Holidaymakers from all over the world flock to Macau and Vegas for the holiday of a lifetime. With lots to see and do, both locations are popular spots, with not a lot of free time to sit and do nothing!

However, undoubtedly the main reason that people visit Macau and Vegas is for gambling. With around 30 casinos on the central Las Vegas strip and dozens more nearby and over 40 casinos in Macau, anyone who wants to enjoy gambling has no shortage of choice.

But when’s the best time to visit a casino in Macau and Vegas? Here’s what you need to know.

Separate Fact From Fiction

There are many myths circulating in the world of casinos that can lead players to bet at certain times. These rumours suggest that some gambling times are more profitable than others, with a greater likelihood of a payout.

Casinos are generally more crowded on evenings and weekends, especially the latter. This allows holidaymakers the chance to enjoy other activities during the day while heading to the casinos as the sunsets.

Some players believe that casinos pay out more frequently when they are full of people, and this means that you’ll have a better chance of winning if you play at busy times.

This isn’t the case.

Casinos are highly regulated and must be able to prove that they are operating in a fair, random and transparent way. This means that the payouts must be genuinely random and not predetermined to only pay at certain times. The penalty for rigging the payouts would be enormous and could lose the casinos their licence, so the rumours about the most profitable times to play are literally just rumours, nothing more.

The belief may have evolved because, according to the law of averages, there will be more wins if more people are playing at the casinos. This isn’t because the win rate is increasing; it’s the same proportion just with more people.

For example, if 10% of people win in a casino with 100 players, there will be 10 winners. If there are 1000 players, there will be 100 winners. It’s the same chance of winning, just scaled up to take into account the higher number of players present.

Choose the Best Time to Play

Casinos operate around the clock so that you can play 24/7. It means you can pick the time of the day to play that suits your personal preferences.

With so many blackjack games to choose from, plus slots, roulette, table games, bingo and poker, every casino has a lot to offer. But at busy times, you might have to wait a while to get a seat at the table or game you want.

With online casinos, it’s much easier to play the game you want, but in physical casinos such as Macau and Vegas, you’ll need to wait for a space. For this reason, you might prefer to visit casinos during quieter times as you’re more likely to be able to play the games you want right away.

Conversely, during quieter times, you’ll have more attention from casino staff. If you’re regularly winning or employing successful (and legal) strategies, this might not be what you want!

As mentioned above, evenings and weekends are especially busy at casinos. Between 10am and 5pm tend to be quieter in the casinos before they fill up with the evening players. Very late at night, the casinos will start to empty again, but unless you’re a natural night owl, this might not suit you to wait!

Some people love the buzz of a casino that’s very busy and enjoy being part of crowds. Others prefer a calmer, quieter casino with no waiting at any of the tables. There’s no “best” time to play as it all depends on your personal preferences – and there’s certainly no time that’s luckier than any other!