It is time for the second annual Vegas DisAdvantage Awards. This is our list of the worst casinos and casino games in Las Vegas. While gambling conditions have deteriorated during the last few years, the casinos mentioned here are especially terrible at what they do.
We also posted our inaugural Best Advantage Awards. These highlight the best casinos and games in Las Vegas. Images within this article may be used with proper attribution.
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Read them all or jump to a Vegas DisAdvantage Award:
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Overall Value
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Video Poker
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Blackjack
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Roulette
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Craps Odds
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Table Game
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Electronic Table Game
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Video Roulette
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Poker Room
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Overall Vibe
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Players Club
- Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Least Improved Casino
Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Overall Value – Bighorn
Once again, Bighorn Casino earns the award for the worst overall casino in Las Vegas. Located on East Lake Mead in North Las Vegas, the video poker is so bad there that it does not get a VPFree2 listing. The best game we found is comparable to a Las Vegas Strip bar.
Bighorn once had one of the best blackjack games in Las Vegas. It allowed players to double down on two or three cards before and after splitting. It also had surrender and re-split aces one time. If Bighorn still had that $5 blackjack game, it could have avoided winning the Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Overall Value.
The overall environment is poor at Bighorn. The aura is negative. The parking lot is too narrow. It is just a grind joint with bad odds. A Dotty’s is better, in our opinion.
DisAdvantage for Value on the Strip – Circus Circus
For 2024, Circus Circus dethroned Linq and O’Sheas as the worst Las Vegas Strip casino. Circus Circus removed all but two video poker machines from its floor. All bar games are unplayable. Triple zero is the only form of live roulette. All blackjack pays 6/5 and starts at $15. During several of our visits, kids loitered around casino games. While Circus Circus has its place is Las Vegas, it is not a good place to gamble.
DisAdvantage for Value Downtown – Main Street Station
While all downtown Las Vegas casinos have some redeeming qualities, Main Street Station continues to hold the spot as the worst downtown casino.
Before the March 2020 closure, Boar’s Head Bar had 9/6 Jacks or Better from quarter to dollar. There was also 10/7 Double Bonus Poker on the floor. Those games were available when Main Street Station reopened in 2021, but disappeared a week later.
Perhaps the worst thing about Main Street Station these days is its atmosphere. The table game pit is only open three days a week and for only two shifts a day. This causes the casino to feel empty and lacking in energy during the week.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Video Poker
While Linq and O’Sheas no longer have the top spot for the worst Strip casino, it continues to reign supreme in the worst video poker available. The best game we found on the floor is 6/5 Bonus Poker (96.87%). The bar version of this is the one that pays 30 on all quads, lowering the return to almost 96%.
The other video poker games at Linq and O’Sheas are all worse. Just pay for your drinks or go to a different casino for your video poker action.
Worst video poker in the locals market
Ojos Locos wins the Vegas DisAdvantage Award for video poker in the locals market for 2024. Many machines have broken buttons and burned-out screens. Last year, Ojos Locos had some 98% video poker games. These were removed earlier in 2024, leaving the best paybacks under 97%. That is well below average for a locals casino.
Worst video poker downtown
Golden Nugget is still the only downtown casino without a 99% video poker game. So, it once again earns the award for worst video poker downtown. The best game we found on the casino floor is 7/5 Bonus Poker (98%). Playing the $5 denomination and higher games in high limit there only gets you to about 98.5%.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Blackjack
Every year, Vegas Advantage publishes a worst Las Vegas blackjack award. Every year, Golden Nugget takes the top spot. A new terrible game entered the list this year.
It has a $5 6/5 blackjack game with three terrible rules. The first is that it is Lucky Cat, which is about 1.5% worse than a normal blackjack game. Then, they make it pay 6/5, putting the base game at over 3%. The worst rule is that the player must make a $2 Bonus Spin side bet. We estimate the house on that side bet at 22%. By our calculation, 6/5 Lucky Cat Blackjack at Golden Nugget holds 8.95% at the $7 minimum bet.
Golden Nugget has a standard 6/5 blackjack game. Some tables require a $1 Bonus Spin side bet, while others are $2. The house edge is as high as 5.5% at the minimum bet. Face Up Blackjack was introduced in 2024. It also requires a $2 side bet. The house edge at the minimum bet is about 4.6%.
Every blackjack table on Golden Nugget’s casino floor except two requires a side bet. There are also real blackjack games in the back of the pit and in the salon.
Worst blackjack on the Strip
Circus Circus and Slots A Fun are now the only Las Vegas Strip casinos without a 3/2 blackjack game. With the removal of Double Exposure at Circus Circus, only six-deck blackjack tables remain. These tables have a $10 or $15 minimum at Circus Circus and $5 at Slots A Fun.
Last year’s winner, Linq, now deals a double-deck game that pays 3/2. It allows players to double down before but not after splitting. The game starts at $50.
Worst blackjack at a locals casino
Last year’s winner, no longer deals blackjack or any live table games. The Alamo Truck Stop on Blue Diamond Road now only offers slots and video poker machines. It previously won with a 6/5 four-deck game. It only allowed double down on 10 and 11, and not after splitting.
