bad late night decisions by top executives, for these poor choices.
Tetris Super Jackpot by Bally and Dirty Dancing by Playtech
These two game just goes to show that just because you get a hold of a good brand name, doesn’t mean you’ll have the pull to get people to play.
The Tetris Super Jackpots slot feels like something that was made in the 1980s, despite launching in 2017, and is just dull and dreary to play.
Meanwhile, Playtech all but crushed the soul of a million little girls (and some boys?) who grew up dreaming of dancing to 1950s beats by giving you a generic and poor win Dirty Dancing game.
The best video slots of the year
This was by far the hardest category to pick, namely because we had some fantastic choices to pick from; and even then we couldn’t clearly define one single winner.
So we took a look at the 2017 slot games we kept playing again and again, as well as asked our mobile casino contacts for a little help, and got these 3 final choices:
The best low variance slot: Wild Wild West
Honestly, this would not have been our top choice, but you know what, after seeing just how often it kept coming in the top 10 most played games of 2017, we had to tip our hats to NetEnt.
Get 100% up to €100 Bonus + 100 Free SpinsWith no wagering free spins, this welcome package offers you a great way to test out all that GUTS casino has to offer
Sign Me Up to GUTS
18+ New customers only. Wagering and Full T&Cs apply.Not like we didn’t like this Wild Wild West phone slot; we gave it 4-star review because it was a fantastic comic style train heist.
It’s not massively revolutionary, but its simplicity is part of its charm: 10 paylines, up to 30 free spin round, multiple wild bonus features… it’s pure, clean, fun.
The best medium variance slot: Wins of Fortune
Our choice for best medium variance slot game doesn’t go to the most obvious of choices. To be honest, it was between two Quickspin machines; this and Sakura Fortune.
But, for us, this Wins of Fortune slot on mobile won easily and is, by far, one of the best Monkey King slot themes around.
Add that every time you get a win, the reels shift to the left, giving you extra ways to win (from 79 to 259), and you just know this is full of quick action fun.
The best high variance slot: Viking Runecraft
This was an easy choice. If we had to pick just one mobile slot machine as the best of the year it would have to be Viking Runecraft by Play’n GO.
It’s one we’ve come back to again and again, and most of you agree with us, as it kept showing up in the top 10 list of most played games worldwide, including UK, New Zealand and Denmark.
It takes a little getting use to: with a 7×7 grid, 10,000 levels and 10 bonus game features this is not your usual slot machine.
But the huge win you can get as you play certainly remind you that this is, in fact, a wonderful gambling casino game and a worthy winner of our best slots for 2018.
Play All Three at Guts Casino »
The best 3 reel classic slot: Sea Hunter
3 reel classic slots have had a little bit of a revival in the last year, and we have to say, 99% of it is down to the work of two software providers: Elk Gaming and Play’n GO.
Both gave us some fantastic choices, but ultimately, Sea Hunter by Play’n GO won just for being a little bonkers thanks to it’s Cannon power-ups giving you re-spins and brilliant feature.
Trust us: if you want to rekindle your love of classic 3 reel slot machines, try this unusual 5 payline game by our top provider of the year (*cough*spoiler alert).
Honourable mention: We had to have an honourable mention for Route 777 online by Elk Gaming, which has a retro look, free spins, respins and 17 paylines.
You could almost forget this is a classic slot.
Best Jackpot Slots of 2018: All by NetEnt
There weren’t very many good jackpot slots for mobile casinos out in 2018, so the competition wasn’t particularly high.
However, once we started looking at the numbers, it was clear that there was one clear winner, and that would be the jackpot studio NetEntertainment.
Casumo Players Won Almost 6 Million Playing NetEnt Jackpot Slots in 2017Could You Be The Next Slot Millionaire?
Try Your Luck Today»
For one they released the Divine Fortune Android slot, which has a local jackpot tied to the casino. It might not go as high as some others out there, but it hit more often, and players noticed.
With a beautiful theme and a low variance model that keeps you spinning to try for that jackpot mini-game, this hits all the right notes.
Honourable mention: The best jackpot slots award wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t mention Mega Fortune Dreams which paid out €30.4 Million in the last year; the most of any jackpot fruity in total.
Meanwhile, Hall of Gods continues to prove popular, showing up in the most played slots of 2017 time and time again.
Most Popular Slot of 2018: Starburst
Every year we eagerly browse through the top played games list provided to us by our casino friends, and every year we hope something new pops to the top.
However, proving that some games will last a lifetime, the Starburst game continues to dominate; from the United Kingdom, to Japan and New Zealand.
Maybe it is its easy-going nature, the fact you get lots of re-spins and expanded wilds, or all those bright colours that dazzle on a win; or, maybe, all of the above.
Either way, it’s clear to see that this Starburst casino game is here to stay.
Some very honourable mentions:
We mentioned Viking Runecraft already as our top volatile slot, and it kept popping on the top of the most played slots list.
But, not as often as it’s sister slot the Book of Dead mobile game, which came out in 2016, and is easily one of the best Play’n GO games.
