High roller slots pay much better across the board. The best $25 slots can be found at Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, where they had a 94.4 percent RTP last year. The Atlantic City average for $25 slots in 2017 was 92.5 percent RTP. Atlantic City isn’t a video poker paradise, but most of the casinos offer at least one or two games worth looking at. We like to stick to variations with a 99%+ return to player, but that’s not entirely possible for all bankrolls at all properties. The Borgata and Harrahs are our 2 favorite casinos for VP in the city.
Atlantic City is known for 3 things:
- The beach
- The boardwalk
- The casinos
This page concerns itself with #3, but only in terms of what are the best video poker deals at the various casinos. Atlantic City video poker is actually a pretty good deal, especially compared to the slot machine games there. In fact, since most of the casinos have relatively unfavorable blackjack rules, the smart money in casino games there tends to be the video poker machines.
Most of the casinos offer at least a few full pay Jacks or Better games. We like those games, because the strategy is familiar to most players. It’s also easy to spot because of the 9/6 pay table. You can find more information about that game in particular on our site, including strategies and how to spot the best pay tables.
None of the casinos offer any games with a 100% or greater return to player, but that’s not surprising. Atlantic City casinos seem to be able to lose money without any help from expert VP players. You can probably combine the players club membership card at some of these casinos with the best strategy and most generous games and come close to a break-even game.
Please keep in mind that even though we hope that the listings below are still accurate when you read this, casinos change their game selections, locations, and layouts all the time. If you’ll contact us when we need to make updates, we’ll make changes to this page accordingly.
Bally’s Atlantic City
Bally’s offers full pay Jacks or Better in a variety of denominations, but you won’t find a lot of these machines on the floor. There are probably less than 2 dozen of these games in the entire casino, and most of them are in the smoking sections on the GameKing games. They’re available in the following denominations: 25 cents, 50 cents, $1, $2, and $5. The higher denomination games are the more common ones.
This is, by the way, the best video poker game in the casino. The next best game is Double Double Bonus Aces and Faces with a payback percentage of 99.46%. But most players already know the correct strategies for Jacks or Better. They’re less likely to be able to play Double Double Bonus Aces and Faces with the correct strategy, which might add as much as 1% to 2% to the house edge.
At Bally’s, you can also find the following games with a payback percentage of over 99%:
- Joker Wild
- Bonus Aces and Faces
- Double Bonus Aces and Faces
- Bonus Poker (There are a lot of these games in the casino, and the payback percentage is 99.17%. If you’re having trouble getting on one of the full pay Jacks or Better game, this is the one to go for.)
The best payback percentage at the Borgata belongs to the Super Double Bonus games in the original area of the casino. If you play with the correct strategy, you’re looking at a 99.69% payback percentage. These games are available for a quarter, 50 cents, or a dollar.
The Borgata also offers 9/6 Jacks or Better, which is an equally legitimate choice. You’re sacrificing 0.15% in payback percentage, but you’re probably better at playing Jacks or Better than Super Double Bonus. The Borgata actually has quite a few of these games throughout the property, with denominations starting at a quarter. But the high roller area has these games for $10, $25, and $50.
The only other video poker game at the Borgata with a payback percentage north of 99% is Bonus Poker, and they only have a few of these games. They’re mostly available in higher denominations, too, starting at $1 and going up to $50.
You can find several video poker games here with a payback percentage of between 98% and 99% though, including:
- Double Double Bonus
- Jacks or Better
- Bonus Poker
- Double Bonus Poker
Caesar has about a dozen Double Joker Wild games available for 25 cents. This game has a payback percentage of 99.91%, which makes it not only the best video poker game in Caesars, but also one of the best video poker games in the entire city.
Caesars also offers about a dozen full pay Jacks or Better games. These are available in the following denominations: 25 cents, $1, $2, and $5.
The Double Double Bonus games are also worth noting, as they have a payback percentage of 98.98%. There are only a handful of these in the middle of the casino.
Like many of its competitors, Golden Nugget offers full pay Jacks or Better as its best-paying video poker option. But you’ll only find a handful of these games available near the rear of the casino. They’re available in a variety of denominations, though: 25 cents, 50 cents, $1, $2, and $5.
