Casinos in Nevada by the Numbers

The Gambling

Las Vegas is what makes Nevada the hottest gambling destination for Americans as well as non Americans. If you want to gamble, the first place you will want to visit is Nevada, which has a long and eventful gambling history. This US state offers more than 300 licensed gambling venues, and despite its non-entertainment options, its focus is clearly on gambling.

In Nevada, casinos remain open 24/7 and offer popular casino games such as roulette, craps, blackjack, video poker, and slots. Some of the most popular games at Nevada casinos are Mini Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Let it Ride, Crazy 4 Poker, Mississippi Stud Poker, Texas Hold’em Poker, and Spanish 21, along with sports betting options. You need to be at least 21 years old to play for real money.

Gambling enthusiasts usually head over to the Las Vegas Strip, which is populated with internationally acclaimed hotel casino resorts such as The Stratosphere Casino, Binion’s, New York – New York, The Mirage, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, Hard Rock, Mandalay Bay, The Palms, and Bellagio.

However, gamblers do not have to focus on Las Vegas or the Strip as they will find several casinos even outside Las Vegas. For instance, North Las Vegas offers several luxurious hotel casino resorts that are not inferior to those located on the Strip. Hotel casino resorts such as Cannery, Jerry’s Nugget Casino, Texas Station Gambling Hall, Fiesta Rancho Hotel Casino, and Aliante Station Hotel casino offer live poker rooms, sports betting facilities, table games, and slots. World class casinos are available in neighboring cities such as Henderson, Laughlin, and Primm.

They can also enjoy the unique gambling experience available at tribal casinos, located on reservation land. Visitors to Nevada who want a taste of Indian casino gaming can choose from Avi Resort & Casino operated by Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza operated by Moapa Band of Paiutes, Snow Mountain Smoke Shop operated by Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, and Wa She Shu Casino & Travel Plaza operated by Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.

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Gambling Stats

We take a look at some stats regarding Nevada’s gambling industry based on info from Statista.com and http://gaming.unlv.edu

US GGR – 2016 $73.1 billion
Nevada Casinos GGR – 2016 $10.7 billion
No of Slot Machines In Nevada – 2018 167,000
Total Of Employees In Nevada Casinos – 2016 166,741
Nevada Total Win (Sep 17 to Feb 18) $5,870,936
Nevada Slot Win (Sep 17 to Feb 18) $3,718,578
Las Vegas Strip Win (Sep 17 to Feb 18) $3,312,075
Downtown Las Vegas Win (Sep 17 to Feb 18) $323,563
Boulder Strip (Sep 17 to Feb 18) $406,014
Washoe County (Sep 17 to Feb 18) $415,267

Nevada’s Attitude towards Gambling

The fact that Nevada is a gambling hub does not mean that the state’s attitude towards gambling is relaxed. The gambling laws are very strict and those who fail to comply with the laws will be severely punished. That Nevada has the strictest gambling laws throughout the US wouldn’t be an understatement. Simultaneously, these laws allow Nevada’s gambling industry to thrive and prosper. These are the laws responsible for attracting hundreds and thousands of gamblers to Sin City, most of who are wealthy high rollers from Asia.

The credit of being the first US state to legalize several forms of gambling goes to Nevada. In 1865, Nevada passed a bill that permitted chance-based games, and ever since, gambling has been legal in the state. In 1909, gambling and alcohol were outlawed for a brief period of time, but this did not actually stop citizens from drinking and gambling. They just did it out of the prying eyes of the law. As a result, gambling had to be legalized once again in 1931.

Why Do Visitors Flock to Las Vegas?

Las Vegas attracted as many as 39.01 million tourists in 2017 alone, a slightly lower figure than those recorded during the previous years. According to a survey of Jan 2017, Las Vegas happens to be the US destination that tourists most want to re-visit during the following years. The city itself is sparsely populated, with just slightly more than 580,000 residents.

Although more famous for its nightlife and hotel casino resorts, the city is also a great business hub, where a large number of business meetings and conventions are held. Since it is home to the Las Vegas Convention Center, America’s third biggest convention center, it could hold more than 19,000 business conventions in the year 2017 alone.

However, Las Vegas attracts more recreational travelers than business visitors. Most people want to visit Las Vegas for its entertainment options, both gambling and non-gambling. Around 69% of those who visited Las Vegas in 2016 said that they had played casino games for real money during their visit. This isn’t surprising considering the fact that Las Vegas is America’s biggest casino gaming market, home to the world’s biggest generator of casino gaming revenue, the Las Vegas Sands.

Popularity of Gambling in the US

Despite the fact that federal and state gambling laws are vague, unclear, or outdated, Americans are fond of gambling. They prefer gambling in licensed and regulated brick-and-mortar casinos located in their own states or in neighboring states. Legal online poker and online casino gaming is also available in Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey, but these options are available only to those who are physically present in these states. Since Nevada is a poker-only state as far as online gambling is concerned, visitors to Nevada can play online poker safely and legally within its jurisdiction. For legal online casino gaming, however, they will have to visit Delaware or New Jersey to claim a no deposit bonus in 2023.

A number of US residents prefer playing at offshore online casinos licensed in remote gambling jurisdictions such as Kahnawake, Costa Rica, Panama, and others because of the ease and convenience of doing so. However, playing at online casinos not regulated in the US is rather risky unless the online casino is highly reputed, experienced, and has plenty of positive player reviews.

John Holmes Written by John Holmes