Venetian Slot Tournament Payout
You have a lot to look forward to in Las Vegas—bright lights, constant partying, and endless opportunities. You also face an ocean of slot machines in every casino on the Strip and anywhere else in the city.
In fact, you’ll find over 200,000 slot machines in Las Vegas alone. And not all of these slot games are the same. Some casinos offer better rewards through their players’ programs, for example. Others have looser slots (games with a higher RTP).
Here’s my list of the seven best casinos for slots in Las Vegas.
Conditions Venetian Slot Tournament In August 2020apply. New players only. 35x wagering applies to Bonus Cash and Bonus Spins. Deposit of £20+ unlocks a 100% Match Bonus up to £100 in Bonus Cash, subsequent wager of £20+ on slots unlocks 100 Bonus. The Palazzo at The Venetian: SLOT TOURNAMENT - See 18,610 traveller reviews, 9,230 candid photos, and great deals for The Palazzo at The Venetian at Tripadvisor. If you are a slot tournament fan then Las Vegas is the place to be. In this section we list the casinos in Las Vegas. If you are looking for tournament schedules then see our Las Vegas Tournaments section where we list all of the upcoming tournaments at the casinos listed below. They also frequently host slot machine tournaments. A lot of people think of the Bellagio as the best place on the Las Vegas Strip to play poker, and they are right about this, of course. But Bellagio is also one of the best spots on the Vegas Strip to find slot machine tournaments and a wide variety of slots games to choose from.
Although slot tournaments are super easy, there still is a slot tournament strategy here, and there you can learn. Naturally, no slot tournament strategy will ever guarantee a win, so stop browsing those Ferraris right this second and focus on the stuff you can acquire to improve the overall winning chances and make your gameplay more successful.
1 – Aria
Aria Resort & Casino is one of the most luxurious properties on the Las Vegas Strip, and it also has one of the biggest slot machine areas anywhere in the city.
On top of that, they have the biggest and best high roller slot machine parlor in the entire state. It even has its own name, Spin.
It’s an architectural marvel, too. Famed New York architect Peter Marino designed Spin, which has more amenities than some casinos. This includes a staff of butlers to cater to your needs while you play. The cashier’s cage is separate from the gaming, and the bathrooms are all private.
Have you ever seen a full-service dining room inside the slot machine area? And Aria doesn’t just cater to high rollers. The casino has over 2,000 slot machine games available, including popular titles like Wheel of Fortune and The Walking Dead. They also frequently host slot machine tournaments.
2 – Bellagio
A lot of people think of the Bellagio as the best place on the Las Vegas Strip to play poker, and they are right about this, of course.
But Bellagio is also one of the best spots on the Vegas Strip to find slot machine tournaments and a wide variety of slots games to choose from. Including video poker games and slot machines, Bellagio has over 2,300 different gambling machines to choose from.
And they’re available in multiple denominations, catering to both low rollers and high rollers alike.
Many of Bellagio’s slot machines feature progressive jackpots where you can win $1 million or more on a single spin of the reels. No one offers better live entertainment or dining either.
Also, since Aria and the Bellagio are both owned by MGM, membership at the slots club there means that you automatically have a membership in M life Rewards loyalty program, which is the players club at the following casinos:
- Aria
- Bellagio
- Delano Las Vegas
- Excalibur
- Luxor
- Mandalay Bay
- MGM Grand
- The Mirage
- Park MGM
- New York-New York
- Vdara
3 – The Venetian
The Venetian is famous for a lot of things, and one of those things is the varied selection of gambling machines available there. The casino has two floors worth of machines to choose from, and they have a great loyalty program.
The Venetian also makes it a point of keeping the latest games on the floor, and they’ve done an excellent job of making sure they have newer games than some of their competitors. If you’re looking for games like the new Ghost Busters slots or the Game of Thrones slots, this is the place.
Like Aria, the Venetian caters to high rollers.
If you’re a customer here, you can even request your own brands of machine, and the casino will do its best to accommodate.
They offer butler service and a lounge where you can relax when you’re taking a break from the slots games.
If you’re a Gold or Platinum member of the Grazie loyalty program here, you get free transportation to and from McCarran Airport.
