Note from 10Best:Someday, we'll all be ready to pack our suitcases again and head out on our next adventures. In the meantime, we'll keep supporting the places that inspire us. Please check individual casino websites for the latest updates.
The D Las Vegas
On the first floor of The D Las Vegas, players will find the latest table games and slot machines. The recently updated second floor casino is a step back in time to Old Vegas with vintage slots and the only Sigma Derby horse racing simulation in Las Vegas. There’s also the hockey-themed BarCanada and a refreshed Circa Sports book with bar-top table games and big-screen TVs.
Photo courtesy of The D Las VegasPlaza Hotel & Casino
The Plaza Hotel Casino packs a ton of options into its 80,000 square feet of gaming space. Players can play bingo in a 400-seat bingo hall–the only one in Downtown Las Vegas, place bets at 21 table games or try their luck at more than 700 slot machines. Keno games run regularly throughout the day.
Photo courtesy of Plaza Hotel & CasinoThe Venetian & The Palazzo
The sister casinos at the Venetian and Palazzo offer players a combined 2,270 slot and video poker machines and hundreds of table games, with free gaming lessons on weekends. Imperial Baccarat at The Palazzo puts a new twist on a classic game.
Photo courtesy of The Venetian Las VegasWynn Las Vegas and Encore Resort
Sparkling golden in the Nevada desert sun, the Wynn Las Vegas houses an 111,000-square-foot casino space decked out with table games, slots, video poker, a 27-table poker room and a state-of-the-art race and sports book.
Photo courtesy of Wynn Las VegasCaesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
A classic Las Vegas casino, Caesars Palace brings the gaming experience to an ancient Roman setting. Encompassing 85 acres on The Strip, Caesars pairs its unique atmosphere and comprehensive casino offerings with some of the best retail, dining and entertainment in the city.
Photo courtesy of Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & CasinoDowntown Grand Hotel & Casino
The casino floor at the Downtown Grand, located just steps from the Fremont Street Experience, features more than 500 slot machines–a mix of classics and new favorites–as well as an assortment of table games and a William Hill sports book.
Photo courtesy of Preferred Hotels & ResortsRed Rock Casino Resort & Spa
Frequented by both locals and tourists, the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa sits on 70 acres of land near the beautiful Red Rock Mountains in Summerlin, about 10 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip. The resort casino includes 3,000 slot and video poker machines, 60 table games, a race and sports book with a 96-foot video wall, a 20-table smoke-free poker room, 600-seat Bingo hall, a 20-seat Keno lounge and two private rooms for high-stakes gamers.
Photo courtesy of Red Rock Casino Resort & SpaThe Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
A relatively new addition to the Las Vegas Strip, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has already earned a spot among the ranks of elite Sin City casinos, thanks to its friendly dealers, swanky setting and modern amenities. The gambling menu includes classic table games as well as 1,300 slots and video poker machines with a wide range of denominations–everything from $0.01 to $500.
Photo courtesy of The Cosmopolitan of Las VegasSAHARA Las Vegas
The 60,000-square-foot casino at SAHARA Las Vegas offers a luxe gaming experience, with crystal chandeliers and a rich color scheme. Gamblers can choose from more than 50 table games and 600 slot machines, place a bet in the Sports Book or play live poker in the new seven-table poker room.
Photo courtesy of SAHARA Las VegasBellagio
Famous for its dancing fountains, the Bellagio is all about extreme luxury and the thrill of the game, making it one of the most popular gambling stops on the iconic Las Vegas Strip. The 100,000-square-foot casino floor an impressive 2,400 slot machines, poker room, race & sports book and nearly any table game you could want to play. Five outdoor pools, four whirlpools and a Spa Tower help guests unwind before or after betting.
Photo courtesy of Bellagio
— The Cosmopolitan (@CosmopolitanLV) July 25, 2020 On July 24, a lucky guest won $269,000 on a Wheel of Fortune machine at the D Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas. This video was initially filmed at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas by The Big Jackpot, many casinos have the Aristocrat Buffalo Gold slot machine as it’s a popular game. The game begins we can see some of the symbols in this slot example; the buffalo symbols, the wolf symbol, the puma symbol, the elk symbol and some number and poker letter symbols. Identity Members are invited to play and win on slots in our 100,000 square-foot casino. With enticing prizes ranging from free Identity Play to thousands in cash, The Cosmopolitan offers you unique gaming experiences and more chances to win. She walked out a millionaire. The woman, who asked not to be identified, won a $3.8 million jackpot Thursday morning playing a $1 slot machine. It was the largest payout ever at a Seminole Tribe of. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Race & Sports Book by Cantor is a prime sports watching and wagering location. Here, patrons are invited to place wagers at two outside betting windows, individual “trading” stations, or via mobile tablets.
- The D Las Vegas
- Plaza Hotel & Casino
- The Venetian & The Palazzo
- Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Resort
- Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
- Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino
- Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa
- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
- SAHARA Las Vegas
- Bellagio
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.
