North Strip, beside Wynn Las Vegas
Encore Las Vegas
A bronze-glass tower with a sunlit casino floor and the Strip’s most refined service.
9.1Hotel score
9.1Casino score
Las Vegas Strip · Casino hotels · 2026 edition
Five great casino hotels.
Every floor scored.
From the World Series of Poker room at Caesars Palace to the sunlit high-limit salons of Encore, we review the Strip’s defining casino resorts twice: once as hotels, once as casinos. Never combined, never sponsored.
- Casino resorts
- 5
- Separate scores
- 2
- Casino guides
- 3
- Adults only
- 21+
The premise
A casino hotel is two places at once
On the Las Vegas Strip the hotel and the casino share a roof, a rewards card and often a front door, but they are judged by very different standards. A beautiful suite says nothing about whether the blackjack pays 3:2, whether the craps table offers generous odds, or whether the poker room runs the game you want at 3 a.m.
So we score them separately. Every property on this site has a hotel score built from rooms, dining, spa, service, location and value, and a casino score built from the floor, the games and table limits, poker and sportsbook, high-limit rooms, and rules and player protection. We never merge the two.
The ranking
The five casino hotels, ranked by hotel score
Each property also carries a separate casino score. Scores are out of 10.
Center Strip, within CityCenter
ARIA Resort & Casino
CityCenter’s glass-walled flagship, and the poker player’s favorite on the Strip.
9.0Hotel score
8.9Casino score
Center-north Strip, opposite Treasure Island
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas
An all-suite city of canals, with the largest poker room on the Strip.
8.9Hotel score
8.8Casino score
Center Strip, between Bellagio and CityCenter
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
A vertical, nocturnal casino resort where the gaming floor feels like a nightclub lobby.
8.8Hotel score
8.3Casino score
Center Strip, at Flamingo Road
Caesars Palace
The Strip’s imperial original, with a casino floor built for every kind of player.
8.6Hotel score
9.0Casino score
Casino ranking
The casino floors, ranked by casino score
Floor and atmosphere, games and table limits, poker and sportsbook, high-limit rooms, and rules and player protection, weighted and scored.
| Rank | Casino | Floor & atmosphere | Game range & table limits | Poker & sportsbook | High-limit & salons | Rules & player protection | Casino score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Encore Las VegasWynn Rewards | 9.6 | 8.9 | 8.2 | 9.6 | 8.8 | 9.1 |
| 2 | Caesars PalaceCaesars Rewards | 9.0 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.1 | 8.2 | 9.0 |
| 3 | ARIA Resort & CasinoMGM Rewards | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.6 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.9 |
| 4 | The Venetian Resort Las VegasVenetian Rewards | 8.5 | 9.0 | 9.7 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 8.8 |
| 5 | The Cosmopolitan of Las VegasMGM Rewards | 9.1 | 8.5 | 6.8 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
Casino guides
Know the game before you sit down
House edges, pay tables and the math behind the machines, explained without hype or “systems.”
Table games guideCraps for First-Timers: The Bets Worth Knowing and the Ones to SkipA plain-English guide to Las Vegas craps: pass and don’t pass, come bets, free odds, the proposition bets to skip, and a full house-edge table.Read the guide Slots guideHow Slot Machines Work: RNGs, RTP, Volatility and the “Due” MythWhat actually happens inside a Las Vegas slot machine: random number generators, return-to-player, volatility, denominations, and why no machine is ever “due.”Read the guide Video poker guideVideo Poker Pay Tables: Reading 9/6 vs 8/5 Jacks or BetterWhy the pay table is the single most important thing on a video poker machine, how to read 9/6 and 8/5 Jacks or Better, and what the return figures really mean.Read the guide
Questions
Frequently asked
Do you take bookings or accept wagers?
No. Hotelguide by Kaions is an independent editorial publication. We do not sell rooms, take bets, operate any casino game or link to gambling operators, and we are not paid by any of the properties we review.
Why do you give each property two separate scores?
Because a superb hotel can sit on an average casino floor and vice versa. Our hotel score covers rooms, dining, spa and pool, service, location and value. Our casino score rates the floor, games and limits, poker and sportsbook, high-limit rooms, and rules and player protection. The two are never combined.
Which Las Vegas Strip casino has the best poker room?
For volume and tournament series, The Venetian’s 50-table room at The Palazzo is the largest on the Strip. For high-stakes cash games and overall polish, ARIA’s 24-table room is the favorite of many serious players. Caesars Palace runs a 24-hour WSOP-branded room beside its sportsbook.
How old do you have to be to gamble in Las Vegas?
You must be 21 or older to gamble in Nevada, and casinos will ask underage visitors not to linger in gaming areas. Carry valid photo ID; you may be asked for it at tables, cages and in poker rooms.
Who regulates the casinos you review?
All five casinos are licensed in Nevada, where gaming is regulated by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission. Regulators oversee licensing, game approval, surveillance and player-dispute processes.
Does a high casino score mean I should gamble there?
No. A casino score describes the quality of a gaming environment for adults who already choose to gamble. It is not a recommendation to gamble, and no casino score makes any game a good way to make money.
Play for entertainment, never for income
Every casino game has a built-in house edge, and no system changes it. Set a budget and a time limit before you play, and never chase losses. Free, confidential help is available 24/7: call or text 1-800-GAMBLER or visit ncpgambling.org.