4 – The Golden Nugget
So far, this list has focused on slot machine games that cater to high rollers on the Strip. But not all the best slot machines are found on the famed Las Vegas Boulevard.
In fact, the payback percentages for machines in other parts of the city are usually superior to the glitzier properties on the Strip. And what better “other part of the city” is there than downtown?
The gaming floor at the Golden Nugget is huge, with over 1,000 gambling machines to choose from. They have some of the most varied games in the city, too. They carry the famous games like Wheel of Fortune, but they also have a bigger variety of “Buffalo” slots than almost any other casino.
They feature multiple progressive jackpot slots casinos, too. I’m one of those slot machine players who loves a good steak, so the presence of Vic and Anthony’s is a great reason to play here, too. It’s one of the 10 best steakhouses in the entire country.
5 – Sam’s Town
One thing you should be aware of about Las Vegas slots is that the payback percentage is lower on the Strip than elsewhere. The best places to play are older casinos that are a little off the beaten path.
Sam’s Town fits the bill nicely. What it lacks in luxury, Sam’s Town makes up for with high payout slot machine games.
One thing that Sam’s Town offers that isn’t available at other Las Vegas casinos is an online listing of the slot machine games they have available. You can search their database by denomination, type of game, or keyword in the game title.
Be warned, though, Sam’s Town is not your traditional Vegas experience. It’s older and a bit cheesier. It’s probably a more appropriate casino to stay at if you’re older or maybe if you have young children.
As far as the better payback percentages go, that’s worth a visit.
The payback percentage for a casino is the AVERAGE of the slots on the floor. You might play a game with a 75% payback percentage, while your mom might be playing on an identical machine next to it with a 95% payback percentage.
And since the house has the edge, if you play either game long enough, you’ll eventually lose all your money.
6 – Excalibur
If you’re more interested in payback percentage than glitz and glamour, you should look at some of the older properties on the Strip. Circus Circus and Excalibur both count, but Excalibur’s more recent renovations make it somewhat more palatable to the modern gambler.
Excalibur is old enough and low rent enough that they can afford to offer some of the best payback percentages on the Strip. And if you’re not a high roller, you should consider trying the slots here.
They have plenty of penny slots, and even their most expensive game tops out at $100 per spin—a far cry from the $5000 max at some of the other casinos in this group on the Strip.
That’s right. Excalibur is also owned by MGM, so you get to participate in the same huge slot club as most of the other casinos on this list.
7 – Downtown Vegas in General
Rather than close out this list with another casino recommendation, I want to recommend the Downtown Vegas area over the Strip for its selection of unusual slot machine games in various areas.
For example, the biggest slot machine in the world is the SlotZilla zip line. And when I say “big,” I’m being literal. It’s 128 feet tall. You zip down Fremont Street Experience on one of two lines, and the game has a huge video screen with reels and an animated arm to pull.
You can also view antique slot machines at the Main Street. They’re beautiful and well worth seeing. You’ll find them near the registration desk.
Venetian Slot Tournament
Many of the Downtown Las Vegas casinos offer huge, oversized slot machines. One place to find them is on the second level of The D. You’ll have to take the escalator to see this one. Also, you get to play for real coins here, which is a nice change of pace for old-timers who remember being able to cash out with a huge bucket full of coins.
You’ll also find a huge slot machine in The Golden Nugget.
Conclusion
Those are my picks for the seven best casinos for slots in Las Vegas. Do you disagree with my choices?
Table Of Contents
The Venetian Poker Room has been home to popular DeepStacks Series offering big guarantees that draw players from near and far.
Now, the Venetian is set to host a new series intended for a different crowd of poker players, and the regulars are up in arms over the capped prize pool found in the fine print.
In the Venetian's upcoming $225,000 Lucky Shot Poker Series & Drawing, scheduled for Oct. 21-27, there are seven poker events slated, highlighted by a $250 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament with six flights and $150,000 guaranteed. The series concludes with a drawing wherein $52,000 will be doled out to participants who earn one entry for each $250 they contribute in tournament buy-ins during the series.
Capped Prize Pool, Uncapped Rake
The fine print of the structure sheets for the series reveals a major difference that has poker players enraged on Twitter, and it involves an unprecedented rake and prize pool system.
