Main Street Station reopened on September 8, 2021. It closed in March 2020 due to the pandemic shutdown and remained that way. Main Street Station was the only downtown Las Vegas casino that did not reopen in June 2020.
There were several notable changes at reopening. The largest is that more than half the table game pit was removed. Only eight tables are left. All roulette is now digital. Craps remained 20 times odds. There are still three 3:2 double deck blackjack tables.
All the coin games were removed. This took some unique and quality games off the floor. Fremont also had coin games before the pandemic and reopened without them. California is the last Boyd Gaming property in Las Vegas, or perhaps anywhere, that still has coin games. The property is down to about 30 of these machines.
The scratch cards for a natural four of a kind were converted to digital ones. This game is played on the screen of the players club. Many of the better pay tables were excluded. It always felt a little too generous to me but it was great for players.
Video poker drastically changed a week after reopening
Video poker players were mostly relieved to see the changes at Main Street Station were not so bad when it reopened. Full pay jacks or better was available at the bar and included in the scratch cards. The 10/7 Double Bonus games were still on the floor with other good pay tables. That relief did not last long.
As the week played out, there were reports of major video poker changes. The 9/6 Jacks or Better left the bar top machines. The 9/7 Double Bonus was also removed. The 10/7 Double Bonus Poker bank went missing, as well as numerous other good machines that included many of the Not-so-ugly-deuces games available at Main Street Station.
You can see the full list of Main Street Station video poker downgrades at VPFree2. (Note to Fremont Street Experience: This is what is called proper attribution.)
Where can you still find good video poker in downtown Las Vegas?
California still has some coin video poker games. It is connected to Main Street Station. It also has 10/7 Double Bonus and full pay Jacks or Better.
Another option is Plaza. It is a block down Main Street. It deals full pay Joker Poker and Double Bonus Poker. Both of these games return over 100%. Other quality games include Triple Bonus Plus, 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe and 9/6 Jacks or Better. The last two are on some bar tops.
Four Queens is our other top choice for downtown Las Vegas video poker. You can play 10/7 Double Bonus on the floor and 10/6 Double Double Bonus at the bar. That game is the best bar video poker in Las Vegas, and maybe the world.
You could also just stay at Main Street Station and play double deck blackjack or craps. The double deck games start at $10 and pay 3:2 but do not allow double down after splitting. Craps is $10 with 20 times odds. At last check, the Main Street Station table games were only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
