Las Vegas Roulette on a $100 Budget

Roulette is one of the most popular Las Vegas table games for several reasons. It’s easy to understand and play, and it offers potentially huge 35-to-1 payouts when the ball lands on the correct number on the constantly spinning wheel.

Players can get in the game for as little as $3 at a cheap roulette game a few minutes from the Vegas Strip. The minimum bet can be around $15 on the Vegas Strip, but some of these games come with a higher house edge that many new players won’t notice at first. 

A $100 roulette budget can last quite a while or disappear in just a few minutes, depending on your luck and betting style. There are a variety of roulette betting options, each with its own house edge, ranging from large to small.

How you choose to play roulette will greatly impact your Las Vegas roulette experience. Bets with the highest potential returns also come with a significant advantage for the casino.

Conversely, a bet that can help stretch a bankroll might be a little less exciting since they have a smaller payout. However, these options may allow you to stay at the table longer and increase your chances of walking away a winner.

Playing roulette in Las Vegas can be whatever you want it to be. You can hit it and quit it quickly, or hang around for a while. Either way, the game can always be fun and easy to play.

🚫 First, Beware of This Trap!

There is a dirty secret hidden in plain sight on most roulette tables at Vegas Strip casinos. Over the past five years, many casinos in the main tourist area of Las Vegas have added an extra slot to the roulette wheel without changing the payout. Unfortunately, this trend has been slowly spreading to other parts of Sin City.

The newest version of the game is called “Triple Zero” roulette. This extra slot on the wheel can be a literal 000 or feature the casino’s logo.

As a result, there are now 39 slots on a Triple Zero roulette wheel. However, the payout remains the same 35-to-1 as it does on a traditional 36-slot wheel. Not cool. 

One thing I learned: some roulette tables have 0, 00, and 000. Directly next to tables with just 0 and 00. And yet people still play on them. ~50% more take for the house. Surely, there must be some market analog to this... pic.twitter.com/T11eIlPbsm

— pennyether (@penny_ether) May 31, 2025

The extra slot on the roulette wheel can drastically increase the house edge for the casino. Here’s a comparison:

• Single 0 (original): 2.6 percent house edge
• Double 0 (traditional): 5.26 percent house edge
• Triple 0 or Logo (newest): 7.69 percent house edge

Understanding the house edge is important for all casino games. The lower the house edge, the longer a person should be able to play. The longer someone plays, the better their chances of having a winning session.

Single-zero roulette offers the lowest house edge, but double-zero roulette is the version most players see in Las Vegas. While the house edge in double-zero roulette isn’t ideal, it’s about 50 percent better than in triple-zero roulette.

Similar to good and bad blackjack games, double-zero and triple-zero roulette tables in Las Vegas are often located next to each other. They typically have the same minimum bet, but players tend to gravitate toward the table with the most people because it’s more fun.

Casinos already have an advantage. Don’t give them a larger edge.

This is the first step in getting the most out of your roulette budget in Las Vegas. In theory, $100 will last longer playing the roulette game with the lower house edge. Of course, anything can happen in a single session.

📝 Understanding the Expected Loss

Before diving into specific ways to play, let’s look at the expected loss since the casino has an advantage in every table game. It’s helpful to know how long the typical session could last.

The expected loss is the average amount of money a player can expect to lose while playing roulette. 

Most roulette games on the Vegas Strip have a $15 minimum bet during prime gambling hours. The expected loss at a full table of six players is $28. 

A $100 budget can last the average player a little less than four hours at a full table. If there are only two players at the table, a $100 budget will last around two hours.

Like all casino games, the more players there are at the table, the longer your money is likely to last.

💰 Go for the Big Payout

The biggest return for a bet in roulette comes from playing individual numbers. If the ball lands in the slot of the number you bet on, you’ll get paid 35-to-1. 

That’s $175 for a $5 wager. Not too shabby.

However, using this strategy doesn’t give you many chances at that big win, especially on the Vegas Strip. 

The cheapest single-zero roulette game on the Vegas Strip is at least $25 and usually more. This has a very small house edge, but the probability of landing on a number is 2.7 percent. 

A $100 budget will give you at most four chances to select the right number. Unless your number comes out, a $100 roulette budget can be gone in four spins or just a few minutes. 

Staying on the Vegas Strip, you’re more likely to find a double-zero roulette game at an affordable $15 or $25 minimum bet. 

The house edge is twice as much for a double-zero roulette game, and the $100 budget won’t last much longer. If you play a triple-zero roulette game, your $100 will last even less time, as the house edge jumps to 7.69 percent.

💵 Stretch Your Roulette Budget

There are a few options for anyone looking to stretch their $100 Las Vegas roulette budget. These are the lower paying bets that surround the numbers with the big payouts.

Playing red or black pays even money. The probability of the ball landing on either red or black on a traditional 00 roulette wheel is 18-of-38, or 47.3 percent. That’s slightly worse than a coin flip.

Betting on the color of the number is also popular and there are a few other bets that can help your $100 budget last longer when playing roulette in Las Vegas.

• Odd or even: Picking whether the ball will land on an odd or even number.
• High or Low: Simply choose that the ball will land on a number from 1-18 or 19-36.
• Columns: There are three columns of numbers on the roulette board. This bet is choosing which of the three columns the ball will land.

Stick to these bets and $100 will last longer than playing numbers and going for the one big win.