Congratulations to all these winning casinos!
The Experts
Steve Bourie
Steve Bourie is the author of the American Casino... Read More
Steve Bourie is the author of the American Casino Guide. Published annually since 1992, it is the number one bestselling book in the U.S. on casino gambling and travel. His YouTube channel has more than 28 million views and he offers a free American Casino Guide app for both Android devices and iPhones/iPads.
Steve Bourie
Steve Bourie is the author of the American Casino Guide. Published annually since 1992, it is the number one bestselling book in the U.S. on casino gambling and travel. His YouTube channel has more than 28 million views and he offers a free American Casino Guide app for both Android devices and iPhones/iPads.
G. Douglas Dreisbach
G. Douglas Dreisbach is the publisher of Southern... Read More
G. Douglas Dreisbach is the publisher of Southern & Midwest Gaming and Destinations, a regional gaming and travel magazine offering offering gaming tips, casino reviews, travel recommendations, special offers and more. G&D is considered to be the gaming authority of the region and subscriptions, tips and property reviews are available at GamingandDestinations.com.
G. Douglas Dreisbach
G. Douglas Dreisbach is the publisher of Southern & Midwest Gaming and Destinations, a regional gaming and travel magazine offering offering gaming tips, casino reviews, travel recommendations, special offers and more. G&D is considered to be the gaming authority of the region and subscriptions, tips and property reviews are available at GamingandDestinations.com.
Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic
Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic is the Publisher of Casino... Read More
Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic is the Publisher of Casino Player magazine and Strictly Slots magazine. Now in its 32nd year, Casino Player has thrived as America’s most popular gambling magazine. Over the decades, millions of gamblers have enjoyed and benefited from Casino Player’s gaming strategies, as well as its ever-changing lifestyle stories. In 1994, Lisa launched its sister publication, Strictly Slots, the nation’s only magazine written exclusively for slots and video poker players. Lisa is an accomplished director specializing in the gaming industry and has more than 35 years of publishing experience.
Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic
Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic is the Publisher of Casino Player magazine and Strictly Slots magazine. Now in its 32nd year, Casino Player has thrived as America’s most popular gambling magazine. Over the decades, millions of gamblers have enjoyed and benefited from Casino Player’s gaming strategies, as well as its ever-changing lifestyle stories. In 1994, Lisa launched its sister publication, Strictly Slots, the nation’s only magazine written exclusively for slots and video poker players. Lisa is an accomplished director specializing in the gaming industry and has more than 35 years of publishing experience.
Aristocrat nabs second nod as Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content
Gaming consultancy Eilers & Krejcic Gaming held its second annual EKG Slot Awards last month in a gala affair at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and for the second year in a row, the awards, which rate the best in a variety of slot-game genres, were dominated by slot manufacturer Aristocrat Technologies.
In addition to presentations of awards in all the slot categories, EKG honored Triple Play Poker inventor Ernie Moody as the second inductee into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame, joining inaugural inductee Joe Kaminkow, the longtime IGT game design guru now in charge of a premium game studio at Aristocrat. Kaminkow presented the award to Moody.
The EKG Slot Awards, conducted by the top consultancy and performance analysts in the slot sector, were created to recognize excellence in slot game development. The 24 different categories of slot machines nominated for awards were determined by EKG’s principals and the firm’s Slot Awards Board of Advisors.
Cosmopolitan Slot Winners
Winners are determined using a data-driven approach, involving a combination of analyzing proprietary game performance data and a survey of qualified slot managers for the land-based categories. Where no data is available, the winners are determined solely by the survey responses. For the Social Casino and iGaming categories, winners are determined by a distinguished panel of industry experts combined with EKG proprietary data.
“There are a lot of award shows out there, but this show is all about the games,” said EKG principal Todd Eilers before the award presentations. “It is a celebration of game development.”
For the second year in a row, Aristocrat won the top award of the program, Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content. It was one of eight awards logged by the supplier—the next closest total was three, won by each Everi and Scientific Games. IGT won two.
Aristocrat’s wins included three in the mega-hit Buffalo franchise—Buffalo Gold Revolution, for Top Performing New Video Reel Core Game; Buffalo Diamond, for Top Performing New Premium Game; and Buffalo Gold, for Top Performing Core Video Reel Game.
Other Aristocrat wins for games included two nods for Dragon Link-Happy And Prosperous, which won for Top Performing Proprietary Branded Game and Top Performing Premium Game.
Aristocrat also won two awards for the company’s cabinets. The dual-screen Mars X was named Top Performing New Cabinet-Core, and the radical curve cabinet flame55 won for Top Performing New Cabinet-Premium.
Everi logged three awards, after winning none in the inaugural EKG awards last year. The supplier won for Top Performing New Mechanical Reel Core Game with the unique Cash Machine and Top Performing Third Party IP Branded Game with Shark Week-Jaws of Steel. Everi also was named Most Improved Supplier-Premium.
