Downtown Grand Upgrades All Video Poker to Full Pay

Downtown Grand CasinoDowntown Grand Casino

Update: Downtown Grand no longer offers 100% video poker. 

The big story among serious video poker players this month is the upgrade at Downtown Grand. All video poker pay tables are now full pay at the casino located one block off Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

The available full pay titles are Double Bonus (100.17%), Double Double Bonus (100.06%), Bonus Poker Deluxe (99.64%), Triple Double Bonus (99.58%) and Bonus Poker (99.17%).

Update: 7/24/19: Deuces Wild was originally the full pay (100.76%) but was downgraded to the 99.96% version.

The returns listed assume five coins wagered with perfect play. The denominations are quarter, half dollar and dollar for all games.

There have been several changes since the games were rolled out earlier in July. Points were removed from all video poker machines. Points are still available for slots and video keno players.

Another change is the loss of the $2 denomination for full pay Deuces Wild. I expected this to happen quicker than it did.

There are about 50 machines at Downtown Grand with these games. Some are multi-hand. I did not find any that did not have these pay tables. During my visit on the afternoon of July 19, only about half the machines were occupied. Many seats were available at the bar.

If you are interested in this unique opportunity, I would not wait. There is no guarantee that it will continue.

What is Downtown Grand thinking?

There has been some speculation about what Downtown Grand was thinking when it opened these games to players. My best guess is that the company wanted to be known for something and get discussed in gambling circles. It has not tried much thinking outside-the-box since it opened. It’s hard to find many risks it has taken. The shoe blackjack is the best downtown outside Golden Nugget’s high limit games. Other than that, I cannot come up with anything.

The Downtown Grand video poker was not competitive with its nearby competitors until now. With this change, it offers the highest limits for full pay games in the entire Las Vegas market.

Full pay Deuces Wild was previously only available up to a quarter since Skyline Casino downgraded the pay tables earlier this year. It had spread 10-coin quarters up to that point. Station Casinos offers full pay $1 Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus games. Plaza and Main Street Station offer 10/7 Double Bonus up to $1.

I like the aggressive marketing attempt. I hope it works out and the pros do not obliterate it before it catches on to the masses.

author avatar
John Mehaffey
John, a founding member of Advantage Media LLC, got his start in gaming as a prop player at online poker sites. He played online poker from 2001 to 2005. In 2004, he created a site that served as a directory for an online poker promotional method known as rakeback. He sold that site in 2006 and moved his family from Atlanta to Rapid City, SD to work for a similar company. They later moved to Las Vegas in 2010. John’s favorite game is full-pay video poker. His favorite table game is Ultimate Texas Hold’em, though he would rather play it in video form. Currently, John is best known for compiling blackjack and table game data including all Las Vegas and Clark County casinos.