We visited Mesquite, Nevada on Monday, June 6, 2022. There are three full-service casinos in this city that is an hour northeast of Las Vegas. The properties are Eureka, Casablanca, and Virgin River. It was a fun afternoon to spend in a different market.
It seems these casinos market to value players. The table game minimums are mostly $5 or $10. There are some $4 roulette tables. Slots and video poker games in high limit rooms typically have $1, $2 or $5 denominations. The lower denominations of video poker usually have the same pay tables as the higher ones.
We started the visit with lunch at the Mason Street Courtyard. The food was above average for casino café food. The pricing is several dollars cheaper than the same items in a similar Las Vegas restaurant. The service was great.
The video poker percentages used below show the expected return when using perfect strategy and betting five coins. Wagers lower than five coins typically give up more than 1% in house edge due to the lower payout on the royal flush.
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Eureka Mesquite casino games
After lunch, we walked around the casino. We quickly discovered that Eureka has great video poker. This includes variants that start at the penny denomination and single hand at nickel and above. It stands out from the other two Mesquite casinos.
We sat at 50 Play video poker machines. The denominations are $0.01, $0.02 and $0.05. Kristina chose Not-so-ugly-Ducks. I played 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe. Other options on these machines include 20/12 Double Bonus Deuces Wild, 9/6 Jacks or Better, 16/10 Bonus Deuces Wild, and 9/6 Double Double Bonus. All these games return at least 99%. The best is 99.81%.
The bar video poker at Eureka starts at quarter and goes up to $2. The best game is Not-so-ugly-ducks (99.73%). Other good games include 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe (99.64%) and 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.54%). These games are not on all bar machines, but they are on most of them.
There are a few 100% machines near the main entrance. These have 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%) and 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.07%). This bank also has Not-so-ugly-ducks and 9/6 Jacks or Better, which are just below 100%. The denominations are quarter, half dollar, and dollar. The machines are clearly marked as 100% games.
The table game pit at Eureka was a little different than my last visit several years ago. It is smaller and missing its best game. Single deck blackjack is not dealt at Eureka anymore. The two types of blackjack are double deck and six-deck. Both have the same rules. Blackjack pays 3:2. Double down before and after splitting is permitted. The dealer hits soft 17. Both games start at $10.
Craps starts at $5. It has 3-4-5 times odds and the field pays triple on 12. There was also $10 Heads Up Hold’em, and Three Card Poker. Double zero roulette is available. However, it was closed and I could not determine the minimum bet. The Eureka table game pit is open from noon to 3:30 am daily.
Virgin River casino games
Virgin River is across the street from Eureka. It is an easy walk of a few hundred feet outside and through a crosswalk with a traffic signal.
The best video poker game that I found is 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17%). It is at the main bar and on machines throughout the casino floor from quarter up to the $5 denomination. I also found 9/7 Double Bonus (99.11%), 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%), 15/9 Deuces Wild (98.91%), and 8/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe (98.49%).
The table games at Virgin River Casino in Mesquite are a bargain. Roulette starts at $4. All other games, including craps, double deck blackjack, six-deck blackjack, Three Card Poker, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em had $5 minimum bets.
The blackjack games pay 3:2, hit soft 17, and allow players to double down before and after splitting. Craps allows 3-4-5 times odds. The field pays triple on 12.
Casablanca casino games
Casablanca is not walkable from the other two Mesquite casinos. It is an exit south on Interstate 15. I didn’t find the $1 8/5 Bonus Poker in VPFree2. The best video poker game that I found was 15/9 Deuces Wild in quarter, half dollar and dollar denominations. Some quarter games have an $1199 royal flush. Many have progressives.
Double zero roulette was $4. Craps was $5 with 3-4-5 times odds. The field pays triple on 12. Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em had $5 minimums.
All the blackjack that I found was double deck. It pays 3:2. The dealer hits soft 17. Double down before and after splitting is allowed. The minimum bet was $10.
Pictures of Mesquite casinos