This year, the award for the worst blackjack at a locals casino goes to Westgate. While 3/2 blackjack games are dealt, it takes a $25 minimum bet for the six-deck game and $100 for the double-deck version. That is the highest of any Las Vegas off-strip or locals casino. All other casinos in that market segment deal a 3/2 blackjack game for $15 or less.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Roulette
While all but two Las Vegas Strip casinos have triple zero roulette, Luxor won the worst roulette award for the second consecutive year. This is because it is the only casino that regularly opens multiple triple zero tables before any double zero ones.
Worst roulette in the locals market
This year, Westgate won the Vegas DisAdvantage Award for roulette at a locals casino. Last year, the casino was a runner-up. However, after several visits to the property in 2024, we observed multiple triple zero tables open before the double zero table.
The winner in 2023, Rio also opens its triple zero roulette table before any double zero ones. However, a dual wheel double zero roulette game with a live dealer is also available for a lower minimum.
Worst roulette downtown
For a second year in a row, Four Queens has its triple zero roulette table in the pit that opens first. It is the only downtown casino with triple zero roulette that does that. Binion’s and Golden Nugget are the only other casinos around Fremont Street with the game.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Craps Odds
Of the 65 casinos in Las Vegas that deal craps, only three cap odds at double the line bet. Once again, these casinos are California, Fremont, and South Point.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Table Games
There are some terrible Las Vegas table games, and then there is Big Wheel, or Big 6, or whatever you want to call the spinning wheel of losses. Caesars Palace, Golden Nugget, and Wynn deal this game. All the numbers on the wheel have a double-digit house advantage. The largest payouts hold 24%.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award: Electronic Table Games
The video version of Big Wheel and Big Six is not as terrible as the live one. However, the hold is still about 15%. These games are found mainly as multiplayer games or tied to a stadium. A new big wheel-style ETG called Megamania Superspin was seen at Resorts World.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Video Roulette
There were several video 000 roulette wheels a few years ago. While most casinos gave up their installations, one casino cannot let go. It even installed a new version of the game this year. Located near the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, Caesars Palace has the last 000 roulette ETG in a Las Vegas casino. So, for the second year, it wins the Vegas DisAdvantage Award for video roulette. In May, we also saw 000 roulette at the airport.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Poker Rooms
Poker Palace is in North Las Vegas. Of the 17 Las Vegas poker rooms, it is open the least. It is also in the worst condition. It deals two $20 tournaments every week, one on Friday night, and the other on Saturday. A $30 tournament runs on Sunday afternoons. The house holds about 50% of the buy-in. There are $5 rebuys and a $10 add-on that are not juiced. A 1/2 no limit cash game gets off the ground after the tournament.
With just over two stars, Poker Palace gets the worst rating on PokerAtlas. Recent reviews include, “The place is in need of a major renovation,” and, “Worst poker room ever.” Another DisAdvantage, or perhaps an Advantage depending on how you look at it, is the Poker Palace poker room is dark from Monday through Thursday.
Vegas DisAvantage Award for Overall Vibe
Tropicana was put to rest in 2024. Last year, we described it as a casino in hospice. In October, we live-streamed its implosion from a 19th-floor hotel room of the neighboring OYO Casino. This left a hole open for a new winner.
So, Jokers Wild on Boulder Highway wins the worst vibe for a Las Vegas casino in 2024. Like Tropicana, the casino is also closing someday. However, it is not known when. When Jokers Wild reopened in June 2020 it did so without live table games. The $1 craps table brought energy into the casino that it lacks today. The sportsbook is now just kiosks. There are few players there when we visit. Other casinos in the area seem to have taken most of the players.
Worst vibe Downtown
As discussed earlier in this article, Main Street Station destroyed much of the reason to go there in 2021. The table games are closed 71% of the week. The lack of energy coming from the pit, and how slow the casino has been since the good video poker and coin games were removed, take away from the experience it once offered.
Worst vibe on the Strip
The winner of the worst vibe on the Strip for 2024 is Circus Circus. Most of the games are terrible. Uncontrolled children run around the hallways and sometimes the casino. Gambling while dealing with this would be bad enough if the games were good.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Players Clubs
Once again, we consider Boyd Rewards to be the Players Club with the biggest disadvantage. Players earn tier points based on the theoretical win. This means that video poker and table game players are left behind from most of the benefits. Additionally, in our experience, the mailers do not make up for this loss. It is probably fine for slot players, but for anyone else, we think Boyd Rewards is the worst players club in Las Vegas.
Boyd properties in Las Vegas include Aliante, California, Cannery, Fremont, Gold Coast, Jokers Wild, Main Street Station, Orleans, Sam’s Town, and Suncoast.
Vegas DisAdvantage Award for Least Improved Casino
Circus Circus wins the Vegas DisAdvantage Award for the Least Improved Casino. Slots A Fun came back from the dead this year. It took some of what was good about Circus Circus to make that happen. Nearly all video poker machines moved from Circus Circus to Slots A Fun. All the coin games and the only double zero roulette table did, too. The last 99% video poker game was downgraded in 2024. This leaves little in the way of good gambling. The best option today is the $5 Roll to Win Craps table.
