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Poll : 27 February - 12 March 2019

Q:

This is a poll that was suggested by a reader (thank you, Pahrump Jackie) that we’ve never run before.

Now that casino gambling is accessible practically everywhere in the world, we’re curious as to the gambling destinations where you most like to play. Do you prefer to get on a plane to travel to Nevada or some exotic international locale? Or would you rather stay closer to home and drive to the nearest good casinos?

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions last week in the poll preview. We added them all and the number of choices didn’t get too out of hand; they’re alphabetized for convenience. If you want to be more specific or if we didn't cover your favorite destination, let us know.

Vote for as many choices as apply to your gambling travels.

A:
4159 Total Votes
Nevada—Las Vegas downtown
17% (722)
Nevada—Las Vegas Strip
16% (675)
Nevada—Las Vegas neighborhoods
16% (650)
Nevada—Laughlin
5% (216)
New Jersey—Atlantic City
3% (144)
Nevada—Reno
3% (111)
Mississippi—Gulf Coast
3% (104)
Nevada—Other (Tahoe, Elko, Jackpot, Primm, etc.)
2% (97)
Wisconsin
2% (88)
Michigan
2% (81)
California—San Diego
2% (76)
Mississippi—Tunica
2% (75)
Chicago area
2% (69)
Florida
2% (67)
Oklahoma
2% (66)
Louisiana—New Orleans
1% (62)
Connecticut
1% (61)
New York—Upstate
1% (58)
Iowa
1% (56)
Louisiana—Bossier City
1% (52)
Detroit/Windsor
1% (49)
Minnesota
1% (47)
California—Other
1% (44)
Nevada—Mesquite
1% (44)
Kansas City
1% (41)
Louisiana—Lake Charles
1% (34)
Colorado
1% (33)
Washington state
1% (32)
Pennsylvania—Poconos
1% (30)
Pennsylvania—Philadelphia
1% (27)
Caribbean
1% (25)
California—Northern
1% (24)
Cincinnati
1% (24)
Nevada—Pahrump
1% (23)
Baltimore/Washington, D.C.
1% (22)
Bahamas
0% (19)
Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh
0% (17)
Deadwood
0% (16)
California—L.A. area card rooms
0% (12)
Louisiana—Baton Rouge
0% (9)
New York—New York City
0% (9)
United Kingdom
0% (9)
Arkansas
0% (5)
Australia
0% (5)
Macau
0% (5)
Maine
0% (5)
Monte Carlo
0% (5)
Singapore
0% (4)
Korea
0% (3)
Russia
0% (3)
Cambodia
0% (2)
France
0% (1)
Philippines
0% (1)

Analysis

This, of course, is a Las Vegas- and Nevada-centric website, so the respondents in the poll skew in that direction, as is obvious by the top three vote-getters being in Las Vegas and six of the top eight being in Nevada.

But it's interesting to us that nearly 50 more voters prefer downtown to the Strip, while only 25 voters prefer the Strip to the locals casinos. 

It's not much of a stretch that Atlantic City is the top non-Nevada selection, with four years under its belt and in such close proximity to tens of millions of gamblers. But we were a little surprised that the Mississippi Gulf Coast placed so much higher than southern California, with its plentiful Native casinos, and Connecticut, with the massive Foxwoods and mammoth Mohegan Sun.

The Caribbean placed a little lower that we might've expected and though it takes a long plane ride to get to them, so few votes for Macau, Monte Carlo, and Singapore was unexpected.

Beyond that and the listed choices, we really appreciate all the casino jurisdictions that showed up in the comment boxes. We couldn't anticipate all the places that people gamble, especially in the U.S., though we will admit that a few -- Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Arizona, and Canada, not to mention online and cruiseships, were definite oversights. 

 

 

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

Comments

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  • Diane Feb-27-2019
    Ohio
    I picked the Las Vegas area ones in the survey.  But we live in Ohio and have casinos/racinos too.  I would have selected Ohio on the survey too if it was listed.

  • tgabrielli Feb-27-2019
    No Boyd
    As a resident here in Vegas, I play at the local casinos. I used to play exclusively at Boyd, but since they changed their tier system, I don't even walk into their properties. I now play at The Rampart and like it better.

  • pixie Feb-27-2019
    Travel vs Local
    We travel to Las Vegas 2 or 3 times a year, and I also gamble at one of our local (southeast Michigan area) casinos about 3 times a month.  Even with local casinos, we still love to go to Vegas.

  • Kevin McCormack Feb-27-2019
    Where's Maryland & West VA
    I'm a regular an MGM National Harbor, Horseshoe, Maryland Live, and Hollywood Casino at Charles Town..

  • Bobby White Feb-27-2019
    Gambling
    No feasible gambling in central Texas. Plus there is no place like Las Vegas, what a wild & fantastic vibe. God help me I love it.

  • Grant Crawford Feb-27-2019
    Changes
    I mostly gamble close to where I live in Canada. The payback is no worse than the Vegas Strip. We used to go to Vegas 3-4 times/yr; now it is down to 1-2 trips/yr, and we've pretty much sworn off the Strip because of their greedy behavior.

