Best online casino for most U.S. players: Bovada

If you're in CT, DE, NJ, PA, or WV, online casinos are legal in your state, and you should play at a casino licensed there.

If you're in any other U.S. state, your best bet is Bovada, not because they're good, but because everything else is even worse.  I'm reminded of the Simpsons episode where the RV salesman is telling Homer, "Simpson, you're never gonna own a finer RV.  And I don't mean that in a good way, I mean this is IT for you!"

THE GOOD ABOUT BOVADA

  1. Play the practice games without having to register an account.  Other casinos force you to register so they can market to you.  Bovada is the only U.S.-wide casino I know of that lets you play right away with no registration.  (They throw up a registration box, but you can cancel it and continue to the game.)  For example, here's the free-play blackjack.  And the games play right in your browser, so you don't have to download any special software.
  2. Better reputation.  Online gambling is mostly unregulated so if a casino refuses to pay your winnings you have little recourse.  But Bovada has a better reputation on payouts than its unlicensed competitors. (Not perfect, but better.)

THE BAD ABOUT BOVADA

  1. Not licensed.  Because online gambling in most states isn't explicitly legal, no legitimate authority will license a U.S.-wide casino.  That means if you have a dispute, you have no recourse.  This is the biggest problem with Bovada, but if gambling isn't licensed in your state, you're not gonna find better.
  2. Various other issues. Detailed here.

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Gambling problem?

  1. Call the 800-522-4700 hotline or get online help
  2. See these horror stories.
  3. Know that aripiprazole and Parkinson's drugs encourage gambling.

Sortable List of Las Vegas Casinos

or see my pretty, prefab list of Vegas casinos

I define "casino" as a place with table games, not just slots/video poker.
Otherwise every convenience store in town would be considered a "casino".
This list does not include casinos in Henderson, NV (like "M"), only Las Vegas (going by postal address).

Last Update: April 3, 2024

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Notes:

  1. My figures for casino size and room sizes are more accurate than you'll find anywhere else. Usually, someone publishes bad info and then everyone else copies them, so all the sites have bad info. But for my list, I scoured things like official Gaming Commission reports and SEC filings, and checked with individual casinos in cases of discrepancies.
  2. I haven't been able to find a reliable source for the separate gaming area sizes for Circus Circus/Slots-A-Fun, Venetian/Palazzo, Wynn/Encore, only the combined size for each pair.  On 10/18/22 I wrote to Venetian and Wynn to ask for separate gaming area figures. Venetian/Palazzo won't even talk to me.  Wynn/Encore provided figures (which I use), but they're smaller than what they reported to the NV Gaming Commission, and Wynn won't explain the discrepancy.  I'm not listing the combined figure, because that would make each casino look much larger than it really is. However, I'm including the Slots-A-Fun area with the figure for Circus Circus, since CC is one of the smaller casinos and Slots-A-Fun is even tinier.

    Strip vs. Downtown Casino/Hotels
    These are general differences, not different in every case.
    Circa hotel/casino is a notable exception to most of the downtown traits listed below.
    The Strip Downtown
    Expensive hotel rooms Much cheaper
    Modern, New Older
    Luxurious; high
    casino ceilings    		 Not as nice;
    low casino ceilings
    Larger rooms Smaller rooms
    Almost all have pools Most don't
    (except Circa, Golden Nugget, Downtown Grand,
    & Plaza)
    Higher table minimums Lower table minimums
    (cheaper to gamble)
    Mostly 6:5 blackjack
    (boo)    		 Lots of 3:2 blackjack
    Less smoky Smokier

    Back to the list of casinos

    Special thanks to James Welch who helped compile the data.

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Practice gambling with play money

Before you throw down your hard-earned cash in a casino, PRACTICE FIRST!  Learn the games with play money where it doesn't cost you anything if you lose.  Seriously.

You can play Bovada's games (below) right away without registering for an account.  Most every other online casino makes you give up your email address just to play the fake-money games — ugh.  That's the main reason Bovada is the only online casino that gets advertising space on my site.  (When you see the registration box, you can cancel it and proceed to the game without registering.)

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