Our Favorite Casinos in 2025
We've gamble at 48 casinos in 2025. Here's how we think they rank.
Where We Tell Friends to Stay (and Play)
For most people, these casino/resorts have the best balance of gambling, dining, and resort amenities. Here are our 2025 picks.
Aria, Las Vegas
The Aria resort is our top pick for Las Vegas. This is based on our stays in the Aria Sky Suites.
The casino is modern and large, and they have a unique combination of vintage and new slots which are comfortably spaced. The restaurant selection is good, with both fine dining and a better-than-average food court. While the high-limits room isn’t what it was a year ago, we think the slots are fair enough for a Strip casino with payouts in line with the size of the bet. The resort’s location is also good, being just south of mid-Strip.
Casino: B | Amenities: A | Location: A
Caesars New Orleans
This is our favorite casino outside of Vegas. We’ve stayed here three times and have always had a fantastic experience. The casino is large and modern, and the high-limits room dwarfs those in Vegas. The heated outdoor slot patios are also unique and necessary since the casino is smoke-free. It’s location at the entrance to the French Quarter and two blocks from the river really can’t be beat.
Casino: A | Amenities: B | Location: A
Mandalay Bay / W, Las Vegas
We’ve stayed here five times, mostly at the W (the former Delano). This casino has our favorite high-limits slot room in Las Vegas. Mandalay Bay has one of the largest casinos in Vegas at 160,334 sq. ft. and slots are comfortably spaced. While the lazy river doesn’t hold a candle to the MGM Grand, the wave pool is pretty cool. The location is not for everyone. It’s at the far southern end of the Strip, but there is a free tram to the Excalibur.
Casino: B | Amenities: A | Location: C
Runner up. MGM Grand
Based On Slots Only
We have a slot channel on YouTube where we only show slot bonuses. That means we have to win consistently and often. For those primarily interested in playing slots, these are our picks.
Wynn / Encore, Las Vegas
Our go-to Strip casino on the Strip for slots. The rooms are VERY expensive, often starting at $600/night. We don’t understand the decor, but the lack of video recording restrictions speaks volumes about slot payouts. We’ve yet to win a handpay here, but we still put it at the top of the list. We’ve walked in with $300 and left with $3,000 on more than one occasion.
Slot payouts: A | Slot variety: B | Loyalty program: B
Sunset Station, Las Vegas
The Boulder Strip in Vegas is 20 mins to the east of The Strip. We’ve only visited Sunset Station twice, but each time we walked out with 5x more than what we arrived with. They have a good mix of new and old slots, and two high limits rooms. Sealing the deal are the Gaudi-inspired interior decor and the second-largest gambling floor in Vegas (162,173 sq. ft.).
Slot payouts: A | Slot variety: B | Loyalty program: C
Caesars New Orleans
This is one of the two casinos that made us feel like genius gamblers. Compared to the other New Orleans casinos (or even the ones on the Strip in Vegas), payouts were the excellent. The casino went through a complete remodeling a couple of years ago, so it’s actually nicer than most Vegas casinos.
Slot payouts: A | Slot variety: B | Loyalty program: A
Runners up: Durango (Las Vegas), J Resort (Reno)
Based On the Hotel
Since we’re MGM loyalists, it’s no surprise that all three are MGM properties.
Aria Sky Suites
Aria gets almost everything right. We’ve only stayed in the Sky Suites, a hotel-within-a-hotel in Aria.
MGM Grand
The remodeled rooms are as nice as the Bellagio, but the atmosphere is less like a train station. We’ve stayed here five times with no issues. The MGM Grand also has the best pool complex with a large lazy river pool.
Cosmopolitan
I’ll sum it up in one word: balconies. If you can get a fountain-view balcony suite, it’s hard to fault. While the decor is showing its age, overall the resort has few weaknesses. We don’t particularly like the casino and the pool is underwhelming, but if I was in my 30s, this is where I’d stay.
Runner up: W Hotel in Las Vegas
Special Mention
The Luxor pyramid is often maligned because of its age and Egyptian theme, but we think it’s one of the best examples of 1990s Vegas excess, some of which has been toned down. No more river boat ride from the lobby. The 357′ (109m) atrium and inclined elevators are engineering marvels, the slots pay decently, and the staff is fantastic.
Casinos We've Gambled At (as of July, 2025)
Here is the list of casinos and hotels that were in the running. Those in BOLDFACE are our favorites.
Las Vegas (29)
- Aria
- Binions
- Bellagio
- Caesars Palace
- Circa
- Circus Circus (Las Vegas)
- Cosmopolitan
- Durango
- El Cortez
- Excalibur
- Fontainebleau
- Green Valley Ranch
- Harrahs
- Horseshoe
- Las Vegas Airport
- Luxor
- Main Street Station
- Mandalay Bay
- MGM Grand
- New York New York
- Paris
- Planet Hollywood
- Plaza
- Red Rock
- Resorts World
- Rio
- Sahara
- Sunset Station
- The Strat
- Venetian / Palazzo
- Westgate
- Wynn / Encore
Reno / Sparks (10)
- Atlantis
- Baldinis
- Circus Circus (Reno)
- Eldorado
- J Resort
- Legends Bay
- Peppermill
- Nugget
- Reno Airport
- Silver Legacy
New Orleans (3)
- Boomtown
- Caesars New Orleans
- Treasure Chest
- Beau Rivage
- Scarlet Pearl
California (3)
- Sky River, Elk Grove, CA
- Thunder Valley, Lincoln CA
- Red Hawk, Placerville CA