They also have a couple of Bonus Poker games available for $1 and $5. These have a payback percentage of 99.17%.
The Double Bonus games are the only other video poker games worth mentioning at this property. They have a payback percentage of 99.11%. They’re available in the same denominations as the Jacks or Better games.
Harrah’s has over half a dozen of playable video poker variations available, the best of which are their full pay Jacks or Better games. They have plenty of these games available, and they’re reasonably easy to find, too. They’re available in the following denominations: 25 cents, 50 cents, $1, $2, $5, and $10.
They also have the 99.46% version of Double Double Bonus Aces and Faces. These are available in the same denominations as the Jacks or Better games.
Jokers Wild is available with a 99.29% payback percentage. Bonus Aces and Faces has a similar payback percentage, 99.26%. And Double Bonus Aces and Faces is available with 99.24%.
Bonus Poker, Double Bonus Poker, and Double Double Bonus are also all available in their best paying variations. All of these games are available in the same denominations that we listed above in the Jacks or Better paragraph.
Resorts Atlantic City only has one video poker game worth mentioning here:
The Bonus Poker games are available for 25 cents, 50 cents, or a dollar. They have a 99.17% payback percentage.
Other than that, you won’t find much of interest in terms of VP games here.
The best option at the Tropicana Atlantic City is also the only appropriate game for low rollers—Joker Wild. The payback percentage is 99.59%, and the game is only available for a 25 cent denomination.
They also have a couple (literally just 2) full pay Jacks or Better games for $1, $2, $5, or $10. They’re in the high limit area.
Those are the only options if you’re looking for 99%+, but if you can live with 98% to 99%, they also have options in that range, too:
Double Double Bonus for $5 with a 98.98% payback percentage is also available. There’s also a Deuces Wild game with a 98.91% return to player available for $5.
The Trump Taj Mahal actually has a reasonably good selection of games with decent RTP (return to player) figures. Their best game is Jacks or Better with a 99.54% payback percentage—it’s available for $1 or $2.
99.17% Bonus Poker is also available throughout the casino. It’s available in the following denominations: $1, $2, and $5.
Those are the only 2 games with a 99%+ potential, but they have a couple of games in the 98%-99% range, too:
Double Double Bonus with 98.98% is scattered throughout the casino. They also have a Deuces Wild game with 98.91%. These games are available for a quarter, making them the best for low rollers in this property.
Atlantic City isn’t a video poker paradise, but most of the casinos offer at least one or two games worth looking at. We like to stick to variations with a 99%+ return to player, but that’s not entirely possible for all bankrolls at all properties.
The Borgata and Harrahs are our 2 favorite casinos for VP in the city. We’re not impressed with the selection at the Golden Nugget, though.
We like blackjack, too, but in Atlantic City, the rules are so unfavorable that full pay Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker are clearly the better options.
You just have to watch the pay tables, as these games are mixed in with the other games on the casino floor.
When it comes to determining the Atlantic City casino with the best slots, there is really only one statistic that matters: return to player rate (RTP).
For games in a casino, the odds of winning are expressed in RTP.
- Essentially, RTP is the percentage of money bet on a game that the game will ultimately pay back to players.
- If a game has a 90 percent RTP, for every $100 bet on it, a player should expect to win back $90.
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However, RTP indicates the longterm performance of a game. This means it may take more than $100 in bets for the game to pay back that $90. Nothing is guaranteed, particularly in the short term, and a player may not ever see a slot’s true RTP realized before they run out of money playing it.
That said, RTP remains the best indicator of which casino has the loosest, and therefore best slots.
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Atlantic City casino slots: Always look for RTP
According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement’s Atlantic City Casino Industry Casino Win Data For Calendar Year 2017 document, slots at the seven Atlantic City casinos operating last year had an overall average of 92.1 percent RTP. It’s no wonder slots are so popular.
The average RTP is actually much lower for the penny slots that appear to be the busiest in most Atlantic City casinos.
