Most of the casinos have their specialties.* El Cortez has the lowest rake in poker in all of Las Vegas. Good place to cut your teeth.* El Cortez has the best edge in blackjack. There are fully 6 tables with single deck full pay blackjack. Virtually the only casino in Las Vegas with such good odds.* Main Street has the best craps rules in the city. They permit up to 20x odds on a baseline bet. There are only two casinos that permit 100x odds. (Eastside Cannery and Casino Royale on the strip). However, this is only a single table, and very few people can afford to risk that amount of money on a single roll of the dice.------------------------------------A quick explanation of free odds is that they are a bet with no house edge. But a casino must have a house edge somehow. So they require to place an initial bet with a small house edge. The second bet (the free odds) is constrained to be some maximum multiple of the first bet. ------------------------------------Ideally you want to have the smallest dollar amount for the first bet , and the largest permitted multiple for the free odds bet. Although a minimum bet of $3 happens during the day on occassion, usually it is $5 in the downtown casino. Since Main Street Casino permits 20X odds, you can bet up to $100 on the free odds bet (20X$5). The statistics say that if you make 495 pass line bets (which will probably take all weekend) you will lose 251 times and win 244 times (for a total loss of (251-244) * $5 or $35) . The free odds bets of up to $100 each time have no expectation of winning or losing. --------------The odds of the dice roll are expressed as lose/win/tie.If the odds are 6 /5 /25, the bet pays $120 for $100 or $6 for $5 bet. If the odds are 6/ 4 /26, the bet pays $150 for $100,or $6 for $4 be.. If the odds are 6/ 3 /27, the bet pays $200 for $100, or $6 for $3 bet..In other words the payout is exactly the same odds as the odds of you winning (there is no house edge).--------------Now you aren t required to take the maximum amount of free odds , but it s nice to play in a casino that permit large multiples. In contrast if you play craps on the strip they will require you to play $10 or $15 or $20 for the initial bet, and then only permit smaller multiples on the free odds . It is common to let you play 3X, 4X, or 5X depending on which number is rolled. That way you always are paid 6X your initial wager.======================Many people are horrified at the idea of playing $105 on each roll of a dice, but they are very happy to feed $1000 into the slot machines over the course of the weekend and often lose it $1 at a time. Dice players would rather make large bets knowing that the expected house edge is very low. Whether you win or lose is simply luck (or what is known as variance in statistical terminology).====================If you are horrified at making the large bets then go to Four Queens and play 6/9 video poker. It is called Jacks or Better and there is a small sign on the machine that says 6/9 video poker . There are only half a dozen machines. This game is easier to explain. -------------Video poker games pay at a different rate for a (1) a straight, (2) a flush, or (3) a full house. A 6/9 machine pays $6 to $1 for a flush, and $9 to $1 for a full house. Many other machines pay less, where the most common payout is $5 to $1 for a flush, and $8 to $1 for a full house. A 6/9 machine will return (on statistical average) over $99 for every $100 played. The nice thing is you get these odds without having to remember blackjack strategy or without playing a lot of money on each pull, Most casinos have pulled these video poker machines in favor of games with a higher house edge. But four queens casino still has a few for devotees.====================Finally for the devotee of the past, there are a handful of machines downtown that still let you play with real quarters, and plastic buckets.====================In general the bigger the jackpot, and the lower the minimum the larger the house edge. Megabuck slots are the most profitable machines in the house for casinos, but people are attracted to the possibility of winning life-changing money for a few dollar bet (much like state lotteries). Remember if you buy a lottery ticket on Tuesday, the odds are higher that you will be dead by Saturday than that you will win. However, hope springs eternal.
If you play blackjack, you want to try to find single deck blackjack games. Single deck is better than double deck. Double deck is better than multiple deck shoes.If you play craps, you want to find the highest odds offered. (After you make your point, you can increase your bet up to 100 times... depending on the rules of the casino. They advertise this as 100x odds or 50x odds etc.)So the answer depends on what games you prefer. If you like video poker and slots you need to find machines that pay back as close to 100% as possible. Fitzgeralds usually has a row or more of slot machines advertised as 103% payout or something like that.The low roller places like El Cortez and Gold Spike are usually the ones with the best odds for players. Avoid Golden Nugget! It s the nicest property downtown but the worst for gambling.
Downtown was once the locals hangout but now there are casinos closer to neighborhoods so most of us avoid Downtown. The odds are the same regardless what casino you enjoy, Downtown, Strip or Local.
I have found the best casinos to gamble at are The Four Queens, Fitzgerald s, and El Cortez.
I like the Four Queens, then Binions.