Report shows Boulder Strip best for slot players

In late January, the Nevada Gaming Control Board released its statewide gaming win statistics for last year, which reported a 2.8% increase for the state’s nonrestricted locations, from $11.26 billion in 2016 to $11.57 billion in 2017. “Nonrestricted” properties are defined as any venue that has more than 15 slot machines. So while the report counts the big casinos, it doesn’t figure in the state’s more than 2,000 bars & restaurants, convenience stores and supermarkets that have some slots. The Las Vegas Review-Journal made note of some interesting takeaways from the Gaming Control Board’s year-end gaming win report. Keep in mind that “gaming win” refers to the casino’s take, not the player’s. Statewide, casinos on the Strip had the highest slot win percentage at 8.04%, which means that in 2017, casinos paid players 91.96% of what went in. The Boulder Strip in Southern Nevada, meanwhile, had the lowest win at 5.53%; the best for players. The Nevada Gaming Commission defines the Boulder Strip to include the Boulder Hwy., as well as all of the casinos in the city of Henderson. Downtown Las Vegas had the biggest change in slot win percentage since 2016, where it was up 0.28 points to 7.34% from 7.06%. In Southern Nevada, Laughlin had the highest table game win percentage at 19.41%, while North Las Vegas had the biggest increase in win percentage at 14.97%, up 2.19 points from 12.78%. By slot denomination, penny slots were the biggest revenue generator, for the most part, because the market is full of them. On 54,754 machines, the state’s Gaming Control Board reported win of $3.17 billion. The state’s 70,568 multi-denomination machines won $3.13 billion. At 12.07%, Megabucks machines had the best win percentage on slots. The $25 slots were the best for players, with a win percentage of 4.97%. There are still more blackjack tables on casino floors, with 2,582 statewide than any other table game. Roulette was a distant second at 457 wheels. Blackjack managed $1.21 billion in win, an increase of 5.4% from 2016, with casinos at a 14.8% win percentage. The state’s 382 Baccarat games, which had a 12.7% win percentage, produced $1.15 billion, a 5.6% decline from 2016. It might be worth a trip to the Boulder Strip for slot lovers.