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Experts Pick the Best and Worst of Vegas Casinos

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- A panel of Las Vegas-based gamblers and gambling experts didn't shy away Tuesday when asked which city casinos are the best and worst from the bettors' perspective.

Speaking at a Global Gaming Expo seminar examining casinos from a players perspective, the six-man panel rated casinos on their slot clubs, comps, payouts and customer service.

The best Las Vegas properties and casino-operating companies have a few things in common, the experts said.

"They give (gamblers) value for their dollar, and they treat people right," said Henry Tamburin, a casino table games author and expert.

The worst casinos, natch, are those that don't provide value and good customer service.

The best Las Vegas casinos?

Coast Resorts and MGM Mirage casinos, said the experts.

"Coast is extraordinarily effective," said Anthony Curtis, publisher of casino-industry watchdog Las Vegas Advisor. "They do a lot for customers."

One panelist cited the company's Suncoast casino. "It's the most popular casino in town," said video poker expert Bob Dancer. He praised the northwest Las Vegas casino's ticket-in, ticket-out coinless slot machines, noting that slot players don't have to wait for hopper refills after jackpots.

MGM Mirage was credited with providing top-notch customer service.

"The (MGM Mirage-owned) Golden Nugget has stood the test of time," Tamburin said. "The Golden Nugget gives people excellent value."

Dancer also cited MGM Mirage properties as being among the best in player-friendly policies.

Although Station Casinos took some criticism for what several experts said its relatively poor payout percentage on slot and video poker machines, the dominant Las Vegas locals operator also received some accolades.

"They allow to use your (Boarding Pass slot club) points at all of the Station properties, and they recognized the mistakes they made when they removed the high payout machines at the Fiesta and The Reserve," slot club expert Jeffrey Compton said.

The panel practically leaped at the opportunity to name the city's worst casinos. Most often cited was the off-Strip Rio, which was blasted by three different experts. "Every time they do something good, they raise the price," Curtis explained. "They just doesn't know what they're doing at the Rio. It's a gouging operation."

Compton said the Rio used to be one of his favorite casinos, but said the property is no longer a good place for players.

Gaming consultant Max Rubin, the author of "Comp City," said downtown's Horseshoe has deteriorated over the past few years and is the city's worst casino, while Dancer cited poor slot clubs at the Park Place Entertainment properties.

"Players get nothing (at Park Place casinos) unless they lose," Dancer said.

Steve Bourie, author of the annual "American Casino Guide," had some words of advice for casino operators. "A quality casino is well-maintained and clean, offers better games and its employees treat people well," Bourie said. "You are in the business of slowly taking players' money from them. At least you could be pleasant about it."

The Global Gaming Expo, a three-day gambling industry gathering, concludes today at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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