  • Manning Feb-27-2019
    Missing
    MGM has a new, 7 month old, casino in Springfield, Ma.

  • Luis Feb-27-2019
    once upon a time
    I used to go to the strip and gamble, eat, drink and take a show or two, now these days, with all the parking charges, over priced restaurants and shows, the seemingly tighter slots, and the allways climbing resort fees, I say away from the strip, I used to be a very loyal Boyd player, but since they changed their tier sistem, I'm hesitant, what a shame, used to be an Orleans loyal customer , as president of one of our local bowling tournaments, we used to go to the orleans, do our finals there, and stay 3 or 4 days at he hotel,gamble, have fun, we used to do it 3 times a year, now, it all has changed, oh well, I miss the good old days, no parking fees, no extra charges, great food at a good price, it was nice, now, I just don't go as much and when I do, I stay off of the strip.

  • C Kevin armstrong Feb-27-2019
    Kevin
    Please learn how to spell Cincinnati!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Fred Watkins Feb-27-2019
    Texas
    There are a couple of Indian Casinos at/near Huntsville TX and I think Indian Casino in El Paso.  Haven't been to them but have occasionally run into people who have. Our bad for not bringing them up when you asked for comments while developing this poll.

  • Kurt Wiesenbach Feb-27-2019
    Where to gamble
    I typically don't go out of my way to gamble except for trips to Vegas, but if I'm going by that way anyway, I'm gambling wherever I see a casino! Or at least I'll check it out, some end up not being worth the bother.

  • Bryan Carr Feb-27-2019
    Cherokee
    The closest casino to me is in Cherokee, NC. That is where I do a majority of my gambling.

  • Toni Armstrong Jr. Feb-27-2019
    Where to gamble, now that Boyd is a non-starter?
    For more than 20 years we've been loyal to downtown, and in the past 15 it's been 100% Fremont (hotel/casino for both stay & play). Now that the Boyd bean counters have destroyed the slot club and alienated long-time loyal players, everyone in our party is trying different properties. In December we went to El Cortez for the first time. We are all considering making a permanent switch into the Stations system. The hope is that Boyd corporate realizes the grave mistake they've made and will do something to FIX IT before the end of 2020. Would definitely prefer to stay downtown, but need the gambling to accrue some sort of comp points. Where will it be? Run the poll again in 2020.

  • melman Feb-27-2019
    Are Gold Coast, Orleans "LV neighborhoods"?
    Most of my gambling in the 90's was in Laughlin when everything was shiny and new.  Graduated to Downtown LV when it was not the freak show that it is today.  I tried returning to Laughlin about 10 years ago but it was a ghost town.  I've settled on the off-strip Boyd joints like Sams Town and Gold Coast - yes, they cut off ruby-level players like me from their point system, so my VP days are over but I wasn't much of a VP player anyway.  Their DD BJ is still good (3:2, DAS).  And although they stopped sending me mailers for room offers, I can still occasionally find great room deals in their online system if I hunt for them. 

  • Ray Feb-27-2019
    Love is where you find it
    We travel by car and always find casinos along the way. New Mexico wasn't listed, but OK was. We like both while we travel along I-40 (old Rt 66). Indiana wasn't listed, but I included that and 4 Winds at the MI border with "Chicago area". Also, I love horse racing, and nothing related to that type of gambling was included in the survey, I assume you ONLY meant casino gambling even though all the major casinos have race books.

  • Diane Crosby Feb-27-2019
    Gambling where?
    North Carolina -- Harrah's!

  • Adam Feb-27-2019
    Arizona Casinos!
    There are several casinos on the perimeter of the Metro Phoenix Area, a few casinos in Southern Arizona near Tucson, and a few more in Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Verde Valley, Prescott. I actually try to abstain from these casinos, to instead gamble only in Southern Nevada, but Arizona casinos should appear on the poll.

  • Thomas Gilbert Feb-27-2019
    Who drafted the list?
    What about Missouri?   Quite a few casinos in St Louis & Kansas City arras. 

  • Rich Virchow Feb-27-2019
    Oregon
    We try to make it to some part of Nevada annually but we do frequent the tribal casinos in Oregon. Spirit Mtn., 7 Feathers, Chinook Winds, are 3 of about a half dozen in Oregon.

  • Brent Peterson Feb-27-2019
    Online
    I think online would have been a good option to have as well. Perhaps a poll question asking if people gamble online and/or which site they use to do so.

  • Raymond Jessen Feb-27-2019
    Priced out of Las Vegas
    As others have commented I used to go to Las Vegas each year for a week and see shows, gamble, dine, etc.  With resort fees for things you do not use and now parking costs I spend my money in Reno.  As an Oakland Raiders fan I also do not wish to pay for their new stadium with my Nevada tax money (another fee).

  • Jackie Feb-27-2019
    Louisiana
    How could you miss the river boat casinos in Shreveport?
    You got all the other clip joints.

