📉 Official numbers, tracked
Vegas slots are getting tighter — the official numbers
In 2004, Nevada slot machines kept 5.72¢ of every dollar wagered. In 2025 they kept 7.13¢ — about 25% tighter — while the Las Vegas Strip runs 7.83%. And the single starkest number in the state: a quarter machine holds 4.58% on the Boulder Strip and 11.27% on the Las Vegas Strip. Same coin, 2.5× the house take.
Where the money goes: slot win by market (CY2025)
| Market | Machines | Casino win | Hold % | Win / machine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas Strip | 35,232 | $4.950B | 7.83% | $385/day |
| Downtown Las Vegas | 10,111 | $0.637B | 8.30% | $173/day |
| Boulder Strip | 14,269 | $0.888B | 6.48% | $171/day |
| North Las Vegas | 4,047 | $0.267B | 7.47% | $181/day |
| Statewide | 126,040 | $10.714B | 7.13% | $233/day |
🎯 The quarter-machine tell
Hold by denomination and market is the closest thing to an official video-poker statistic that exists: the surviving single-denomination 25¢ and $1 floors at locals casinos are heavy with video poker (low hold by design), while Strip quarter machines are mostly tight slots. Read the 25¢ row below like a map of where the good machines are.
Hold % by denomination (CY2025)
| Denom | Strip | Downtown | Boulder Strip | North LV | Statewide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1¢ | 10.79% | 10.95% | 8.72% | 8.71% | 9.09% |
| 25¢ | 11.27% | 7.59% | 4.58% | 4.68% | 7.58% |
| $1 | 7.48% | 5.93% | 5.39% | 4.72% | 6.37% |
| Multi-denom | 7.61% | 8.15% | 6.14% | 7.29% | 6.90% |
| All slots | 7.83% | 8.30% | 6.48% | 7.47% | 7.13% |
Two decades of tightening (statewide)
| Year | Machines | Slot win | Hold % | Win / machine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 178,980 | $7.099B | 5.72% | $109/day |
| 2013 | 156,766 | $6.754B | 6.42% | $118/day |
| 2022 | 122,997 | $10.009B | 7.16% | $223/day |
| 2025 | 126,040 | $10.714B | 7.13% | $233/day |
The death of the coin denominations (machines statewide)
| Denomination | 2004 | 2013 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5¢ | 39,731 | 3,670 | 603 | -98.5% |
| 25¢ | 51,622 | 9,505 | 2,316 | -95.5% |
| $1 | 23,357 | 8,738 | 4,911 | -79.0% |
| 1¢ | 12,115 | 51,257 | 31,434 | +159.5% |
| Multi-denomination | 43,535 | 80,265 | 85,301 | +95.9% |
What to do with this: