Station Casinos owns Wildfire Gaming. There are eight Wildfire properties in the Las Vegas area, as well as Barley’s and The Greens. The company operates five full-service casinos. That becomes six later this year when Durango Station opens.
Significant differences exist between Wildfire locations and Boulder Station, Green Valley Ranch, Palace Station, Red Rock Resort, and Sunset Station.
No table games at Wildfire
Wildfires and related casinos have unrestricted gaming licenses, just like typical Las Vegas casinos have. However, there are no Wildfire casinos with table games. That was not always the case. Wild Wild West on Tropicana Avenue had live tables until 2019. That casino closed earlier this year.
Major Station Casinos properties have multiple pits. Games like baccarat, blackjack, craps, pai gow poker, Three Card Poker, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em are dealt.
More dining options at full-service Station Casinos
Wildfires tend to have one or two restaurants, a bar, and generally no other amenities. The Wildfire on Sunset has a bowling alley.
Stations Casinos have many dining options. These major gaming properties tend to have other amenities like bowling alleys and movie theaters. All have hotels and pools.
A lower percentage of video poker machines at Wildfire
Wildfires have slots, video poker, an electronic table game or two, and an STN Sports counter. The ETGs are usually video roulette and a form of bubble craps. You may also find blackjack and roulette on Game Kings at Wildfire properties.
Major Station Casinos properties have full pits of table games. These full-service casinos typically have multiple electronic table game setups, including stadium gaming. Each has a high-limit slot room. Most have a high-limit table game salon. Each Station Casinos sportsbook has a large seating area and many televisions.
Better video poker pay tables at the larger casinos
Wildfire Casinos tend to have a higher percentage of slot machines compared to video poker than the full-service Station Casinos. The few video poker machines Wildfires have offer worse pay tables than the unrestricted Station casinos. You may find a game around 99% at the $1 or higher denomination on the Wildfire casino floor but not at the bars. The options may be 15/9 Deuces Wild, 9/6 Double Double Bonus, or 8/5 Bonus Poker. Bar video poker is almost entirely 97% games or worse except at the $5 denomination.
The five large Station Casinos properties offer much better video poker than Wildfire properties. Each has at least one bank of 100% video poker machines that include games like 10/7 Double Bonus and 10/6 Double Double Bonus. All five also have “Up to 99.8%” machines with a full library of games in the 99% and better range. The worst game on the up to 99.8% machines is typically the best one at Wildfire. At the five major properties, the denominations are $0.25, $0.50, and $1, while only one or two of these games are available at $1 and higher at Wildfire casinos.
Same players card, separate mailers
Wildfire and Station Casinos both use the Boarding Pass players card. Points earned at one may be used at the other. Tier points are combined from both to determine status. However, there is one major difference between Wildfire and the major Station Casinos properties. There are separate free play mailers. This allows players to get two offers from the same casino company.
Happy hour at Wildfire Casinos bars
While some restaurants at Station Casinos offer happy hour, Wildfire bars have it. All drinks are 50% off from 4pm to 7pm and 11pm to 2am daily. There are also $5 food specials at all Wildfires, except on Fremont. The options are:
- Cheese or pepperoni pizza
- Chicken tenders and fries
- Loaded tater kegs
- Mozzarella sticks
- Onion rings
The Wildfires at Anthem and Valley View only have food specials for the afternoon happy hour. These deals are cheaper than the happy hours available at major Station Casinos restaurants, which tend to be on the higher end of dining.
