It’s Las Vegas. You’re here to gamble, but are you here to win? You may want to take a hard look in the mirror if you answered yes to that question. You’re more likely than ever to come out on the losing end of your favorite game, especially if you’re playing on the Strip.
“The reason casinos win is they have a mathematical advantage over players no matter what the game is,” Scott Roeben of Vital Vegas said during a recent episode of City Cast Las Vegas. “You almost never find a game that pays more than it takes in.”
The problem is — the odds are only getting worse for gamblers as subtle but significant shifts emerge on casino floors.
Here’s why …
💸 Triple Zero Roulette
The odds in a game of single-zero roulette are bad enough. But add one or two more zeros, and it favors the house even more. “For an uninitiated player, it seems like there are more spaces on the board, more ways to win,” Roeben says. “But actually, every zero gives the house another two-percent advantage over an infinite number of spins.”
🃏 6:5 Blackjack
3:2 blackjack pays $3 for every $2 you bet and 6:5 blackjack pays $6 for every $5 you bet. It may not seem like much of a difference, but the latter further puts the odds in the casino’s favor, especially if more than one deck is used.
🎰 Penny Slots
Don’t call it a comeback. Strip casinos have been removing video poker machines and replacing them with penny slots — which, unlike the old-school version, are more likely to cost 75 cents than a penny these days. They also have a lower return-to-player percentage than higher denominations. “They’re the worst for players,” says Roeben.
🤑 Side Bets
Some gamblers believe side bets add an extra dose of entertainment to blackjack, but they only make your odds worse. Side bets — like predicting “perfect pairs” (or two of a kind) — greatly favor the house.
- What are some of the other ways the Strip is putting the squeeze on customers, which part of Las Vegas is more advantageous for gamblers, and what will it take for things to turn around? Scott Roeben answers these questions and more during his interview with City Cast Las Vegas co-host Dayvid Figler.