“100% of all funds collected will go to meet the $150,000 Total Prize Pool. Any funds collected above and beyond the total prize pool will be the sole property of The Venetian Poker Room.”
“The $225,000 Lucky Shot Poker Series and Drawing is a new poker series catering to a player who likes promotions and drawings.'
The stipulation appears to indicate that the posted guarantee is not to be exceeded. That is, whether they get 600 or 900 total entries, the prize pool remains the same. At 600 entries, there would be a $150,000 rake-free prize pool.
As poker player and vlogger Jeff 'Boski' Sluzinski pointed out on Twitter, 750 entries would equate to Venetian’s typical $200+$50 rake while the rake percentage would go up from there. At 900 entries, the rake from each entry would equate to 33% and if they got up to 1,200 entries, half of the buy-ins would be going to the house.
'Catering to a Player Who Likes Promotions'
The new series appears to be modeled off of promotional slot and table game tournaments, where there is a set prize pool put up by the house. PokerNews reached out to the Venetian Poker Room for comment and received the following from a Venetian spokesperson:
“The $225,000 Lucky Shot Poker Series and Drawing is a new poker series catering to a player who likes promotions and drawings. It is designed to have a lower buy in, but still guarantees $225,000 in total prizes that includes a drawing, providing two ways to win.”
The drawing portion moreover reduces the skill needed to be a winner in the event, thus clearly catering to the more amateur and recreational player. For these players, the idea of being entered into a drawing for $52,000 in cash may be a more than fair consolation for any additional rake collected. Venetian's PR spokesperson compared the series to table and slot tournaments, which are generally run as freerolls.
“100% of all funds collected will go to meet the $150,000 Total Prize Pool. Any funds collected above and beyond the total prize pool will be the sole property of The Venetian Poker Room.”
“The tournament [series] is designed so that the Venetian funds $225,000 in total prizes, regardless of how many players join. This is similar to how other table and slot tournaments are conducted.”
The big difference between say blackjack or slot tournaments and the Lucky Shot poker tournament is the former are generally invite-only freerolls with set prizes for top finishers, a kind of “rakeback,” if you will, that doubles as a method to get high-value customers in the door.
In the poker tournament, however, players still put up the traditional buy-in to participate, knowing that the prize pool will not be more than $150,000 no matter how many entries are collected.
The worry among poker players, even those planning not to participate, is that most will register without knowing what percentage of their buy-in will go to the prize pool and what percent will be going to the house.
Venetian Slot Tournament Payout Prizes
For Venetian's target customer, this may be of little concern.
Venetian Slot Tournament Payout Leaderboard
Players Respond
In the TwoPlusTwo forum regarding the event, players joined in on rebuking such an event structure, with some players calling for a boycott or some way to assure no rake is paid.
Top poker content creator Doug Polk has been among those leading the charge, calling out Venetian in a recent video and spreading the hashtag 'BoycottTheVenetian' on Twitter.
Venetian Slot Tournament Payouts
Will it have any effect? Considering that the event is not being marketed to the professionals and serious recreational who typically frequent poker forums, it's an open question.
Additionally, there was some confusion in the thread due to the posting that Venetian was applying the new 'uncapped rake structure' to their DeepStack Series, which is not the case, according to Venetian officials.
“This new format is in addition to our other successful poker tournaments which are geared to a more seasoned player, like our DeepStack Poker Series.”
Sluzinski's Twitter post similarly yielded plenty of criticism launched toward the Venetian. Run It Once Poker founder Phil Galfond joked, 'I suggest @VenetianPoker market this innovative tournament format as a 'Super Guarantee.'
Venetian Slot Tournament Payout Bracket
Venetian, for its part, assures players that the format is not intended to be reproduced in their more traditional established series.
“This new format is in addition to our other successful poker tournaments which are geared to a more seasoned player, like our DeepStack Poker Series,” a Venetian spokesperson told PokerNews.
Just how the experiment will play out is to be seen. As Polk pointed out, the market will speak. Be sure to check back here at PokerNews for more on how the Lucky Shot goes, and how the poker community responds.
Tags
The VenetianJeff BoskiPhil GalfondRelated Players
Phil Galfond