Golden Nugget is a classic downtown Las Vegas casino. It is a member of the Fremont Street Experience. Golden Nugget tries to balance its higher end amenities with a value crowd. Its restaurants are well above average. I am a huge fan of its Rush Tower rooms. However, its gambling has seen better days.
Let’s start with the good news
Golden Nugget is home to many $5 table games. This includes a large selection of poker pit games like Crazy 4 Poker, High Card Flush, Let it Ride, Mississippi Stud, Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em. We have seen all of these games with a $5 minimum bet, even during busier hours. You should also be able to find $5 triple zero roulette.
The only poker room in downtown Las Vegas is at Golden Nugget. It specializes in 1/2 no limit hold’em and 3/6 fixed limit hold’em. The no limit game is uncapped, meaning there is no maximum buy-in. This can bring serious action into the games. There are 13 tables at the Golden Nugget poker room.
The Golden Nugget sportsbook is one of the last few independent ones in Las Vegas. It has some offerings that help it compete in a crowded market.
There are several great dining options at Golden Nugget. That makes sense as its parent company is more of a restaurant operator anyway. Vic & Anthony’s is one of the best steakhouses in town. Grotto has reasonably priced Italian food that is good quality. Other choices include CJ, The Grille, Chick-fil-A and Cadillac Mexican Kitchen.
The bad news
The worst blackjack game in Las Vegas is dealt at Golden Nugget. I have covered over 200 casinos and never seen anything like its Lucky Cat 6:5 blackjack game with a forced Bonus Spin side bet. I computed the house edge of this game at 6.67% when making the minimum $6 bet.
As if that was not bad enough, the second worst blackjack game is also dealt in Las Vegas. That is a standard 6:5 blackjack game with the same Bonus Spin side bet. At the $11 minimum bet that includes the side bet, I computed the house edge to be 3.9%.
The only 3:2 blackjack tables that I have found recently at Golden Nugget are in the high limit room. These tables start at $50. Players may choose between double deck with double down before and after splitting and a six-deck game that adds surrender and re-split aces up to four hands. Both games hit soft 17.
It is not just the blackjack that is below the market. The video poker at Golden Nugget has always been far below average for downtown Las Vegas. Its best game has an expected return of 98.45%, according to VPFree2. That game is on a multi-hand machine in $1 and higher denominations. Your best bet is probably the $1 7/5 Bonus Poker progressive.
Craps odds are 3-4-5 times. That ties Circa for the second lowest in downtown Las Vegas. Half of downtown casinos permit at least 10 times odds. Main Street Station offers 20 times odds.
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