In fact, the one cent and two cent slots at Atlantic City casinos had an average of 88.7 percent RTP in 2017. The penny slots at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa were the best among them at 89.8 percent RTP. However, Borgata’s overall average RTP among slots of all denominations was 91.89 percent, below the industry average and far from the best in the business.
High roller slots pay much better across the board. The best $25 slots can be found at Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, where they had a 94.4 percent RTP last year. The Atlantic City average for $25 slots in 2017 was 92.5 percent RTP.
For $100 slots, Resorts Casino Hotel and Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City posted 94.1 and 94.2 percent RTP respectively last year. Numbers that were well above the 91.7 percent RTP industry average for $100 slots.
The loosest slots among the thousands at Atlantic City casinos in 2017 were actually the five-cent slot machines at Tropicana. These slots posted a 95.2 percent RTP on their way to becoming one of Atlantic City’s best bets last year.
Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City
Plus, they helped Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City post an overall average of 92.59 percent RTP on slots of all denominations, making the Trop the Atlantic City casino with the loosest and best slots.
Here’s a look at the average RTP on slots of all denominations for all seven Atlantic City casinos:
- Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City: 92.59 percent
- Caesars Atlantic City Hotel & Casino: 92.24 percent
- Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino: 92.23 percent
- Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa: 91.89 percent
- Resorts Casino Hotel: 91.82 percent
- Golden Nugget Atlantic City: 91.66 percent
- Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City: 91.44 percent
Slots at The Trop
One of the oldest and most storied casino properties in Atlantic City, the Tropicana currently boasts three floors of casino gaming with more than 3,000 slot machines and 135 table games. Resort amenities also include more than 2,000 hotel rooms, 26 restaurants, 25 shops, 20 bars and lounges, four pools, an IMAX Theater, a spa and a 2,000-seat showroom.
Tropicana prides itself on being a casino games innovator and boasts a selection of more than 2,400 different games it says surpasses the offerings of other Atlantic City casinos.
In terms of slots, the list includes everything from the newest slots available to a wide variety of classics. The games are in areas with engaging themes. Many feature linked and individual progressive jackpots. There also a rather large video poker area and a stylish and inviting High Limit slots lounge with a private concierge, restrooms, and hundreds of high-denomination slot games.
Tropicana’s history in Atlantic City
The origins of Tropicana Casino and Resort lie in The Ambassador Hotel, circa 1919.
The Ambassador infamously played host to the Atlantic City Conference for organized crime bosses. The likes of Al Capone, Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano all attended.
The Ambassador closed in the 1970s. However, Ramada brought its bones back to life in 1981. The organization actually purchased the Ambassador in 1978 with plans to remodel. Ramada was forced by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and then-Gov. Brendan Byrne to demolish the property and build a new hotel and casino practically from the ground up, reusing only the steel framework from the old hotel.
Ramada bought the Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in 1979 and decided to call the under-construction Boardwalk property Tropicana Atlantic City.
It opened in November 1981, with a 521-room hotel and casino. Renovations continued throughout the 1980s, adding a showroom, a second hotel tower, and the Tivoli Pier indoor amusement center. Tropicana Atlantic City became TropWorld Casino and Entertainment Resort.
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Tropicana changes hands
Ramada ended the 1980s by selling the Las Vegas Tropicana. The mid-1990s saw another new hotel tower added and further renovations. A new poker, keno and off-track betting area opened, and the property was renamed Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City.
The early 2000s saw another new hotel tower, a parking garage, and increased meeting and convention space added. Plus, The Quarter at Tropicana, a 200,000-square-foot entertainment complex and shopping mall opened up.
Ownership landed in the hands of a company called Columbia Sussex in 2005. However, Columbia Sussex was denied a casino license in 2007. Ultimately, a trustee took control.
Carl Icahn steps in and out
A group of creditors led by billionaire Carl Icahn bought Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City out of bankruptcy in 2009.
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Icahn ran the property under his Tropicana Entertainment Inc. umbrella. The company has made more than $200 million in upgrades, renovations, and enhancements since 2013.
However, Icahn announced plans to sell Tropicana Entertainment Inc.’s US casino properties, including Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City, to real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties in early 2018.
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