  • John Foisy Feb-27-2019
    Ohio
    Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield, OH (soon to become part of MGM Resorts, in April)

  • Pamela Feb-27-2019
    Strip Nostalgia
    I voted for Las Vegas Strip only because of the Cromwell which still brings back so many great memories of the Barbary Coast even after all the "improvements."

  • BrunoFlipper Feb-27-2019
    Downfall of Vegas Gambling
    Downtown is old guys with socks covering their privates, the strip is kids buying $400 bottles of $30 vodka.  Gambling?? where do they think they are? Vegas? Louisiana, Mississippi, and Laughlin have better paytables than I can get in Las Vegas. Why put up with the drunks? 

  • Michael Sikorski Feb-27-2019
    Massachusetts
     I still prefer Las Vegas. I don't go to CT or have any interest in MGM Springfield MA. I go twice a year play lots of VP a little BJ a little slots.  Still love the unmatched excitement of LV. I get free rooms, no resort fee, VIP check in and treated well for not a big player at the Westgate.   A comfortable casino  with some good VP choices, always room at the pool when we go in September. Heck one of our regular bartenders came out and hugged us  this past January on our last night.  Also like to visit and play some downtown.  Never made it to strip last trip and would not have played much or any if I did.

  • Seamans Feb-27-2019
    fave gamble spot
    downtown vegas The comps keep getting tighter and the games are just about impossible to win any more.

  • Theresa Bolster Feb-27-2019
    NWI / Northwest Indiana
    You left out the casinos in this area.  I go to the Horseshoe in Hammond, IN.  I picked LV in the poll because we go once a year.
    

  • Roger Williams Feb-27-2019
    rogerw
    Dover Downs - Dover Delaware

  • Diana Thorpe Feb-27-2019
    location and convenience
    I live in Chicago and while my mom is alive, that's where we mostly gamble.  She can't do the walking that Vegas or Atlantic City requires.  And while I would happily rent a scooter, she doesn't want that.  So we stay local and play where she likes.  When I'm on my own, I like to get away to gamble.  I go where the coupons and comps take me.

  • Mike Feb-27-2019
    Wyoming
    There are a couple of casinos on the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming near Riverton and Lander. I know one of them has blackjack and other table games. Also, West Wendover, NV has old school blackjack. Single deck 3/2.

  • Dan Pragel Feb-28-2019
    Harrah's Cherokee Casinos
    I live near Atlanta, Georgia, so the nearest casinos to me are Harrah's Cherokee and Harrah's Cherokee Valley River, which are both located in North Carolina. That is where most of my gambling occurs. 

  • Robert Byrne Feb-28-2019
    How about Cruise Ships?
    Okay I know the odds are very much stacked against the gambler on cruises, but it’s still part of the entertainment on cruises. 

  • Dan Pragel Feb-28-2019
    Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
    I should also add that my brother lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, so when I visit him I spend a good deal of time at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pennsylvania. 

  • James Black Feb-28-2019
    Vegas lost me 5 years ago
    I prefer Colorado because there is by state law no smoking in any of the casinos, rules are reasonable and 'resort fees' don't exist.  Vegas has nickle and dimed me to death, and I used my feet to go somewhere else.  The smoke in their casinos is so bad that I have a sore throat for two weeks after visiting Vegas.

  • gaattc2001 Feb-28-2019
    We went on a "poker cruise" last summer...
    and we're booked for another one this year. The poker company leases space from the cruise line, and they have both cash games and tournaments. It's totally separate from the ship's casino. You get "special" rates on the cruise itself, and the ship handles all the food and beverages. They have a separate bar and buffet in the poker room, and opening and closing cocktail parties. As with most cruise lines, fixed-percentage "gratuities" are automatically added to many of the shipboard services; but there are no resort fees, parking fees, or franchise recovery fees. 
    I hadn't seen this described anywhere else, so I thought I'd mention it.
    Cheers!

  • steve Mar-05-2019
    orleans
    best poker room

  • gaattc2001 Mar-05-2019
    Steve: I agree on the Orleans...
    and we also like South Point. And going between the two, you get to enjoy the visual excesses of the Strip--for free.

  • Joseph Mar-09-2019
    Downtown Vegas but....
    I like Dwntn vegas but living in Texas, OK/LA get our $...sad, state govt doesnt care that Tx $ have basically built worlds largest casino in OK!! Cant beat downtown vegas!!

  • Roy Furukawa Mar-16-2019
    New Yorkers
    i used to meet up with friends from New York every Super Bowl weekend for years (until the mortgage crisis stopped that since a lot of them worked on Wall St.). I asked them why they didn't just go to Atlantic City to gamble instead of fly across the country to Las Vegas and all of them pretty much agreed AC is nothing like Vegas and Las Vegas was so much better in so many ways. Who am I to argue with that logic?  :)

  • James Mason Mar-16-2019
    Best  VP
    stations still has the best deal for out of towners with FP VP and comp rooms and food. Orleans has the best best poker room in town and they did not steal the hourly comps. The LVA coupon book is a smoking deal for out of towners.  No payoff for that been a member for over 20 years👍