Scientific Games also won three awards, for Quick Hit Ultra Pays Sun Dragon, as Best New Online Slot; 88 Fortunes, as Top Performing Core Mechanical Reel Game; and SciPlay, as Top Social Casino Company.
IGT’s Ultimate X was named Top Performing Video Poker Game, and IGT was named the Most Improved Supplier-Core. While Konami was not named as award recipient, PlayStudios won Best Use of Land-Based Content in a Social Slot Game for myKonami, which is a social offering of Konami land-based titles.
Other notable awards included Gamblit’s GemFlux!, which won as Top Performing Interactive Electronic Gaming Machine; Interblock’s Roulette, as Top Performing Electronic Table Game; Zynga’s Game of Thrones Slots, as Best New Social Casino Game; and Evolution, as Best Overall Supplier of Online Table Games.
Multi-Hand Milestone
Moody was inducted into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame in recognition of his multi-hand poker invention, which began with Triple Play Poker and proceeded to revolutionize the video poker genre with a series of games produced in partnership with IGT, including Five Play Poker, Spin Poker, Super Times Pay Poker, Ultimate X Poker and several others.
Moody’s induction by Kaminkow, last year’s recipient, was highlighted by videos featuring many of IGT’s former luminaries, including former CEO Chuck Mathewson, longtime IGT product development EVP Bob Bittman, and Mike Fields, the executive vice president of Moody’s company, Action Gaming, a former IGT director and an executive that has been on the multi-hand poker ride with Moody for the past 14 years.
Moody, a North Jersey native, started several commercial businesses before landing in the gaming industry as part of the investor group that opened Colorado’s Gilpin Casino in 1991. He built the first prototype for Triple Play Gaming—which presents three versions of each hand with draw cards taken from three separate decks—independently in the early 1990s.
Cosmopolitan Mighty Cash Slot Winners
After bringing the first prototype of the game to the World Gaming Congress trade show in 1995, Moody struck the first distribution deal with IGT in 1997. The partnership is still going strong, the latest hit game being Ultimate X Poker, this year’s top video poker game.
“Ernie Moody is definitely one of the truly outstanding innovators in the video poker world,” said Mathewson in his video tribute. “His creation of Triple Play Poker, followed by Five Play, 10 Play, 20 Play, 50 Play and even 100 Play, is definitely a major contribution to the immense popularity of video poker today.”
Moody was named to the AGA Gaming Hall of Fame last October.
WINNERS EILERS & KREJCIK SLOT AWARDS 2020
CATEGORY: Top Performing NEW Video Reel Core Game
WINNER: Aristocrat • GAME: Buffalo Gold Revolution
CATEGORY: Top Performing NEW Mechanical Reel Core Game
WINNER: Everi • GAME: Cash Machine
CATEGORY: Top Performing NEW Premium Game
WINNER: Aristocrat • GAME: Buffalo Diamond
CATEGORY: Best Use of Land-Based Content in a Social Slot Game
WINNER: PlayStudios • GAME: myKonami
SG wins for Best New Online Slot
CATEGORY: Best New Online Slot
WINNER: Scientific Games • GAME: Quick Hit Ultra Pays Sun Dragon
CATEGORY: Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Core
WINNER: Aristocrat • GAME: Mars X
Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Slot Winners
CATEGORY: Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Premium
WINNER: Aristocrat • GAME: Flame55
CATEGORY: Top Performing Interactive Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM)
WINNER: Gamblit • GAME: GemFlux!
CATEGORY: Top Performing Core Mechanical Reel Game
WINNER: Scientific Games • GAME: 88 Fortunes
CATEGORY: Top Performing Core Video Reel Game
WINNER: Aristocrat • GAME: Buffalo Gold
CATEGORY: Top Performing Online Slot
WINNER: Scientific Games • GAME: 88 Fortunes
Murka named Most Innovative Social Casino Company
CATEGORY: Most Innovative Social Casino Company
WINNER: Murka • GAME: Scatter Slots
CATEGORY: Top Performing Video Poker Game
WINNER: IGT • GAME: Ultimate X
CATEGORY: Top Performing 3rd Party IP Branded Game
WINNER: Everi • GAME: Shark Week – Jaws of Steel
CATEGORY: Top Performing Proprietary Branded Game
WINNER: Aristocrat • GAME: Dragon Link – Happy And Prosperous
CATEGORY: Top Performing Electronic Table Game (ETG)
WINNER: Interblock • GAME: Roulette
CATEGORY: Best New Social Casino Game
WINNER: Zynga • GAME: Game of Thrones Slots
CATEGORY: Top Performing Premium Game
WINNER: Aristocrat • GAME: Dragon Link – Happy And Prosperous
CATEGORY: Top Social Casino Company
WINNER: Scientific Games • GAME: SciPlay
CATEGORY: Best Overall Supplier of Online Table Games
WINNER: Evolution
CATEGORY: Most Improved Supplier – Core
WINNER: IGT
CATEGORY: Most Improved Supplier – Premium
WINNER: Everi
CATEGORY: Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content
WINNER: Aristocrat