It used to be the only reason to go to Las Vegas was it was the only place you could legally gamble in the United States, and there wasn’t much else to do in Las Vegas anyway. Now, everything has changed, yet gambling is still the most popular activity in Las Vegas by far. Over 34 million people visited Las Vegas in 2007, and almost 90% of them gambled during their stay.
Types of gambling in Las Vegas
Slot machines
Decades ago these were there as much to decorate the Las Vegas casinos as they were there to make money, but they’ve long-ago passed table games as by far the biggest source of gaming revenue in the city, and now actually make up two-thirds of the total money won by casinos. They come in every imaginable shape and theme, and most no longer even have the handle on the side to activate the wheels spinning. The act of inserting and collecting coins is now mostly history too, as casinos realized this process takes up too much time, so they’ve now put most machines on credit and voucher systems.
Video poker
These games look like slot machines, but they involve some skill so they attract a different kind of player. They aren’t nearly as popular as their wheel-spinning brothers, but they are in every casino and are easy to find in large numbers.
Table games
Blackjack/Twenty-one – This is the largest in the table-games category by far. This is an easy game to learn and even master. Card-counting isn’t nearly as difficult as movies make it out to be, but winning consistently by doing so is nearly impossible anyway.Roulette – This simple and historic game is easy to play because it’s impossible to be good or bad at it. Every spot on the table carries the same risk/return ratio. Casinos have installed boards that show all the recent numbers hit as a way to sucker naïve players who believe in streaks to bet even more.
Craps – Just behind roulette in popularity, this dice game is intimidating because it’s not easy to learn and the lingo can sound purposely confusing. This can be one of the most exciting of all table games since generally all the players win or lose together, unlike twenty-one or roulette.
Baccarat – This game isn’t found all over, and it’s almost always a high-minimum game in a special room when you do find it. Las Vegas casinos actually make more profit off baccarat than off craps and roulette combined, due to the high stakes.
Other table games
Most casinos offer a few additional table games for people who like something new and different. The most popular ones are:
Mini-bacarrat
3-Card Poker
Caribbean Stud poker
Let It Ride
Pai Gow
Pai Gow Poker
Several of these games are similar to other games you know, but with slightly different rules. Asians in particular seem drawn to Pai Gow and Pai Gow Poker, but in general these games tend to have high profit margins for casinos because most players don’t know proper strategy.
