Viva Las Vegas, or Sin City? Whether you love it or hate it, this neon-lit fever dream in the Nevada desert has been painstakingly designed for you to lose track of time, money, and possibly your dignity. Not even the best online casinos can offer an experience comparable to Las Vegas: The bright lights can feel disorienting, and it all seems so big – but how many casinos are there, actually?
The short answer: a lot.
The slightly longer answer: it depends on what you count as a casino – technically, a tiny pub with a handful of pokie machines counts, but it’s probably not what you’d think of when you picture a Vegas casino. In terms of more established casinos, as of June 2025, there are around 137 licensed casinos in Clark County, which covers the Las Vegas area. Narrow that down, and you’ll find about 60 casinos in Las Vegas proper, with 28 big-name players lined up along the Strip. If you walked into a different casino every night, you’d still be at it months later – and your liver would file for early retirement.
The casinos that line the Strip are dazzling and, if those walls could talk, you’d be listening for years (and you’d probably need a lawyer). Let’s have a look at the iconic casinos that make up the heart of Las Vegas.
Old money and new investments
Vegas is often thought of as a shiny, brand-new playground, but some of its biggest stars have been around longer than your parents’ record collection. The Flamingo, which opened in 1946, was the mob-funded project that turned Las Vegas from a dusty stopover into the global casino capital. It was brash, glamorous and scandalous, and somehow it’s still standing nearly 80 years later.
Not far behind is the Sahara, which first opened its doors in 1952. Back in the Rat Pack era, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. treated it like their personal clubhouse. Sure, it’s been remodelled and rebranded more times than Sinatra walked down the aisle, but it’s still a living piece of Vegas history.
Courtesy of SAHARA Las Vegas
On the other end of the timeline are the brand-new giants. Resorts World, which finally opened in 2021, isn’t just shiny and modern – it’s also the most expensive resort ever built in Las Vegas, coming in at an eye-watering $4.3 billion. With more than 3,500 rooms and a massive LED façade that lights up the Strip like a futuristic billboard, it was designed to scream luxury from every angle.
Courtesy of Resorts World Las Vegas
Just a couple of years later came the long-awaited Fontainebleau, a towering 67-story blue-glass skyscraper that sat unfinished for nearly two decades before finally throwing open its doors in 2023. It’s shiny, it’s sleek, and it has the kind of dramatic backstory that only Las Vegas could pull off.
And the story doesn’t stop there. The Dream Las Vegas is set to arrive in 2025 with boutique-style luxury and a nightlife-first vibe (after also lying unfinished for quite a while), while the legendary Mirage is being transformed into a guitar-shaped Hard Rock Hotel, expected to open in 2027. Farewell volcano, hello oversized Fender Stratocaster.
The top 5 most popular casinos in Las Vegas
Popularity in Vegas isn’t just about size – it’s about hype, Instagram posts, and how many times you’ve seen it in movies. According to 2025 visitor data and social rankings, these are the casinos everyone is flocking to right now.
MGM Grand
The MGM Grand is not just big – it’s absurdly big. With over 6,700 rooms, it’s practically a small town in its own right. The casino floor sprawls across more than 144,000 square feet, which means you could easily lose your friends, your phone signal, and your sense of direction before you even find the poker tables.
MGM is famous for hosting mega-events like championship boxing and UFC fights, and it’s had its fair share of Hollywood cameos, from Ocean’s 11 to Casino. The emerald-green glow of its exterior has long served as a neon beacon guiding every drunk tourist back home at three in the morning.
Courtesy of MGM Resorts
Aria Resort
The Aria Resort is the Strip’s sleek, tech-savvy younger sibling. Everything here feels modern, from the glassy architecture to the smart-room technology that lets you adjust lighting and curtains with a tap. Its casino floor is vast and buzzing, with every game you’d expect, but it’s the overall atmosphere that wins people over.
There are no gimmicks here – sorry, no Bellagio fountains and Mirage volcano! What you get instead is effortlessly stylish, the place where people go when they want luxury without the kitsch. If Bellagio is your glamorous older cousin, Aria is the cool, startup-founding younger one who casually holidays in the Maldives.
Bellagio
If Vegas has a prom queen, it’s the Bellagio. Elegant, glamorous, and instantly recognisable thanks to its iconic dancing fountains, the Bellagio is the definition of high-roller chic. Inside, there are nearly 3,900 rooms and a gaming floor that stretches up to 156,000 square feet, all decorated in a style that makes you feel underdressed even in your nicest clothes.
Poker fans will recognise it as the home of the World Poker Tour, while casual visitors come for the fountain show – a choreographed aquatic performance that you’ll see in every single Insta carousel from your mates’ Vegas trips.
Courtesy of MGM Resorts
Wynn Las Vegas
When it comes to sheer polish, the Wynn outshines almost everyone. With nearly 4,750 rooms and a gaming space of almost 189,000 square feet, this is one of the Strip’s largest and most luxurious properties. The Wynn is all about upscale perfection: glittering chandeliers, art-filled hallways, five-star dining, and a casino that somehow manages to feel both enormous and refined. Even the bathrooms feel like they should charge admission. For players and non-players alike, Wynn is a reminder that in Vegas, opulence is a competitive sport.
The Venetian
Finally, there’s The Venetian, which pulls off the audacious trick of transporting you straight to Italy without leaving the desert. With canals, gondolas, and painted skies, it’s surreal and a little cheesy – but that’s exactly why people love it.
The casino itself is no slouch, offering more than 132,000 square feet of gaming space, plus some of the Strip’s best shopping, dining, and nightlife. It’s one of those places you can spend an entire day wandering without realising you never saw the sun. Romantic gondola rides indoors might sound ridiculous, but it’s the good kind of ridiculous, and it’s pure Vegas.
Courtesy of the Venetian Resort Las Vegas
Fun facts about the top Vegas casinos
Here’s one you can whip out at the bar:
The Las Vegas Strip isn’t technically in Las Vegas at all. It’s in Paradise, Nevada. (Marketing departments will say anything, right?)
Some other fun facts? Pokies, not poker or blackjack, are the real money-makers in this town – so yes, those penny machines are bankrolling the neon lights. Mega-resorts like Bellagio even have “casinos within casinos” for their high-roller clientele. And if you’re hoping to catch the Mirage volcano erupting one last time, get moving – it’ll soon be replaced by the giant guitar tower of Hard Rock.
So… Still want to visit every casino in Las Vegas?
It’s a lofty goal, and one that we wouldn’t recommend in one trip – even if you’re just looking at the 28 true Vegas icons. Remember, the Strip is about 4 miles long, and you should never underestimate the sheer size of these places. Seriously. They’re insane.
But at least, the next time someone asks, “how many casinos are there in Vegas?”, you’ll not only have the answer, you’ll have stories to go with it. The only thing we can’t help you with is your bankroll – that’s between you, the pokies, and whatever deity you start praying to at 2 AM.
Got a favourite casino we haven’t mentioned here? Let us know at [email protected]!
Matthew Vanzetti is the go-to expert on pokies at Sun Vegas Casino, bringing years of firsthand experience from Melbourne’s casino floors to his engaging articles. His expertise covers everything from traditional pokie to modern jackpots, providing readers with practical insights and tips to enhance their gaming experience.
Matthew’s passion and detailed knowledge make his writings essential for anyone interested in the thrilling world of pokies.
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