A trip to Las Vegas simply wouldn’t be complete without a visit to a casino.
First timers may find casinos quite intimidating as they’re greeted by flashing lights and a wall of noise, but it’s an experience that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Nearly a third of Americans visit a casino at least once a year, but it’s always advisable to use free spins online to familiarise yourself with the different games before diving in.
Read on for our quick guide to three of the top casino games in Las Vegas:
Roulette
Round and round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. A little white ball flying around a roulette wheel is one of the iconic images associated with a casino.
Roulette often attracts high rollers, but it’s a game that can quickly be learned by novice players too.
The simplest way to bet is to select your number on the table and hope the ball lands in the corresponding pocket on the wheel.
You can also wager on odds and evens, groups of numbers or a colour, but the returns are lower than if you wager on a single number.
Brazilian businessman Pedro Grendene Bartelle proved it was possible to win big at roulette in 2017, betting $35,000 worth of chips on a single spin – and winning $3.5 million.
Blackjack
Blackjack and poker are the two most popular card games, although the former is arguably easier to learn.
The aim of the game is to beat the dealer’s hand, but many players unnecessarily chase the magical 21.
Generally speaking a dealer will hit (take an extra card) if his or her hand is 16 or under and stand with anything from 17 to 21.
If you go over 21 you lose regardless of whether the dealer also busts as they are last to act.
A simple strategy that often pays dividends is to stand on hands of 14 or above, particularly if the dealer is showing a 4, 5 or 6.
It can be hard to win big at blackjack in just one visit to a casino, as highlighted by the five months it took Don Johnson to win $15 million from three Atlantic City casinos between December 2010 and April 2011.
Slot machines
Casinos love slot machines as they account for nearly three-quarters of the profits they make from gambling.
Unfortunately there is no legal strategy to win on the slots – all the games are random and big returns are purely down to luck.
The biggest recorded jackpot in Vegas history was won by a 25-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles, who claimed over $39 million from a $100 bet on a Megabucks machine at the Excalibur resort in 2003.
Whatever your game of choice remember that a trip to the casino is meant to be fun, so go along with the mentality that you might lose some money and any winnings you make will seem all the sweeter!
