According to the 2021 Nevada Gaming Abstract, 59% of revenue at the largest casinos in downtown Las Vegas casinos came from gaming. Only 41% of gaming revenue at the largest casinos on the Vegas Strip was from gamblers.
This revenue difference makes sense on numerous levels. The Vegas Strip casinos have touring and resident artist shows, fine dining, glamorous hotel rooms, and fancy bars. Downtown Las Vegas casinos are smaller and more modest with less of the glitz and glamour of the Vegas Strip properties.
Together, the differences in the casinos allow Las Vegas visitors access to different experiences. There’s something for everyone between casino experiences on and off the Vegas Strip.
Gamblers know to head off-strip for the best affordable gaming with fair rules and odds. Downtown Las Vegas casinos tend to cater to both tourists and locals. The other off-strip casinos have mostly a local customer base.
Downtown Las Vegas offers value, good gambling, and a lot of free entertainment that can’t be found at other casinos around Las Vegas. The casino experience is also different around Las Vegas.
As we head into the summer, the Fremont Street Experience has released details on its free Downtown Rocks concert series. These concerts featuring known national touring artists offer some of the best free entertainment in Las Vegas.
These free concerts offer a fun break from playing blackjack in downtown Las Vegas. Unlike the Vegas Strip casinos, there are plenty of 3:2 blackjack games with a minimum bet under $25.
Downtown Rocks Concert Series
The Downtown Rocks Concert Series at the Fremont Street Experience is an annual summer tradition. This series replaces the normal free entertainment with famous national touring artists.
There’s significant value in these free concerts. Artists will sometimes skip their annual stop in downtown Las Vegas to play a show elsewhere that charges for tickets.
For example, Downtown Rocks veterans Everclear are playing a show at M Resort this summer. Tickets for the concert start at $35 plus fees. There are multiple free concerts this year that could easily charge for tickets.
This year the free summer concerts go all the way to November! Most free Downtown Rocks shows start at 9 pm. We’ll list the shows that have not selected a starting time yet.
Sat, Apr 23rd – Parmalee (3rd St Stage)
Sat, May 28th – X Ambassadors (3rd St Stage)
Sun, May 29th – Starship Ft. Mickey Thomas (1st St Stage)
Mon, Jul 4th – Molly Hatchet (3rd St Stage, Time TBD)
Sat, Jul 23rd – Sebastian Bach (1st St Stage)
Sat, Jul 30th – Hoobastank, Soul Asylum, Alien Ant Farm (1st St Stage, Time TBD)
Sat, Aug 20th – Simple Plan (3rd St Stage)
Sat, Sep 3rd – Rick Springfield, Men at Work, John Waite (3rd St Stage, Time TBD)
Sat, Sep 10th – The Pretty Reckless ( 3rd St Stage)
Sat, Oct 15th – Jelly Roll (3rd St Stage)
Sat, Oct 22nd – Slaughter, Vixen, Sweet (3rd St Stage, Time TBD)
Sat, Nov 19th – Stone Temple Pilots (3rd St Stage)
As you might imagine, since the Downtown Rocks concerts are free they draw massive crowds. If you’re not a fan of large crowds but enjoy the energy, you might want to stay inside the casinos.
Downtown Las Vegas Blackjack
Downtown Las Vegas is also known as “Old Vegas.” This moniker still has merit even though many of the casinos have been renovated in recent years.
The downtown Las Vegas casinos offer value from the hotel room prices to the gambling rules and minimum bets. The lower the house edge in a casino game, the more time a player should spend playing.
The blackjack rules in downtown Las Vegas casinos are among the best in Las Vegas for games under $25. According to Vegas Advantage, nine of the 11 casinos in downtown Las Vegas deal 3:2 blackjack games. Binion’s and Four Queens are the only casinos in the area that only deal 6:5 blackjack.
Here are the highlights of the blackjack games in downtown Las Vegas directly from the source scouting the games:
“The cheapest of these is found at Downtown Grand, where there is a $5 six-deck game with doubling down available both before and after splitting. Surrendering and re-splitting aces are also available. Plaza has a $10 3:2 blackjack game without the options to surrender or re-split aces.
There are seven other downtown Las Vegas casinos that deal 3:2 games. The minimum is $10 or $15 at most, except for Golden Nugget and Circa, where it can be either $15 or $25.”
The atmosphere in downtown Las Vegas casinos is different than those on the Vegas Strip. The lower minimums and better rules draw more experienced gamblers.
The difference in customers between the Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas is noticeable. Many gamblers seem to enjoy being around others that play the games they love so much.
Vegas Advantage offers a newsletter with specifics of all blackjack games all over Las Vegas if you’d like more information.
