Published on: March 27, 2026, at 07:21h.
Updated on: March 26, 2026, at 03:28h.
EDITORIAL NOTE: Our series “Vegas Myths Busted” releases new posts each Monday, along with special editions on Flashback Fridays. Today’s focus revisits content originally published on June 9, 2025.
The U.S. Treasury’s initiative to gradually eliminate the penny beginning in 2026 will not significantly affect the penny slot machines operable in Las Vegas casinos. This is primarily due to the immense profitability of contemporary penny slots and their straightforward adaptability for nickel adjustments. Furthermore, it is worth noting that no Las Vegas slot machine has dispensed a penny pull since the 1960s.
Today, what casinos refer to as penny slots are actually multi-line betting systems that accept paper currency or vouchers for gameplay and award payouts solely in digital credits. The term “penny slot” refers to the minimum bet of one cent per payline, but this is misleading since players are required to place bets on multiple paylines to initiate a spin.
Understanding the Myth
Even when Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, locating a slot machine in Las Vegas that accepted penny pulls was exceptionally rare. From the outset, the Liberty Bell — crafted by inventor Charles Fey in 1895 — required a nickel for play (with jackpots reaching $1).
Penny slots did exist, primarily in penny arcades, which bypassed gambling regulations by offering non-cash prizes such as candy, small toys, or gum.
While it’s possible that penny-activated slots were present in some earlier Las Vegas casinos (though extensive research did not produce a definitive answer), most casino operators avoided them. These machines demanded more coin management with minimal profit margins, in addition to limited jackpot payouts.
By the mid-1970s, regardless of their past presence, penny slots were absent from Las Vegas altogether.
The Value of a Penny
Slot manufacturers attempted to reintroduce penny slots in the ’90s, yet electronic and video slot machines still dominate the gaming floor.
However, these modern machines are based on a series of misconceptions.
In truth, none of these machines accept pennies or any coins; they merely recreate the nostalgic sound of coins dropping into plastic jackpot containers that casinos previously used for free giveaways.
Moreover, their promotional strategy of penny-per-payline gives the illusion that these machines are affordable or less risky compared to higher-denomination machines, although the reality is quite the opposite.
Contemporary penny slots often require multiple paylines (commonly between 25 to 300) to start a game, resulting in gameplay costs ranging from 25 cents to three dollars per spin.
Additionally, their payouts are lower (with a return-to-player percentage averaging 87.5-91% as opposed to 94-97% for higher-denomination slots). This disparity in return rates is what makes them financially beneficial for casinos, despite appearing to have lower per-line bets.
In fact, last year, players fed Nevada’s penny slots (listed as “multi-line electronic slots” by the Nevada Gaming Control Board) an impressive $25.64 billion, generating $2.4 billion in revenue.
This accounted for a substantial 22.8% of the state’s total slot revenue of $10.52 billion for 2024. This statistic reinforces the likelihood that penny slots will continue to thrive despite the penny’s removal from circulation.
Of course, they will need to be recalibrated to five-cent increments, as was implemented in Canada following its penny elimination in 2012.
However, whether slot manufacturers will decide to rebrand them as nickel slots remains uncertain. As long as the term “penny” continues to be associated with the lowest prices among slot players, there is no substantial reason for them to abandon such misleading marketing.