Most Las Vegas rip-offs are perfectly legal: short-paying blackjack tables, poor video poker pay tables and daily resort fees. A smaller group are real scams, from taxi long-hauling to the card slappers on the Strip. Knowing what to look for keeps more of your bankroll for the games you came to play.
Slot machines at the airport
Harry Reid International Airport, formerly McCarran, has slot machines in its terminals, as Nevada gaming law allows. They are there for convenience, and you have no easy way to compare them with the casino you are heading to.
What to do: wait until you reach your hotel or a casino you know. If you play at the airport anyway, read the pay table first and keep it short.
Taxi long-hauling
Long-hauling means a driver takes a longer route than needed to run up the meter. The classic airport version is taking the freeway route through the airport tunnel when a shorter surface-street trip to the Strip was available. It adds money to the fare on every ride where it happens.
What to do:
- Tell the driver your exact destination and the route you expect before the meter starts.
- Ask for a receipt and note the cab number.
- If you think you were long-hauled, contact the Nevada Taxicab Authority, which regulates Las Vegas cabs, at (702) 668-4000.
- Consider rideshare, where the route and fare estimate are shown before you book.
Resort fees
Nearly every Strip hotel adds a mandatory daily resort fee on top of the room rate, and it can add a lot to a cheap-looking room. Since May 2025, a Federal Trade Commission rule requires hotels and booking sites to show the total price, including mandatory fees, up front, so compare total prices rather than base rates.
What to do:
- Compare the full nightly price, fees included, when you book.
- Use casino loyalty status. Caesars, for example, waives resort fees for Diamond members and above in its Caesars Rewards program.
- Concentrate your play with one casino company rather than spreading it around. More play with one company means better room offers. Play at any casino owned by the same company counts toward the same rewards account.
6-5 blackjack
Blackjack is the most popular table game in Las Vegas, and the most common way casinos quietly raise the house edge is by paying 6 to 5 on a natural blackjack instead of 3 to 2. A $10 blackjack pays $12 instead of $15, and the change adds about 1.4% to the house edge. The payout is printed on the felt, so it is easy to check.
What to do: only play tables that pay 3 to 2. If you don’t see one, ask a dealer or floor supervisor whether the casino has any, or walk to the next casino. See why you should avoid 6-5 blackjack and our list of the best places to play blackjack in Las Vegas.
High-cost slot machines
Slots carry a higher house edge than most table games and good video poker. “Penny” machines are the worst offenders: with many lines and multiple credits per line, a single spin can cost several dollars, and that adds up fast when you are not paying attention.
What to do: check the cost per spin before you start, set a budget, and consider video poker with a full pay table instead. Our guide to the best video poker in Las Vegas shows where to look.
Card slappers
Walk a block on the Strip and you will see card slappers: people snapping and handing out cards that advertise adult “entertainers” who will come to your hotel room. Prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas and the rest of Clark County, and these services are known for taking a visitor’s money, or worse, and delivering nothing they promised.
What to do: don’t take the cards, and don’t let people you have just met into your room.
Street hustles
Card slappers are not the only street hustle. Some people run gambling games on the sidewalk, and others sell CDs, club passes or other goods with no license. None of these is a good deal.
What to do: keep walking, and buy what you need from licensed stores. The Strip has national chain drugstores where water, snacks and sunscreen cost far less than in hotel gift shops.
Party pits
Many Strip casinos run party pits, table game areas with music and costumed dealers. They are fun, but the games are often set with worse rules than the main pit, such as 6-5 blackjack.
What to do: read the table placard before you sit. If the rules are worse, play in the main pit or treat the party pit as entertainment and bet small.
Driver recommendations
Some drivers will try to steer you to a different club, show or “massage” business than the one you asked for. Some of these places are clip joints that take your money and give little or nothing in return.
What to do: decide where you are going before you get in, and don’t let a driver talk you into a different destination.
Bar-top video poker
Bar-top video poker on the Strip comes with “free” drinks, but the Strip ranks lowest in the valley for video poker pay tables. On a bad pay table, you can pay more for those drinks through your losses than you would pay at the register.
What to do: check the pay table before you feed the machine, or pay for the drinks and play elsewhere. Locals casinos have the best everyday pay tables in the valley. If you do play for drinks, tip the bartender.
Las Vegas scams FAQ
What is the most common rip-off in Las Vegas casinos?
6-5 blackjack. It looks like the same game, but the reduced payout on a blackjack adds about 1.4% to the house edge.
How do I avoid being long-hauled by a Las Vegas taxi?
State your destination and preferred route before the meter starts, get a receipt, and report problems to the Nevada Taxicab Authority.
Can you avoid Las Vegas resort fees?
Sometimes. Some casino loyalty tiers waive them, such as Caesars Rewards Diamond. Otherwise, compare total prices with fees included when you book.
Gamble only what you can afford to lose. In the US, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET (call or text).