What Can You Tell Us about Dotty's?

I was having, er, ah, "stomach issues," as I was on my way to Green Valley Ranch. I was passing a Dotty's and I figured they'd have clean restrooms; I didn't know for sure, since I'd never been in a Dotty's before. Well, I was shocked at how pleasant it was. I was also surprised at how few machines there were, but I assume they're limited to 15. How many Dotty's are there and who is or was Dotty?

Yes, Dotty's is alive and very well in Las Vegas, along with Montana, Oregon, and Illinois. At last count, there were well over 200 in the four states.

Basically bars with machines, Dotty's locations in Las Vegas, roughly 40 of them, have restricted gambling licenses, which means 15 machines or fewer.

Richard Esty, founder and chairman of Dotty’s parent company, Nevada Restaurant Services, came up with the name "Dotty's" in the mid-1990s. He did a study of his demographic target base, women aged 35 and older, to find out what names resonated best with them. "Betty" ranked second and "Dorothy" came in tops. Shorten "Dorothy" to "Dotty" and a strip-mall gambling franchise was born.

According to the company website, the name is meant "to invoke your grandmother's kitchen."

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black jack Sep-11-2025

“Grandmother’s kitchen”

Ah, yes - I remember dear old grandma serving up whiskey sours while we kids dumped our allowance money into her lovely selection of slot machines. She was the best babysitter ever!

Randall Ward Sep-11-2025

Dottys

I wish we could react to other comments because blackjack just made a perfect one

Lotel Sep-11-2025

Any VP

do they have any video poker machines?

Kevin Lewis Sep-11-2025

Nothing like a down-home joint filled with good old-fashioned cigarette smoke

First of all, Lotel: they must have VP at at least some locations, because Bob Dancer has shared with us how he has AP'd their promos in the past. The VP schedules, I hear, are medium-shitty.

I never could fathom why anyone would play in a place that had all the charm of a Greyhound station and stank like a burning pile of old tires, but I've read that a lot of people like to gamble but are intimidated by casinos. That's one thing that Dotty's isn't--intimidating.

John Dulley Sep-11-2025

Portland

In Portland they are EVERYWHERE, them or other small knockoffs. And also they are allowed only six machines in each location. I’m with Kevin Lewis I don’t get why anyone would play in them  except for maybe  to gamble at a convenient location.

Joseph Merritt Sep-15-2025

Great Deals on Smokes

Every time I’m in town so gotta pickup menthol cigs for the old lady since California outlawed the sale of em.  Dotty’s has the best deal on Camel Crush in Vegas.  Have gotten as low as seventy a carton.  

The beers there are super cheap as is the “Air Fryer” food.  

Totally reminds one of the kitchen of a Grandma who prefers smoking, drinking & gambling to baking cookies.

Question of the Day - 11 September 2025

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