The biggest surprise of the pack, in our opinion, is the Aloha Cluster Pays slot, which we quite like, but wouldn’t pick out of a line up. Just goes to show, you can’t be right 100% of the time.
The most innovative game: Castle Builders 2
This was a hard one to pick as if you guys are any judges on the matter; you prefer your video slot machines traditional: with 5 reels, free spins, and maybe some wilds.
Get 11 Free Spins + up to €$200 BonusTry Videoslots casino with 11 free spins plus up to €$200 in bonus money and extra on top on your first deposit
Sign Me Up to Videoslots
18+ New customers only. Free Spins are Wager-Free. Wagering and Full T&Cs apply.So we had to go with our gut instinct. And whilst Finn and the Swirly Spin impressed with how the reel symbols landed, that was fun more than innovative.
Instead, the award goes to Castle Builder 2 by Rabcat gaming, which truly tries to breach the gap between social gaming and real money slots, and (in our opinion) succeeds.
You get 3 playable avatars with different skills, 15 kingdoms, 75 castles and 4 game difficulties, all providing you the chance to spin on traditional reels and win real cash.
It’s one of a kind, and certainly meant to be played over multiple sessions, but it’s worth your while in the long run.
Honourable mention:Yggdrasil Gaming has to have an honourable mention for their Jungle Books and the Orient Express games, both of which give you the opportunity to change the kind of slot you play, by providing multiple bonus features.
People’s Choice Award of 2018: Bonanza Megaways
Pop quizz: what has 6 reels, 117,649 Ways to Win and a max win of 10,000 times your total bet?
It’s the one, the only, Bonanza Megaways mobile slot by Big Time Gaming.
As voted by Casinomeister forum members, and as reflected by our most played casino games of the year, there really was only one possible winner for this People Choice Award.
The graphics are not the most interesting, so if you read our Bonanza slot review and wonder why it won, let us refer you back to the first sentence above.
Definitely one for those of you who have been around the casino block for a while and are looking for some new, but with lots of opportunity for wins.
Because what other mobile slots online will actually give you unlimited free spins with unlimited multipliers? None, only Bonanza.
Best Casino Slot Software of 2018: Play’n GO
If you’ve been reading this word for word, you may have caught our clue higher up as to whom would win this prestigious award.
Other Top Play'n GO Games To Play in 2018- Gemix
- Moon Princess
- Royal Masquerade
- Fire Joker
- Leprechauns Goes To Hell
Play All at Vera&John »
The best Casino Slot Software award goes to the game studio that consistently served us some fantastic Android and iOS games over the last year.
The fact that they’ve managed to get mentions in almost all the slot categories, from the best volatile slot with Viking Runecraft to the best classic 3 reeler, helped.
But it’s more than that; we looked back at the new slot release list and Play’n GO slot games kept getting 4-star slot reviews and above time and time again.
They don’t have a perfect streak, but the worst that we can say is that games like Prissy Princess are just ‘ok’. Most are damn brilliant, and they are never afraid to try something new.
From their now famous grid slots to high win games like Fu Er Dai and Mermaids Diamonds, to jazzing up 3 reels with Big Win Cat and Sweet27, this is the provider we recommend you play in 2018.
Best Rising Star Game Studio: Pragmatic Play
This award is for the game studio that has caught our eye, even if they haven’t managed to quite compete with the big names in gambling.
In a world busy full of new software providers bringing new games, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd, but we like to keep an eye out for any ones we think will break free and shine.
For us, that has to be Pragmatic Play, which with over 80+ mobile casino games already in the bag, aren’t so much “newcomers” as only just managing to make a name for themselves.
This is down to the fact that mainstream online casinos are starting to take notice and putting their games front and centre.
If you are wondering where to start to see the glimmers of brilliance from this game studio we’d recommend 7 Monkeys and the Gold Rush phone slots.
Trust us, you’ll be hearing a lot more of Pragmatic Play in 2018.
Best mobile casino in 2018?
This particular category isn’t really an award and is incredibly bias.
We haven’t played at every online casino out there; we famously keep our list of casino reviews small, sticking to the ones we know, trust, and have tested.
We wouldn’t want to recommend anywhere we haven’t had a good experience ourselves.
The fact that Vera & John were kind enough to be very open with us about which of their games players loved best, gives them the win.
That, and the fact that they have fast cashouts, one of the widest selection of games out there, slot tournaments every day, and guaranteed big winners each day (it’s a thing), keeps them on our list.
But you don’t have to believe us: you can try them by signing up for free and playing on Thunderkick Zoom slot for 20 rounds, without having to make a single deposit.
You’ll soon see why it might just end up being one of your favourite mobile gambling sites of 2018.
Start Playing at Vera & John »Get 200% up to €$100 First Deposit Bonus T&Cs ApplyTwitterFacebookRelated Casino News
Read MoreCasumo Casino Adds New Favourite Features To Their...
Read MoreBe The First To Play The WWTBAM Mystery...
Read MoreRed Tiger Games Now Belong To NetEnt –...
Find The Best Slots For You
Use our Advanced Search to filter through Slots by up to 13 different criteria! Read the reviews and find the perfect slot sites to play.
Find Slots To Play For Real@LuckysSlotsBLOG