Welcome! I'm Michael Bluejay, and I'm here to share what I know about Las Vegas and gambling. With this site, you'll have the insider's edge. See my mission and what's different about this site.
Most popular stuff:
- Insider's guide to slot machines
- Free things to do in Vegas
- Gambling 101
- 10 ways to gamble smart
- List of Vegas casinos
- Is online gambling legal?
Latest updates
2024
- New article: Vegas Scams
- New article: Old Vegas is gone!, a list of changes in the last 20 years.
- New article: How to win at slots. Possibly the only article on the Internet written by someone who's actually done the math programming on slot machines.
- New map feature: choose your hotel from a list, and it'll highlight on the map
- New article: Slot machine bonus rounds
2023
- Added a list of Megabucks jackpot hits. Easy Vegas is the only site that has this.
- Added a list of large video screens.
- New article: W-2G forms for gambling taxes
- Added a bunch of visitor statistics
- New article: How to Program a Slot Machine, and added a whole bunch of free par sheets (for slot programming)
- Lots of updates to the Strip map
- Created the only table-ized list of what gambling is legal / illegal in each state on the whole damn Internet
Q2/Q3 2022
- Who Owns Which Casino now includes a table showing all sales going back about 20 years
- Added list of Native American involvement to Who Owns Which Casino
- New article: Largest casino hotels
in Vegas (by # of rooms)
Q1 2022
- Overhauled the blackjack strategy article. It's now the best one on the whole Internet.
- Split off the info on card counting into a dedicated article, with more detail. No one summarizes as well as I do.
- New article: Blackjack trends in Vegas
- New feature: The "see what used to be there" feature of the Strip map now works on mobile.
- New article: How to stay safe in Vegas (split off from the Vegas crash course)
- New feature: Strip map now optionally highlights which properties are owned by MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment
- Overhauled the Is online gambling legal? article, listing all the new states that have recently legalized, and putting everything into an easy-to-browse table
- New article: Top 10 things to do in Vegas
Fall 2021
- New article: Grand Canyon tour options
- New tool: Slot Machine Name Generator. The "Ridiculous" flavor is hilarious!
- The list of Free Things to See in Vegas is now up to 99 things.
Top 10 Las Vegas Tips
- Visit mid-week. Hotel rooms often cost three to four times as much on the weekends as during the week! Plus, with weekend crowds you'll wait in line for everything. Mid-week visitors save tons of money and have a much better time.
- Get a player's card. Go to the Player's Club desk at
any casino you visit and sign up for a free player's card, even
if you don't plan to gamble there. Then the casino will
mail you offers for discounted or even free rooms on your next
visit. You can also sign up for the MGM/Mirage
card online, which will work at 10 Vegas Strip casinos.
- Set loss limits. Make a gambling budget for each day and if you lose it, then stop playing. See 12 ways to be a smart gambler.
- Don't play slot machines. They suck your money away hand over fist. Compare $500 lost over 10 hours at 75¢/spin compared to just $40 lost at blackjack or craps @ $5 a hand. See my crash course on table games to have a much better chance of winning.
- Tip the dealers $6+/hr., and the cocktail waitresses $1 every drink or two. (more...)
- Ask for comps. When you play either slots or table games the casino will reward you with buffets, show tickets, or room discounts. Ask at the player's club booth (slot players) or at the tables (table players) for how to claim your goodies. (more on comps)
- Use the buses. Various buses go straight from the airport to the Strip and downtown. And the double-decker Deuce bus runs up and down the strip 24/7, every 15-20 minutes. See my page about the buses.
- Don't try to get taxis on the strip. Taxis can't stop directly on the strip; that's why they're passing you by. Go to the taxi area of the hotel to get one. Up to 4 people ride for the same price as 1; if there's just 2 of you, don't be afraid to yell out, "Anyone want to split a cab to [some casino]?" It doesn't just save money, it's eco-friendly.
- Walk. You'll discover stuff. When the
Strip is crowded, sometimes it's even faster than taxis or
buses. Plus, it helps work off the calories from the
buffets.
- Get Half-Price Show Tickets. You can get deeply-discounted tickets for most Vegas shows at one of the several Tix4Vegas booths on the Strip and downtown. See all my tips for getting free and cheap tix.
Easy Vegas in the News
Famous Tweets
- Vital Vegas, the most popular blog about the Vegas scene, retweeted my Slot Machine Name Generator on 9/29/21, and tweeted my Worst of Vegas article on 8/30/21. I'm honored.
Academic references
- Our article on the Gambler's Fallacy is part of the reading for a class at Middle Tennessee State University. (Dec. 2021)
Articles we've been quoted in, or which used us as a source
- Mirage bids farewell as Las Vegas enters another new age, iGaming Business (July 16, 2024)
- You won't believe why a casino won't pay NJ woman's $2M jackpot, 94.3 The Point (Jersey Shore) (May 22, 2024)
- Sell Slowly, Of Dollars and Data (July 12, 2022)
- Three-quarters of retail Bitcoin investors are in the red, The Register (Nov. 16, 2022)
- Question of the Day, Las Vegas Advisor (Aug 16, 2018)
- How are betting odds calculated?, Talk Business (UK) (Oct 17, 2017)
- Best casino games to play, Reader's Digest (Sep 21, 2017)
- Gambling fans should bookmark these sites, Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh) (Mar 27, 2017)
- Andrew W.K. on Gambling, Vice (Oct 20, 2016)
- Legal Principles of Combatting Cyberlaundering (book) (July 2014)
- Vegas, Casinos Lose Their Luster, TheStreet.com (Aug 11, 2009)
- Rivers Casino debuts today, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Aug 9, 2009)
- How Vegas lures visitors, even in a recession, Fox Business (Jul 31, 2009)
- The truth about fruit [slot] machines, This is Money (UK) (Jun 10, 2009)
- Experts: Electronic blackjack best bet at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem Express News (Easton, PA) May 22 2009
- Playing, Paying, and Pain [slot machines], Meadville Tribune (May 31 2006)
The Easy Vegas editor also wrote the cover story for Casino Player magazine in October 2005 and Wikipedia references our article on slot machines in its own article on the subject.
Web Interviews
- Gaming Affiliates Guide, Sep 28, 2016
Radio Interviews
- WCAP 980, Eagle Radio 1100, Sicilian Corner, interview about slot machines. (Mar 18, 2016)
- Gambling with an Edge, hosted by Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin (July 28, 2015)
- WOGL, 98.1fm, Philadelphia PA, Morning Show, about the new Sugar House Casino in Philly (Sep. 23, 2010)
- KSRO, 1350am, Sonoma County, CA, Marci Smothers Show, about casino gambling (Aug. 5, 2005), MP3